“We are concerned about Russia’s interference and influence in the Western Balkans. Russian misinformation, or Russian disinformation, these have increased. We see this. The explanation given on the war, saying that this is a way to protect the Russian people is a tool that is being used and this tool should be eliminated,” said the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and at the same time the Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell at the joint press conference with Premier Edi Rama in Tirana on Tuesday.
According to him, the EU must face Russian influence, wherever it is located. “The Western Balkans will be a battleground in the future for the path of the countries towards the EU in the sense which path they will follow. This revives a process that was previously dependent on issues that are no longer as important as they once were in the face of human warfare, this suffering of millions of people,” Borrell said.
Borell did not mention by name any regional country where Russian influence is high as in the case of Serbia which has not joined the EU in placing sanctions against Moscow.
In a comment on the Russian propaganda on the alleged participation of Albanians in the fighting in Ukraine PM Rama made the following comment: “The accusations that ‘Albania is supplying Ukraine with mercenaries, together with Kosovo’, is a baseless accusation in the first place. It’s untrue and disturbing.”
In the meantime the EU high representative Borrell stated that the price increase comes for everyone because of the war.
“It’s an interdependence of all of us with Russia. Russia is using the export ban as a weapon. This issue is not only about Albania, it is a consequence of the war,” said Borrell. He took as an example his country, Spain for rising prices where an energy bill has reached 500 euros.
Borrell made that comment as thousands of Albanian have taken to the streets in protests against the government and PM Rama for the skyrocketing prices which have hurt badly the people, particularly the vulnerable segments of the population. Albania’s living conditions cannot be compared with those of Spain as evidence shows Albania is the poorest country in the region, the EU and Europe.
Further on Borell said that the war has created a very big disruption in the world economy not only because of sanctions.
“This is not just an issue that concerns only Albania. It’s a consequence of sanctions, it’s a consequence of war, it’s a consequence of export bans, of rising prices for products that affect us all here in Europe, in the Western Balkans, in North Africa, everywhere,” Borrell said. /Argumentum.al
