Rama: Kurti stubborn and maximalist, should have made different choices

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti was stubborn and a maximalist and that he would have acted differently in his position.

When asked whether the war in Ukraine slowed down or favored Tirana's EU membership, Rama said he hoped it would speed up the full integration of the countries from the region into the EU.

"It is no longer just a financial issue, but above all a geopolitical issue. In the long term, it would be good for the Western Balkans to access without delay, so as not to leave black holes and space for third parties that have already created problems for the region," Rama said in an interview with the Italian newspaper.

Asked if he was worried that a new front would open in the Balkans, given the tensions in Kosovo, and that Bosnia was "always on the verge of breaking out", he replied that there was so much to worry about, but also that 10 years ago there it had been unthinkable that Balkan leaders sat at the same table.

In response to the statement that relations are not simple even today and that he did not meet Albin Kurti during his visit to Pristina, while Vucic continues "flirting with Russia" and Dodik threatens with the secession of Republika Srpska, he says that "Serbia must be looked at differently".

"Serbia must be looked at differently, it has a very serious aggressor past, it is the creator of ethnic cleansing, which it must leave behind. They have built their foreign policy like a corridor of mirrors between the West, Russia, and China. They have to make a decision, but I think they will choose the West, the democratic world," Rama said.

He also states that the conflict in Kosovo can become huge, even if on a small scale.

"The situation of the Serbian minority in the north can be a small Donbas. Putin's dream. But Serbia cannot be Russia, even if it wanted to be," Rama says.

When asked what the Kosovo Prime Minister was doing wrong, Rama replied that he respected him, but that he would have acted differently.

"I respect that, but I would have made completely different choices. He is stubborn and a maximalist. He has a fantastic opportunity, the Franco-German peace plan. Agreements do not stay on the table forever. Then history makes you wait," Rama pointed out.

When asked if Turkey could find the key to solving the Ukrainian conflict, Rama said that no one, not even Erdogan, had the magic keys to change the "imperialist, anti-democratic and chauvinistic vision like Putin's".

"All wars end on the political table, but, unfortunately, they will continue for a long time," Rama added.