Nedos: Relations between Greece and Albania literally at a dead end

Following the recent visit to Athens by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, during which he addressed an Albanian diaspora rally but did not meet with any Greek officials, foreign policy commentator from Athens, Vassilis Nedos, tells Kosovo Online that the relations between Greece and Albania are literally at a dead end.

"I would say that the atmosphere within the Greek government regarding Rama is not very positive," Nedos says.

He points out that out of the 5,6 thousand people who attended Rama's speech on May 12, half of them came from Albania by bus, which is why Nedos concludes that this visit was not as successful as Rama had hoped.

The Albanian Prime Minister, among other things, stated at the rally that Albania wants to live in harmony with all its neighbors, and Nedos notes that Rama did say some kind words directed at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, but at the same time, he made rather nationalistic comments, such as claiming that Albanians are co-owners of Greece because they live and work there.

"I would say that Rama does not intend to lower the tone but wants to use the difficulties in Albanian-Greek relations as a way to strengthen his image in his own country," Nedos says.

He emphasizes that during previous visits to Athens, the Albanian Prime Minister met with his compatriots, but this time it was a political gathering.

"The Albanian government announces that Rama will also visit Milan and London to meet with compatriots who live and work there. However, a significant detail about the visit to Athens is that he came on May 12, the anniversary of the arrest of the Greek mayor of Himara, Freddy Beleris. I think this speaks volumes. The way Rama speaks in Albania or abroad, the Greek government sees it as undermining bilateral relations. And it is not just about the Beleris case. It started a year ago, and the Greek side has done everything it could to find a compromise with Rama. However, with each diplomatic attempt by Greece, Rama initially agreed, only to later retract his decision or promise. Therefore, I would say that the atmosphere around Rama within the Greek government is not very positive," Nedos notes.

Our interlocutor also explains what preceded Rama's visit and why there was no meeting with Greek officials. He notes that Rama sent his closest advisor, Endri Fuga, to Athens in mid-April to announce to Greece that Rama would come to Greece on May 12 to speak at a gathering with compatriots living and working in Greece. At that time, the Greek side asked Rama if he could postpone his visit to Athens for a few weeks until the European elections in Greece, scheduled for June 9, were over. However, the Albanian side rejected this request, and Rama proceeded as initially planned.

"The Greek government assessed that if it did not allow Rama to come to Greece, it would create further noise around this visit and would be used by the Albanian Prime Minister as an argument against Greece. It is clear to everyone here that Rama's visit was planned because he sensed that the detained Greek mayor would be a candidate for the European elections on June 9, and the visit was a response to that and a way to show what he thought. It was clear from the start that no one from Greece would meet with Rama officially or unofficially, and I don't think there can be official visits or meetings between the Greek and Albanian Prime Ministers in such a situation," Nedos concludes.