The Greek Foreign Ministry responded to allegations by the Albanian Foreign Ministry linking a “wave of killings” of Albanians with language of “hatred” adopted by the Greek Ministry, stressing that Greece was a European state where the rule of law functioned effectively.

The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Alexandros Yennimatas made the following statements:
“Greece is a European country, where the Rule of Law functions effectively. The competent Authorities immediately dealt with the situations referred to by Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which were investigated and have already been solved, as is mentioned in a relevant statement by the Hellenic Police.
The decisiveness of the Greek Authorities to crack down on crime in all its forms is a given. Likewise, we reiterate our self-evident condemnation of every form of violence and racism, which can lead to loss of human lives.
The generalisations attempted by Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, connecting various criminal cases and attributing these to an undeclared “campaign of hatred and violence” do not correspond with reality and are unacceptable.
Awaiting the final report on the death of Greek citizen Konstantinos Katsifas by the fire of Albanian security forces, we call upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the neighbouring country to demonstrate responsibility as well as the composure and self-restraint dictated by the circumstances.”

The Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was referring to the death of an Albanian aged 18 named Marios Isak, who was found dead in Kavala, northern Greece on Tuesday. However, the circumstances of his death had been resolved with another Albanian taking responsibility for the incident, saying he had killed his compatriot accidentally.
The Greek police force (EL.AS) also responded to the unfounded and distorted allegations noting it had detected and detained the culprits in each separate case alluded to by the Albanian Ministry.
The Albanian ministry had called on Greek authorities to condemn the deaths, linking them to Golden Dawn or other extremist segments.
Relations between Albania and Greece were strained last month when Albanian police shot dead Kostantinos Katsifas, 35, an ethnic Greek after he was involved in a shooting exchange with Albanian special forces in the majority-Greek village of Vouliarates in Albania.