Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama launched an unprovoked attack against a Greek-American journalist who was moderating a discussion he participated in during the Sustainable Development Summit in Abu Dhabi. Among other things, Rama told him, “You are not a descendant of Plato and Aristotle as you think,” while accusing him of undervaluing the economic significance of Tirana’s agreement with Saudi Arabia.

The incident began when John Defterios, the Greek-American moderator and longtime CNN journalist, mispronounced the names of both Edi Rama and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić during their introductions.

Once the two leaders took the stage for the discussion, the Montenegrin Prime Minister simply corrected Defterios after the journalist himself requested it. Immediately afterward, Edi Rama also corrected him but appeared visibly annoyed, blaming the mispronunciations on the journalist being Greek.

Later, during the discussion about energy investments in Albania, Rama said, “Let’s thank our mentor Sultan Al Jaber” (the UAE Minister of Energy) and asked Defterios if he knew him. Defterios, jokingly, smiled and replied, “How could I not know him?” prompting the audience to applaud.

The Albanian Prime Minister, apparently missing the joke, mocked the journalist: “As a Greek, you should have known him. This is what you do—you always belittle people because you think you have a monopoly on philosophy and are the direct heirs of Plato and Aristotle,” adding immediately, “But you’re not.”

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Rama’s attacks on the journalist and his heritage did not stop there. Toward the end of their discussion, he again addressed him aggressively regarding the size of an investment in Albania. When the journalist mentioned “one billion,” Rama corrected him twice, saying it was more:

“No, you’re calculating like a Greek again. When you talk about your own money, you add three zeros. When you talk about other people’s money, you subtract three zeros. That’s what you do. That’s why the EU loves you so much.”

Full dialogue excerpt

John Defterios: Let’s welcome His Excellency Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania. Great to see you, Edi. Please have a seat. And His Excellency Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro. I’ll allow you to correct me now, go ahead.

Milojko Spajić: Milojko Spajić.

John Defterios: Oh, Spajić, okay. I have Italian and Greek pronunciation.

Edi Rama: It’s Edi Rama, not Ramae.

John Defterios: (laughs) I’ve made a fantastic start with both of you.

Edi Rama: You’re Greek, right?

John Defterios: I am Greek, yes.

Edi Rama: That’s why you mispronounced our names. That’s what you do. I know because we are neighbors, and I know it very well.

John Defterios: (laughs) I’m glad to have both of you here.

…

Edi Rama: Our mentor, the man who gave one of the best speeches I heard yesterday. His name is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber. I don’t know if you know him.

John Defterios: Oh really? I’m not sure… (laughs and applause)

Edi Rama: As a Greek, you should know him better.

John Defterios: I don’t know how much better I could know him.

Edi Rama: You always belittle people. You think you have a monopoly on philosophy and that you are heirs of Plato and Aristotle. But you are not.

John Defterios: With all due respect…

Edi Rama: We must finish. I don’t want to take the time of this great country, Montenegro. Montenegro is the greatest and largest country in our region. It has 50 million citizens; we are a small country. Serbia is bigger, but Montenegro is number one. Sorry, we’ll leave it with some sweetness at the end.

…

John Defterios: It’s amazing—a one billion project to implement.

Edi Rama: It’s more than one billion.

John Defterios: One billion investment plus three such projects.

Edi Rama: It’s more than one billion.

John Defterios: Proceed.

Edi Rama: Again, you calculate like a Greek. When you talk about your own money, you add three extra zeros. When you talk about others’ money, you subtract three zeros. That’s what you do. That’s why the EU loves you so much.