Albanian PM Edi Rama on Wednesday fielded a question on relations with Greece and the recently emerged issue that Tirana tabled regarding the delineation of maritime borders in the Ionian Sea.
Rama answered the press question as he appeared with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic at a press conference. Vucic is on a closely watched on a two-day visit to Tirana.
“We do not negotiate the national interest for the sea with Greece … but do not want to close our eyes to such problems that affect our national security,” Rama said when asked about his government’s recent … request for maps of oil exploration by Greek interests in the Ionian, as well as on land.
He skirted the “land portion” of the question, while merely noting that he’s not willing to negotiate national interests for the sake of good-neighborly relations.
Rama, even as main opposition leader, exploited the continental shelf and maritime border issue for political gain at the expense of Greek-Albanian relations.
It remains to be seen whether the Tirana government will now choose recourse to the International Court to solve the issue that it raised — as Slovenia and Croatia did – or whether it will select the “exceptionalist” path employed by another perennial EU candidate in the eastern Mediterranean. The latter candidate, of course, sits on a much larger and strategically placed piece of real estate while pointedly not signing or ratifying the International Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Rama also fielded a question on the inclusion of a small and irredentist party (PDIU) in his government, a party representing the so-called “Cham community”. On the latter, he said he could not image Athens dictating whom the ruling party in Albania nominates for a Parliament vice-speaker’s seat.
Athens reply
A response was soon generated by the Greek foreign ministry spokesman, who called on Tirana to “return to reason and respect legality and international law.”
“The political leadership of the friend and neighbor country is slipping, in words and deeds, on a daily basis. Returning to reason and respect of legality and international law comprises the safest path for Albania’s European prospects…” spokesman Konstantinos Koutras said.
