In a revelation that caused a sensation in both Italy and Albania, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama admitted that he had “smuggled” vaccines for the coronavirus with the cooperation of Italy’s foreign minister, Luigi di Maio, and the secret services of the two countries.
Rama’s revelation was made during a conference in the city of Bergamo when the prime minister of Albania referred to the first months of the pandemic and when the delivery of the first Pfizer vaccines had begun.
“At that time we had no vaccine and the pressure was great. People were afraid that they would die like fish out of water. So then I said to Di Maio (note: who was present at the conference): Can you give us a symbolic number to start vaccinating doctors and nurses?” Rama said.
“The first answer was negative because Pfizer had a very imperialistic and capitalist contract: I give them to you but you can’t give them anywhere else. It is anything but a Christian practice”, continued the prime minister of Albania.
“Then Luigi said to me ‘it’s serious, we can’t do it because we’re doing something wrong’. But we did this with an operation carried out by the secret services”, added Edi Rama.
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As he commented, “if I am Albanian-Italian, Di Maio is Neapolitan-Albanian, and we did a smuggling operation together. What kind of Italian or Albanian is someone if he always follows the law?”
Continuing his revelation Eddie Rama explained that there was, however, another problem as the vaccines could not remain hidden but had to be given to the people.
He even recalled a meeting he had with Pfizer lawyers in which he was asked where he got the doses for Albania. “‘From a friendly country’, I replied but they insisted that I tell them from which friendly country ‘otherwise we will file a lawsuit’. Then I said to them ‘we have learned from the Neapolitans that you should never, never, never betray your friends to the police’ and so I did not betray this friend of mine”.
Addressing, finally, Luigi Di Maio, Eddie Rama concluded: “Now we can tell everyone. Now you will have the papers writing that you are a smuggler. You are a free man Luigi”…
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