Albanian PM refuses to be drawn on Kurti’s meeting snub

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama refused to comment on his Kosovar counterpart Albin Kurti’s refusal to meet him as a part of his Western Balkan tour, instead saying he will comment on the situation from Pristina on Thursday where he is set to meet President Vjosa Osmani instead.

In an interview earlier this week, Rama said it is time to focus on the Berlin Process and said he would commence a tour of Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia over the course of two days, meeting with respective leaders ahead of the Berlin Summit scheduled in Tirana in October.

Kurti, however, said he would not meet Rama on Thursday unless it was a government-to-government meeting like the one cancelled by Rama just days before the EU announced sanctions against Kosovo over tensions with Serbs in the north of the country.

Kurti said he is in constant communication with Rama and does not need personal time with him, rather just a meeting between cabinets where 13 agreements were set to be signed.

“If the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, insists on the cancellation of this meeting, then I stand my ground. We have direct contact, we meet frequently. If you see in the past two years of our government, I’ve had dozens of meetings with Prime Minister Rama. Relations between Kosovo and Albania, as well as democracy, peace and security in the Balkans, are not hindered because the Prime Minister of Kosovo does not meet with the Prime Minister of Albania,” he said.

Speaking after the government meeting on Wednesday, Rama refused to be drawn on Kurti’s response.

“In regards to me going to Pristina, I will speak when it is time to speak, and that is tomorrow in Pristina,” the Albanian prime minister said, exiting the press conference and refusing to take any other questions on the matter.

Meanwhile, Osmani confirmed she would meet Rama in Pristina on Thursday.

At 4:00 p.m., the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, will meet with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama,” an announcement from the president’s office states.

While Rama also said previously that the purpose of Open Balkan has been fulfilled and it is time to focus on the Berlin process, Kurti has long opposed the former initiative and expressed commitment to the Berlin Process instead.

The Berlin Process is a platform for high-level cooperation between the six Western Balkan countries, EU member states and institutions as well as financial institutions, civil society and businesses. It was initiated by former German chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)