Vote Against US at UN, Edi Rama gets praise from Palestine

Albania was ranked in the pro- resolution countries submitted by Turkey, which opposes the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The UN vote on the resolution came after President Donald Trump signed the decree on the transfer of the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on 6 December.

The vote for the resolution presented by Turkey triggered a series of debates in Tirana, while the government argued that stance in union with the European Union. On the other side The EU had no unified position, as by the vote some of the member states abstained or participated in the vote.

The UN vote was also accompanied by a strong stand by the US president, who warned that no US dollar would go towards these states.

But after the vote in Albania's Parliament, where Socialist deputies overturned the opposition's proposal to re-see the vote, against UN rules, it seems that Prime Minister Edi Rama has received a thank you.

It was Ambassador to Tirana Yasser Al-Najar who welcomed the Albanian Government's decision, while adding that this stance does not make Albania an anti-American country.

“Friends disagree, allies disagree. I say allies within the EU, within NATO, in the Arab world, agree on many things, but disagree on other things.

It's not a vote against it. When voted against a resolution brought by the United States or any other country, it doesn't mean you don't want to have relations with that country, or you're not allies anymore.

Americans understand this very well, and I hope most Albanian political leaders understand that.

We have to look forward. The issue of Jerusalem is a major issue for Palestine, Muslims, Arabs and all over the world, but the relations between America and Albania are very strong and have nothing to do with Jerusalem alone, the Palestinian diplomat said through a statement.