Russia: Albania Great is hindering Pristina dialogue

Russia's Foreign Ministry has reacted after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's statements regarding the creation of “Greater Albania” and according to them the silence of the Western countries faced these Albanian ambitions.

They quote Prime Minister Rama in an interview given on the “Real Story” in Vizion Plus that has declared that “Kosovo is part of Albania” and that Albania's “association with Kosovo is not in the secondary but primary plan of the Albanian agenda”

The Russian Foreign Ministry says the West should not pretend not to listen to these statements, as they also undermine Pristina-Belgrade dialogue. Russia says it does not support the creation of ethnically divided states.

Unfortunately, the West follows to claim that these aspirations of Greater Albania require no attention, not even the intensifying of efforts to integrate areas with Albanian populations from a number of Balkan countries. We believe that creating separate states along clear ethnic lines is not the most useful solution. These aspirations harm not only the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina but also affect the atmosphere of charity in the Balkan region”, the statement said.

Likewise, Russia has invited Albania's Western partners to convince Kosovo institutions to establish the Assolution of Serb municipalities, as an obligation coming from the 2013 agreement.