-Mr. Prime Minister, do you have any comments on the most recent statement by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who voiced support for the Open Balkans Initiative, while saying that NATO and the European Union wanted the “closed” Balkans?

PM Edi Rama: It is regrettable that you fall so easily into the trap of the sarcasm of an internationally known personage for his sarcastic language and the manipulation of such sarcasm by those who blow the coals of divisions and hatred for the narrow vested interest of daily politics in our Balkan “villages”. If the gentleman were to be the promoter or supporter of the Open Balkans, of course the Balkans would be minimally open to him, but he was prevented from entering the Balkans and the Balkans for him is closed, totally closed and therefore he was unable to obtain a permission to enter the Balkans and he was blocked by the Balkan countries themselves.

– Mr. Prime Minister, in your remarks today you said that certain people – although declining to name them – want to import the Ukrainian conflict to the Balkans. Who precisely did you refer to?

– Mr. Prime Minister, is there any concrete step to be made so that Kosovo joins the initiative, since the calls from the summit are clearly not enough? Taking notice of your warning that the cold weather won’t be the only issue we will be facing in the upcoming winter, as we may face troubles in securing electricity supplies, what measures do you plan to cope with such a potential scenario?

PM Edi Rama: Kosovo is sovereign and it makes the decisions for itself. Kosovo seat at the Open Balkans is there and nobody will take its seat, nobody would fill its seat if Kosovo itself doesn’t and I don’t want to make no further comments, because I have already said whatever I have had to say. The invitation is always there, yet I fully respect the decision of Kosovo authorities to leave their country’s seat empty. I respect it.

– Mr. Rama, you often accuse the European Union of bureaucracies and delays. You launched the Open Balkans initiative thinking that the Berlin Process was not progressing properly. What has happened after the eight meetings under the Open Balkans initiative? It was just yesterday when we crossed the Qafe Thane border crossing and we noticed that checks were still conducted on both sides of the border.

PM Edi Rama: First of all, I don’t accuse the European Union.  I have no accusations to level against the EU. On the contrary, I am 100% committed and determined European with or without the EU and as long as the EU remains the greatest, the most beautiful and the most courageous project ever created by the political mind, it definitely remains my and our only destination. So, this is not an accusation, but it is just a fact that the European Union has delayed us, it is a fact that the EU fails to deliver on the promises it makes regarding our European integration process and I am the last one to underline it as it is a fact already acknowledged by the EU representatives themselves.

As for the second question, I would invite you to stop again at the border on your way back home and you would see a dedicated green lane opened under the Open Balkans agreements. Authorized Economic Operators cross the border through the green lane and the exchanges between our countries have increased significantly. And I already pointed out important data on the agricultural exports and the visitor numbers in Albania as important achievements since the launch of the Open Balkans initiative. These are definitely a result of the Open Balkans.

-Mr. Prime Minister, this is the eighth Open Balkans summit and the fourth one attended by international institutions and organizations. What has been secured from these organizations at today’s summit?

PM Edi Rama: We are here and you see for yourself who has been attending the previous summits that are increasingly seeing a larger participation and interest is much higher, the support is very convincing while we are here to finalize some other important steps we will take in the future. A special session on food security will be held in Belgrade, along with a big food and wine fair under the Open Balkans

A special session on energy security is set to take place in Albania, which has become a point of reference for the region’s energy future and there are many other new things taking place on a daily basis. We will soon sign another important agreement with a giant of the power supplies. A special session will be held on connectivity, the transport networks and projects in North Macedonia, whereas another session on tourism and environment is scheduled to take place in Montenegro.

– The opposition parties both in North Macedonia and Albania have branded the Open Balkans initiative as a Russian influence in the Balkans. Do you have any comments on these statements?

PM Edi Rama: First of all, I don’t make any comment on the Albanian opposition when abroad. This is a principle! Second, claiming the Open Balkans is a Russian project is like claiming that the European Union is a new Yugoslavia.

– Mr. Rama, how much importance is attached to the Corridor 8 project as part of the Open Balkans?

PM Edi Rama: Corridor 8 project has been reintroduced to the Open Balkans agenda.