Joint press conference of PM Rama, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Montenegrin PM Dritan Abazovic:

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy: 

Today we received at a unique format of cooperation, a very important meeting, practically a summit between Ukraine and the Western Balkan countries, the Prime Minister of Albania and the Prime Minister of Montenegro, who visited us in person, and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, who joined us via a video message. I am very happy for further developing such a format of cooperation that will strengthen our states, the region and Europe in general. 

This meeting of ours testifies to the support of the esteemed Prime Ministers and, consequently, the people of these states for Ukraine, our territorial integrity, sovereignty, our course for full membership in the European Union, and, most importantly, the need to hold accountable all the perpetrators of the Russian atrocities and for everything they have done against Ukraine on our soil and against Europe. 

I would like to thank you honoured gentlemen for your support, especially in terms of weapons and the technical assistance.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you wholeheartedly Mr. President for the invitation to be here today. It is very humbling and I feel privileged together with Dritan and Dimitar, who for objective reasons couldn’t join us, as the Prime Ministers of three NATO member countries in the Western Balkans to be here with you and to witness our full support and solidarity with you and the Ukrainian people.

I am very happy that you agreed about our proposal to put together our efforts and together build a residential block, with each of our country constructing its own building for the families and the children of Irpin.

I know that the EU, represented by many countries and regions, has joined this process, but we want to do it without unnecessary bureaucracy. Let us be the first, maybe it will speed up the efforts of the rest.

On the other hand, we are here to express our full support for your idea and your request on behalf of the Ukrainian people addressed to the European Union to grant Ukraine the candidate country status.

And last, but not least, I am proud to publicly also share with you Mr. President that Albania, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and as co-penholder with the United States on Ukraine, is extremely privileged to voice there  the concerns and the demands of the people of Ukraine for a just peace.

Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic:

We consider this like our political as well as our moral obligation to come to Kyiv and symbolically shake the hand with you and give you a big hug for all the Ukrainian people that has really made a miracle until now and has tried with all capacities to defend the democratic values of Europe.

So you have a reliable and trustworthy friend on our part. We will do our best to support in every initiative and be sure that we have shared such an experience in the Western Balkans around three decades ago and we precisely know what an aggression, destruction and war crimes are.

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Question – The European Parliament has hinted that your countries are quite on the right path towards the EU accession. For many years now you have been delivering on reforms in your countries, but how do you see this fast-track membership for Ukraine being now an option. What do you think your own chances are for your countries to join the EU? Will there be any competition with Ukraine and how do you estimate Ukraine’s EU accession chances?

PM Edi Rama: 

I have to be frank with you and with the audience watching us now. You may be granted the candidate status and yet the day after the sun wouldn’t rise earlier. And life will continue to be as difficult as it is and it will hopefully improve thanks to your strength and resilience. I mean this is a very long process. I can no longer count how many years ago North Macedonia was granted the candidate status. So many years have passed since then. Albania was awarded the candidate country status in 2014 and here we are; we are still waiting to start the accession talks. And they keep telling us that Albania deserves to have its EU accession talks launched for some years now, but now there is something wrong going on between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Anyhow, we still don’t know when the accession talks would be launched as it doesn’t depend on us. 

We are here to simply tell not just to our dear friend President Zelenskyy, but to tell everyone publicly that we don’t mind it at all if the EU grants the candidate status to Ukraine. So nobody can now say “no, because if we are to award the candidate status to Ukraine, then these other guys waiting would start becoming nervous.” No! We won’t be nervous at all! On the contrary, we will be happy for the European Union, because it would do something very useful for itself too; mainly for itself, not just for Ukraine, but for itself.

 We do not want anyone to speculate on the fact that the EU is bypassing us and we are allegedly offended. This is not true. We believe that these are separate issues.

I strongly believe it is the right thing to do. Ukraine is asking? Very good, Ukraine should be granted the candidate status and the Ukrainian people should know it now and not next year or after two years, but right now, Ukrainians should know that in the European Union’s eyes that their future is in the European Union family. This is the only thing that the candidate status implies and nothing else. I already told you; you are the ones to build it and nobody would come to build it for you.