Prime Minister Edi Rama, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Xhaçka, and the Minister of Defence Niko Peleshi appeared a joint press conference after the extraordinary virtual summit of NATO heads of state and government on Russia’s attack on Ukraine:
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good evening everyone! I apologize for the delay as we were watching the press conference by the NATO Secretary General. As you already know, an extraordinary NATO Summit took place and it ended a little while ago and the reason why the Summit was called is the extreme escalation of Moscow’s approach to Ukraine, and everything is happening in the last 48 hours, a situation about which you have already reported and provided news coverage.
As you know, Albania is a member of the United Nations Security Council and not only that, but Albania is a also a co-penholder together with the United States of America at the UN Security Council, and therefore our position has been already announced at the highest body of the international politics right after the launch of the Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
On the other hand, we follow these developments with deep concern, with our thoughts and hearts going out to the people of Ukraine, as well as the Ukrainian leaders, who face direct life threats.
I don’t know whether you provided news reports and coverage either about President Zelensky now in military uniform and on the battlefield, or Ex- Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, who has picked up arms and showed up in one of Kyiv neighbourhoods surrounded by a group of armed people.
So, this is really a tragic situation and, on the other hand, it has also challenged the entire security architecture in Europe, it has also challenged the whole institutional structure of international politics, hitting indeed its very foundation, namely the international right and the international law.
The Summit today marked the pinnacle of an intense work and communication over the last few days, nights and hours, and the NATO Secretary General has announced the Summit’s conclusions, and in the meantime I found it appropriate to hold this extraordinary press conference to talk somehow more extensively about this war’s implications for Albania, which, unlike many other NATO countries, is not considerable dependant on an economic or trade ties with Russia, but nevertheless is not entirely unrelated to a dependence of such nature, both from Russia and Ukraine that we wish and hope to return to a normalcy, but that is actually far from normal today. Today is clearer than yesterday, what started to be experienced with the energy price crisis just few months ago, with the exponential rise in gas prices on international stock exchanges or with the rapid rise in oil prices, which has preceded, so to speak, this moment as a thrilling wind blowing off the house of nations, where in the meantime there is a wave of accompanying inflation certainly with the rise in prices in general, as a direct consequence of the very strong recovery of the economy and the economic activity following the end of the pandemic lockdown and restrictive measures.
We are the only country or one of the few countries, so to say, that haven’t increased the electricity price.
The main focus in all communications I have had on the eve of this Summit and in the meetings on the margins of the Munich Security Conference have been the increased electricity price in the neighbouring countries, from Kosovo to Greece or Italy, which has significantly grown the bill of household consumer spending, as well as the business spending. We have pledged to do utmost effort to keep the electricity price under control, because we are definitely aware of the effect it would have, as well as the psychological shock it would cause, especially to household consumers and small businesses. To this end we have radically altered the whole electricity export and import management scheme, and we have succeeded to date thanks to immense efforts by the government.
Of course, governments are evaluated for what happens, but the attentive eyes of economists or finance experts also focus on what is not allowed to happen, and this is something very important for us and in our daily work during this whole period, keeping the energy price for consumers and business at bay.
I am very sorry that a group of business community representatives have tabled a series of demands as if they have just landed from the Moon and have no idea whatsoever about what is happening on Earth.
On the other hand, at today’s Summit we expressed our readiness – and many countries also did the same this time, unlike in the case of the poor Afghan refugees who were abandoned although they were siding with NATO over so many years there – to host and welcome people, families that are fleeing or will be fleeing Ukraine, which of course something very natural for us, so to say, because this is our history, and this is what we Albanians are and this is also the treasure that we have a duty to pass on to our children, as one of the greatest assets of the moral culture of this country and this nation, but of course as I said in this situation and in this conflict, the issue of these people will be very much like to the attention of many countries and all countries in the Eastern flank, have openly affirmed this. However, I wanted to provide such information also to avert any speculations, suggesting that 100,000, 200,000 or two million Ukrainians would come to Albania, as it has always been the case with certain media speculating that Albania was to harbor over 600.000 refugees. But it is not about such huge figures.
These are more or less the things I can say in this introduction. Of course, since we have invited you, you will help us to complete any element that may be of public interest, but I would beg you very much to focus on this topic and not ask questions on other issues.
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– Mr. Rama, most of the European countries, including Kosovo today, have imposed sanctions on Russia. Indeed, it is not my intention to focus on this issue, since I know the extent of impact of Albania’s sanctions on Russia, but I would like to ask you whether in tandem with the commitment you have expressed as NATO member and UN Security Council member, is Albanian government working to minimize impact of this war on Albanian economy given the fact, as you already noted, that around 65% of wheat is imported from Russia, while Albania exports to Ukraine. Does the government have a plan? Is the government exploring ways to prevent this situation from having an impact on the energy and food prices?
PM Rama: First of all, I think we should carefully refer to every detail of the entire list of sanctions, because it is a list of specifics, as it doesn’t include sanctions on any goods and any materials.
Second, it is true that Albania’s sanctions against Russia are irrelevant in terms of volume. However, it is not about Albania only imposing sanctions on Russia, but it is the whole Alliance of nations that agree and impose sanctions and Albania is part of this Alliance and it definitely embraces every decision made by the Alliance. So, countries affiliated with Alliance also do the same, although they are not members of the Alliance, such as Kosovo, in this case, as you mentioned it. So, based on the analysis we have done, we will not experience very disturbing effects.
Of course it is war, it’s a real war, it’s not a documentary, or it’s not a playstation, or it’s not an event that could happen on any other continent.
It is a real war on the threshold of the European Union and many EU members are engaged in broad trade and economic activity with Russia, which means that all these sanctions cause austerity, which of course are reflected, not simply in the economic life of those countries with such direct relations, but also other countries in relations with them. So, it’s the same what we were talking about at the very beginning, when I appeared to announce what was coming about the energy crisis and it was of course neither the first nor the last time when most varied interpretations were made, but not just about the topic and the truth did not get much attention, when the speculations started, suggesting “we produce all the electricity ourselves,” “we do not need others,” “we use gas” and all sorts of other speculations.
First of all, we do not produce all the electricity ourselves. This is the first untruth. Albania has never generated enough electricity to meet its consumption needs, since the day we embarked on this democratic journey.
Second, we purchase electricity in the international markets, which means that prices in the international markets matter a lot.
Third, we unfortunately sell cheap and buy high, because we sell electricity when power generation is at its peak during the rainy season and we purchase electricity when electricity production is scarce or during the dry summer season. So, all these factors definitely make Albania vulnerable to the international conjuncture and therefore, first we have made a change, we have reversed the export-import scheme, which has helped us a lot at this stage.
Second, we are finally working on construction of Skavica hydropower plant, a project the country has been missing over decades and which is indeed not merely one more hydropower plant, but it will balance the entire system, as it would allow us not to discharge a single drop of water when the water inflow level is higher than the cascade can hold; the project will help us not to sell even a single kilowatt at a cheap price, but we will be able to catch all this volume of water in this huge reservoir. This is the reason. In the meantime, what matters most is that we need to go on with our work and daily activities, because we are a NATO member country and it was insistently reiterated by all NATO countries today that every NATO nation has adopted another defence mode.
This means that in the case of Ukraine it is about a partner country, which has been attacked, but this doesn’t immediately activate article 4, or article 5, if I am not mistaken, under the NATO Charter.
Article 4 is actually the one that convened today’s Summit, but Article 5 of the NATO Charter is commonly referred to as the “collective defence” clause when a fellow member is under attack. I am saying this, because I encounter this on the comments that I read to learn more from the ordinary people when it comes to such situations, and based on the public opinion we have found through the survey for our own internal purposes, there are people who are really concerned that the war could affect Albania and we lack military aircraft, missiles etc.
Albania is a NATO member not to be equipped with missiles. Albania is part of NATO as a member with a series of its own priorities that are best coordinated with the Alliance, it has its own army strengthening plans; Albania is hosting the investment in construction a NATO airbase, which means NATO airplanes, will be deployed here, and there is no reason for us to worry about this.
Of course, if World War III is to break out, this is something we can neither anticipate, nor avert it, just like we can’t anticipate or avoid something happening to us as soon as we walk out of our homes.
In other words, this is not the case at all. We should merely and only be aware that the ongoing war is for real and it has definitely a real impact on the economy and this impact will be measured in the process as events unfold. I underlined all this to tell everyone that we are in a solid and even in “a solid” position, or that we don’t face any specific problem or a different problem from what the whole Europe faces.
– Taking notice of the fact that Serbia has not taken a firm stand to condemn Russian aggression, but also taking notice of the Serbia-Russia close ties, there is a sense of fear and an impression in these last two days that Kosovo is somehow under threat, or more precisely it is likely some old conflicts or some old claims can be rekindled in the Balkans. In your view, is the Balkans endangered due to this situation, and if Serbia chooses to lean more towards the East rather than the West, will you reconsider your position, or Albania will reconsider its position in the Open Balkans initiative?
-The next question is addressed to the Defence Minister. You already explained it briefly, but I would like to know what Albania’s defence capacities are today? Thank you!
Defence Minister Niko Peleshi: I would start by answering the second question first. As the Prime Minister explained, we are fortunate enough to be a NATO member and we are one of the 30 allies within the NATO and the Article 5, as already explained, is about the collective defence, which means that if a square centimetre of the territory of a fellow member is attacked, NATO acts as one. Albania has its own Armed Forces that are combined with the NATO capacities in general, with our troops tasked with conducting NATO operational assignments; the country has objectives to enhance defence capacities as part of NATO membership obligations and in which we are largely investing. Second infantry battalion is a NATO capacity, ready to be used by NATO in defence and deterrence operations.
I want to recall the fact that NATO is a defence Alliance that attacks to deter and prevent as a core element in its overall strategy. So, our entire army modernization process and efforts to raise standards and capacities of our Armed Forces are aimed at deterring. Our participation in the joint military exercise, as you already saw in the largest military drill in the last 30 years, aims to flex and show the Alliance’s muscles and we are lucky enough to be part of the Alliance and a host country of this exercise last year.
Specifically, to put it in more concrete and clearer terms in the wake of this situation, NATO has enhanced presence on its eastern borders and we have made our concrete commitments. Today we dispatched a contingent of 30 servicemen to serve as part of KFOR 1 mission. In the meantime, a company and another platoon are ready to be deployed on the Alliance’s eastern borders to increase security and deter the Russian aggressor.
PM Edi Rama: I would start by providing an answer for this part of the question and then comment on how much risk we face given that we are located in the Balkans. Keep in mind the fact that last year Albania hosted one of the largest military exercises ever conducted on this part of the continent, namely the Defender 2021 that saw participation of all NATO forces and this drill will take place again next year.
We have of course coordinated all the steps we have taken with the United States, with all the strategy we have pursued in building the upper part of this relationship that has been very good previously too, but that has now been taken to a whole new level. One should not forget that it was this governing majority to sign the strategic partnership document between the United States and we have turned Albania into a very ‘neuralgic point of the bilateral defence relations with the US, as well as within NATO itself, by hosting the US Special Operations Command in Europe (SOCEUR).
Building the regional command post for US special forces in Albania means that not only we are not alone, but we are among the strongest by, as I already said, expanding this cooperation to the infrastructure level with construction of the airbase and, the last but not least, I believe you all remember that Harry Truman aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, which is a huge military airbase on its own, conducted a manoeuvring exercise in Albanian territorial waters a month ago, and this means there is no reason for us to worry whether we have the right defence capacities with the most sophisticated arsenal of the world today. There is no doubt about this.
As far as Serbia is concerned, this is certainly the case for all of those who spare not a single moment to take advantage of the situation to speculate again over the Open Balkan initiative. We haven’t lacked clarity or information about Serbia’s position in terms of its foreign policy when we embarked on this process. It didn’t take for us for Russia to attack Ukraine so that we could find out about Serbia’s ties with Russia.
On the other hand, based on the preliminary information I have received – I have yet to read all the stances – the President of Serbia has spoken up about Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which definitely represents an ambiguous position typical of Serbia’s foreign policy. Meanwhile, I think that what we are discussing today is significantly important and we are not in an emergency to draw conclusions in terms of further progress of the Open Balkan initiative, as we will have to see many things in the future.
There are many aspects we need to see, not vis-à-vis Serbia, but in terms of how the process is taking place, because today’s situation is as such that we can see – God forbid it – the Ukraine’s democratically elected leadership killed or kidnapped, we can witness appointment of a puppet government there and a country that can be transformed into a totally different world by being controlled militarily.
Meanwhile, sanctions are now being imposed and we will need to take notice of the dynamics and the position of the countries in the Alliance, the European Union and the United States, and other countries that are considered neutral.
We are in no hurry on this. The Open Balkan initiative is not a project on creation of an organization or an international body in the region, an EU-like organization in the region, let alone a new Yugoslavia. I have stated this since day one. We haven’t joined the Open Balkan initiative to achieve friendship compatibility, neither make Serbia an US ally or to convince Serbia to embrace our position towards Moscow.
We don’t intend to alter our position towards Moscow. This is impossible and nor did we even think about it. On the other hand, we also are not here to ask Serbia to do so.
Our relations in view of the Open Balkan initiative are strategic, regional and totally pragmatic relations to avoid precisely what was mentioned in your question, namely the conflict, which would cause an unprecedented damage to the region. Whether Russia can go too far into our region and can use Serbia, the Republika Srpska or the Bosnian Serb Republic or other pro-Russian forces, this is something that remains to be seen and there is no reason for us to speculate. These are issues that were up for discussion at today’s meeting, to put it clearly and one should not forget that the Open Balkan initiative is something more than a local project.
The Open Balkan initiative is a project strongly supported by the United States and many Western allies and partners and is definitely not being rejected as it was the case with it at the very beginning. Therefore, we will discuss everything with everyone and we will decide what to do in the process, but I see no problem at all for the time being and there is no reason to worry about it.
– Mrs. Minister, is there any Albanian national currently in the territory of Ukraine and, Mr. Prime Minister, do you think that the world could return to the Cold War now 30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe due to this war and its potential escalation? Thank you!
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka: As we have actually announced several times, Ukraine is also home to a small Albanian community of dozens of Albanian nationals, who are integrated into Ukrainian society over many years now. A total of 11 Albanian nationals are being seconded by the OSCE as part of the organizations’ evacuation plan. I have communicated with the OSCE officials there and they are all safe and sound. We are in constant communication with them and they will return to Albania soon. Meanwhile, as far as the rest of the Albanian community, or Albanian nationals living for years in Ukraine, we have been contacting a very small number of them, five or six of them, who have demanded assistance to flee Ukraine, but it has certainly been impossible for them to leave the country by air. We have suggested they travel by land and our embassies in Warsaw and Romania are ready to welcome and assist them to return back home.
PM Edi Rama: In my capacity as Prime Minister, I have been given the opportunity to establish some beneficial relations with previous European leaders and today I came across a statement by ex-French President Sarkozy, with whom I consult on foreign policy issues from time to time, and he had been called from current President Macron for consultations according to a tradition of French presidents in times of crisis, including war, and he had said that NATO is no longer working, the EU is no longer working, the G7 is no longer working, the G20 is no longer working, the United Nations is a problem and the whole architecture of international politics, the international institutions and the international bodies of the twentieth century need to be revisited and rebuilt for the 21st century challenges. This was the French president’s opinion and I recalled it while you were making your question whether the world can reinstate the Cold War. It is too early to make any predictions and time will tell what will emerge from this terrible crisis. I always think that every crisis is a serious problem and such a crisis is about human lives, but it is also a great opportunity. It all remains to be seen how such a crisis can turn into a huge opportunity for the whole world and Europe in particular.
– As a non-permanent UN Security Council member, as a NATO member, do you think that President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people were let down by the international community and do you think that the world’s most powerful military alliance has the capacity to shelter refugees only? Do you also think that NATO could decide to accept Ukraine as a member country in an extraordinary summit like the one today given that all this is actually happening because of Ukraine’s ambition to join the Alliance? Thank you!
PM Edi Rama: I delivered my remarks behind the closed doors of the extraordinary summit via the secure NATO line. The internal NATO discussions are secret and all these questions actually cover a range of topics that deserve a broad discussion and it seems we are moving ahead on this path and such discussions will certainly take place, because one should not forget what happened following the withdraw from Afghanistan, about which I have remarked publicly, after having expressed my opinion within the NATO. However, it is not the right moment to engage in such debates, as this is a very tragic moment when, as I already said, Ukraine’s democratically elected leadership faces death threats.
This is the situation right now and I don’t think we should discuss further on this aspect, but NATO is definitely the most powerful Alliance that exists and has ever existed. However, it remains as such within its safe area and if the Alliance was to be forced to intervene outside its area, beyond its borders, this would simply mean declaring World War III.
– Mr. Prime Minister, will the Albanian state voluntarily offer to provide shelter to Ukrainian citizens if necessary? Thank you!
PM Edi Rama: Welcome. I already affirmed this at the very beginning of this press conference, but it seems you weren’t here.
-A question for Foreign Minister. A few minutes before this press conference, some colleagues in Kyiv informed us that a good part of the citizens, including immigrants, are being armed to fight as the citizens have expressed their readiness to fight. Are you informed whether Albanian nationals living in Ukraine have expressed their readiness to fight too? Is there real-time communication with them? Thank you!
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka: We have no such information. As I already noted, it is about 60 Albanian nationals who have been already integrated into Ukrainian society over the years, even decades. We have no such information. We have information only from those who have contacted us to assist them during their crossing the border and assistance then they can get from our representatives where they can go. And there are very few. There are five or six who have constant contact. This is the only information we have.
PM Edi Rama: Except for the last minute information we received about a young man, who has recently appeared on the international media too, and it is reported that he has been killed. He was serving in the Ukrainian army and he used to live in Ukraine, where he was married to a Ukrainian woman and was living there for several years now.
– Mr. Prime Minister, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated a day ago that Russia’s aggression on Ukraine is similar to Milosevic’s attack on Kosovo. Do you think it is the same form of aggression against the two countries? Thank you.
PM Edi Rama: I would refrain from commenting on comments, not because that there is any doubt over similarity in terms of brutality, because as everyone can recall today the then Kosovo leaders and political personalities risked their own lives. The late President Rrugova was actually taken hostage, but this is something that has not happened in Europe, namely invading militarily another sovereign state. So, I hope I will meet with the British Prime Minister in the coming days, as we will travel to London and discuss this issue, as we have been in contact during these days.
Thank you very much!
