Former PM Sali Berisha met on Wednesday for the first time with the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party since the day that he was banned from it by former leader Lulzim Basha.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Berisha said that he does not recognize Basha’s decision.

“The decision argued from Alibeaj is null”, Berisha said.

Responding to those calling on him to ‘take a step back’, DP’s former leader said ‘you can’t compare the winner to the loser, it is a major logical mistake’.

According to Berisha, factions created from his row with Basha, made the DP ‘even more united in its diversity.

“There’s a diversity that is making the DP even more democratic”, he said.

Berisha was initially suspended from DP’s parliamentary group and then banned, after the US State Department designated the former premier as a politician ‘involved in serious corruption’.

The parliamentary group meeting began with interim leader Enkelejd Alibeaj throwing accuses against Sali Berisha.

According to him, reconciliation can take place only if Berisha takes a step back, just as Basha did.

This type of rhetoric must be stopped in order for Democrats to reunite. But there’s something really important, just as one of the leaders quit, the same should happen with Berisha. Not as a condition, but as a need of the people”, Alibeaj told media on Thursday.

He added that Berisha’s presence at today’s meeting is ‘unacceptable’ as he is banned from the parliamentary group.

Notably, several important party figures did not attend the meeting, including Lulzim Basha, Agron Gjekmarkaj, Alfred Rushaj, Flutura Açka, Grida Duma, Ilda Dhori, Kreshnik Collaku, and Orjola Pampuri.