Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted for the first time regarding the announcement that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a few days ago, where it said that the procedures for the replacement of the American ambassador, Yuri Kim, had started.

In a statement to the press, Rama said that the process for her replacement was not initiated by the Albanian government, but by the US Department of State.

“No ethics of any kind have been broken and the process to replace the ambassador has started as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of course, we have not started the process, the State Department has started it, as for all ambassadors, when it comes to US ambassadors. America is special to us, we don’t comment on all the ambassadors, because even if we did, no one would care, right? 

No, the bond between me and the ambassador is stronger than ever, if we can use the metaphor of cracks and sticks. There is no problem, we had a long, constructive, friendly meeting yesterday, there is no problem. In other words, whoever hopes for a crack in our relationship is simply wrong,” he emphasized.

The US ambassador, Yuri Kim, responded to the discussion regarding her mandate, stressing that she will be “a little longer in Albania”.

Kim also said that Albanians are feeling the results of the justice reform, but should be encouraged for more.

According to the ambassador, with all the progress achieved, it is not time to say ‘enough’ and rest, but to work harder.