Albania’s President Bajram Begaj reacted Thursday morning to the arrest of three police officers from the Kosovo Police, who according to official statements from Pristina, were abducted by Serbian forces.
Begaj described the incident as a serious provocative act aimed at destabilizing not only Kosovo but the entire region.
“I strongly condemn this act and call on the Serbian authorities to release the Kosovo officers. I also call on international partners to intervene and discourage further similar actions,” Begaj writes.
The Albanian head of state urged Kosovo not to succumb to provocations but to contribute to the reduction of tensions.
“Coordination with the United States and European Union for the resumption of dialogue is crucial,” said the President of Albania.
A day earlier, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also responded to critics on social media regarding the absence of his reaction to this issue.
“Those who claim that we are keeping silent or who seek to fuel the fire by raising accusations while KFOR is investigating the case, would not care about either Kosova or Albania, but only about the murky political fight with me or the imaginary war policy with Serbia,” said Rama.
Whoever says that we are keeping silent or who seeks for us to fuel the fire by raising accusations, while KFOR is investigating the case would not care about either Kosova or Albania, but only about the murky political fight with me or the imaginary war policy with Serbia!
— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) June 14, 2023
He emphasized that Albania is part of the Euro-Atlantic community and follows the same line as them, awaiting the word of KFOR, which is investigating the case, while also adhering to the request for an immediate de-escalation of the situation.
The Prime Minister of Albania cancelled the joint meeting of the governments of Albania and Kosovo and stated that he had requested a meeting in a closer format with his Kosovar counterpart, Albin Kurti.
He said he is waiting for Kurti’s response to a meeting between them while warning that “a terrifying plan of sanctions is ready to be implemented against Kosovo”.
Since the escalation of the situation in the northern part of Kosovo at the end of May, Prime Minister Edi Rama has held a critical position regarding the actions of Kosovar institutions.
These developments are seen as a low point in the Kosovo-Albania interstate relations.
