Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted to the attention given by some foreign media to the joke he exchanged in Denmark with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s slip about Albania.

Through a post on platform X, Rama stated that it was “nothing more than a good-humored moment among people” who, as he emphasized, “are among the greatest admirers of President Trump.”

“It is truly extraordinary how today’s media works and how so-called ‘virality’ can so easily distort reality. A sentence spoken in good humor, in the spirit of friendship, suddenly becomes a world headline of an entire summit involving dozens of nations, while everything else—the real substance—becomes irrelevant.

But yes, it was very entertaining today to be with my old friend Ilham Aliyev and, in the presence of our dear mutual friend Emmanuel Macron, to refer to President Trump’s mistake when he said that even Albania had managed to make peace with Azerbaijan—while Emmanuel himself had tirelessly worked for a long time to bring peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

A light remark, a friendly moment. Of course, it is not a problem if it spreads, but to distort it into political poison is simply unfair. So let’s clarify the situation: The truth is that President Trump has proven himself as a leader who restored the word ‘peace’ to the vocabulary of the West after many years. And yes, in an extraordinarily short time, he achieved peace where others tried but failed—and he continues to pursue it tirelessly. That exchange was nothing but a good-humored moment among people who, in fact, are among President Trump’s greatest admirers.”