During a meeting at the University of Tirana, PM Edi Rama made a sarcastic comment about the US, which led to an awkward situation and what seemed like some good-natured banter from the US ambassador, Yuri Kim.

Initially, Rama said that the US promises a ton but actually does very little – referring here to their pledge to take back Afghani migrants.

After this sarcastic remark, the ambassador reacted by asking if Rama was ok and whether there might have been an issue with the translation.

Then the Albanian PM went on with his dry humor by saying that there was definitely a problem with the translation and that the US officials are better off firing her on the spot.

During this discussion at the very end of Rama’s meeting with Kim, the sound was cut off briefly.

It’s worth mentioning that the press wasn’t invited at this meeting and the video footage for this particular moment was recorded by state-run operators and made public by PM Rama on his social media account.

Snippet from today’s discussion:

Rama: Afghani students were able to come to Albania and not only feel at home but also find a space where they can feel themselves. Soon, they will go overseas and I hope they won’t be disappointed because they will definitely not be treated as well as they were here. But hey, they too will be forced to learn how to not treat others well, so they’ll be alright.

Canada is also taking in many migrants and the US too – not as many as they promised however, because they’re a bit used to promising a lot and actually doing very little when it comes to concrete things, but when it comes to standards and values, they hand them to us non-stop and by the bucket load because they have plenty of those.

And we accept them with pleasure, but if we’re talking about standards, values and preachers we have plenty of those here, we listen to them day in and day out, they give us great generosity. When it comes to concrete things, they are a bit more careful about giving because they don’t have a lot, I feel bad, they don’ have much and are not in a position to give more. But that’s OK.

However, it’s great to be here today, all of us and the ambassador. I liked the part where the Dean said: “We guarantee you Mrs. Ambassador” …It reminded me of the time of the communist regime when the party secretary would come and the dean would tell him: “We guarantee you, Mr. Secretary of the Party Committee, that we will work so hard that the party and the people can be proud of us. And we guarantee you as well. Of course, we do. Thank you so much. That’s all from me, I wish you all the best and long live the Albanian-Afghani friendship!

Kim: What’s wrong with you? I’m sure there was something wrong with the translation. I heard something strange.

Rama: Of course, the Albanian translator is to blame. Just fire him. You should fire him now.

Translator: I think they will fire me.

Watch the full video or this excerpt at minute 46:00