Tirana leicht irritiert:
Russian Statement on Macedonia Infuriates Albania
Tirana has called in the Russian ambassador after the Kremlin blamed Albania and Kosovo for the recently reported 'terrorist' attack on a border post in Macedonia.
Gjergj Erebara BIRN Tirana
Russian Ambassador in Tirana Alexander Karpushin. Photo: Gent Shkullaku/LSA
Albania's Foreign Ministry on Monday said it had summoned the Russian ambassador, Alexander Karpushin, demanding clarification about a Russian statement on the recently reported armed incident in Macedonia.
Macedonian police on 21 April said that gunmen speaking Albanian had stormed a remote border police post near Kosovo and taken four police officers hostage before releasing them.
Some Macedonian experts, politicians and former commanders of a now disbanded Albanian paramilitary force have accused the Macedonian authorities of inventing or exaggerating the incident in order to distract the Macedonian public from the country's internal dramas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was “deeply alarmed” by the reported incident and blamed Kosovo and Albania.
“The incident on the Macedonian border is proof of the lingering sharp ethnic problems and conflict potential in that part of the Balkans. The situation is made worse by a major lack of law abidance and security in Kosovo, which obviously stems from the unresolved Kosovo problem in general,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.
“The calls for a Greater Albania that are heard more and more often in the region cannot be overlooked, either,” Moscow added.
Albania on Monday called the statement unacceptable. “The allegations against two sovereign states of Albania and Kosovo about the latest events in Macedonia are unacceptable and [have the potential] for destabilization,” the Albanian Foreign Ministry said.
“Such declarations are blackmail and do not serve for a constructive approach in the region, nor do they respect the widely accepted principles of international rights,” it added.
“Albania is a NATO member and a candidate to join the EU and any blackmailing statement from Russia will be seen from this perspective,” it added.
Russia has historically poor relations with Albania, is a close ally to Serbia, and does not recognize the independence of mainly Albanian Kosovo - which was a province of Serbia before proclaiming independence in 2008.
Albania has joined the Western stance on the conflict in Ukraine and has condemned the Russian for interference in the afairs of its western neighbour.
Pozdrav