After the meeting with the NATO Secretary General and the leaders of the other 4 member countries of the alliance in South-Eastern Europe, Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama announced that he requested an increase in the number of alliance forces in Kosova.

In his speech, during the joint press conference in Skopje, Rama considered the attack (of September 24) in the north of Kosova as tragic, as he said that it must be ensured that such a thing does not happen again.

According to the head of the Albanian government, it is necessary to guarantee the border between Kosova and Serbia since, according to him, it is out of control and at the service of illegal activities.

“In the north (of Kosova), a tragic event which should be considered a warning and not a sporadic event and should by all means not be repeated. That’s why I emphasized in the meeting the necessity of increasing the number of NATO forces in Kosova and the necessity to guarantee the border between Kosova and Serbia, which is out of control and is at the service of illegal arms and drug trafficking activities, activities that then get confused with political activity of an ultra-nationalist background that causes serious deviations such as the one in Banjska where a Kosova Police officer lost his life in the line of duty and where the high risk of destabilization and escalation of a conflict that has only one way to be addressed, which is at the dialogue table mediated by the EU,” Rama underscored.

Likewise, the Prime Minister emphasized that he has requested to proceed as soon as possible with Albania’s application to co-finance the NATO naval base in Porto Palermo. According to Rama, this new naval base of NATO would strengthen the common defense strategy.

“I also want to emphasize the request that Albania’s application to co-finance the NATO naval base in Porto Romano be processed as soon as possible because we believe that everything that happens reinforces the strategic value of such an investment, not simply for Albania or the region, but also for NATO itself, which will gain quick access to every part of Europe in respect to the common defense strategy. We will continue to be very engaged and dedicated to strengthen our capacities and increase the efficiency of the Armed Forces and remain a responsible and unwavering NATO member country in all common challenges,” declared Rama.

/a.p./