The Minister of State for Relations with the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali has expressed the stance of Albania in support of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. In an interview with the show “This Week”, Spiropali responded to rumors that the acceleration of Ukraine’s membership in the union could cause “jealousy” in the Western Balkans.

Spiropali points out that during the meetings that the delegations of Albania and Montenegro held in Kiev this week, the prime ministers expressed their support for Ukraine’s European integration.

According to the minister, this step is necessary in such a context, as she stressed that it is not the time for the EU to raise bureaucratic issues.

“The prime ministers visited Ukraine for this reason as well. As some EU countries have claimed that the Western Balkans may feel betrayed or may perceive it as an unfair candidate status, at a time when they have not formally opened negotiations. The prime ministers made it clear that we strongly support candidate status for Ukraine. We have no issue with that. We understand what war is. We have had Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and yes, we know what it means to lose people. Sensitivity is higher than other countries and our support has been unconditional. I can modestly say that Europe needs to understand that this is not a bureaucratic issue, it is not a matter of the criteria for reforms now, it is a crucial security issue for Ukraine and Europe. Putin has it not only with Ukraine, but with the entire Europe. All his speeches prove that he has a Soviet mentality. Will we allow this man, no matter how powerful, to subjugate the entire international world order, to humiliate all the values ​​we believe in? To destroy the territory, to destroy the sovereignty of a country? Who guarantees that this will not happen with other countries, Moldova, Georgia or other countries? Ukraine today is proof for the western world. We must stand for Ukraine, as Ukraine stands for democratic values,” said Spiropali.

Spiropali focused even on the position of Ukraine to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

“The Prime Minister raised this issue in both meetings, as in the meeting with Zelensky and the Ukrainian Prime Minister. He made it clear that not only Albania and Montenegro, but also Kosovo has maintained the same positions in unconditional support for Ukraine. We definitely understand their reasons. In the Kosovo war, the context of Ukraine and pro-Russian governments has been quite different from what it is today. Understanding this context, where Ukraine is totally detached from the sphere of Russian influence in terms of governance, it is time for Kosovo to be recognized today. The issue of Crimea today has nothing to do with Kosovo’s independence. In the international case, there are completely different issues,’ Minister of State for Relations with the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali was quoted as saying.

/Klara Ruci/