Prime Minister Edi Rama is in London to attend the annual Berlin Process Summit. The event brings together government leaders, high-level EU representatives, partner countries, international financial institutions, and regional organizations.

Additionally, Rama was invited to the Future Resilience Forum 2025, an international forum on security and global policy. There, he was asked about Albania’s relations with Moscow.

Rama confirmed that no Albanian leader has visited the Kremlin since 1960 — and vice versa.

“No, thank you. I have not met Putin,” Rama said. “Albania is unique in Europe. No Kremlin official or high-profile figure from Moscow has visited Albania. Since 1960, no Albanian official has gone to Moscow to visit the Kremlin for any reason.”

He explained that this stance reflects Albania’s unique history. “We viewed the Soviets as traitors. We believed we were the ‘sole bastion of communism in Europe.’ When the Soviets abandoned Stalin, we continued to follow him. His bronze statue dominated our main boulevard until the 1990s. This shaped total mistrust and distance from Russia.”

Rama added, “We love Dostoevsky and Russian culture. But we do not like Putin or the current Russia. We have nothing to do with them, and we do not miss them.”

He also emphasized Albania’s independence from Russian influence. “We never yielded to Russian oligarchs or anything like that. For us, Russian music and literature are more than enough.”

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