Albania–Greece relations

This week Albanian authorities finally moved to refer Fredi Beleri's case to trial. The ethnic Greek elected mayor of Himare has been in pre-trial detention for months, and as a result has been unable to take the oath of office.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis raised the issue of the release of the ethnic Greek mayor of Himare, Fredi Beleri, during a meeting with his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

The message from Athens to Tirana in Greek Ambassador Konstantina Kamitsi's statements to the Albanian press by was clear: The ongoing detainment of the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare in Albania will be a thorn in the side of Greek-Albanian relations for some time to come.

Kathimerini, being a prestigious newspaper, deserves praise for consistently bringing attention to the issue of Albania's treatment of its ethnic Greek minority, who primarily live in the south of the Balkan country. Here, however, I will switch roles. I will step into the position of an Albanian official in Tirana, responsible for monitoring developments in Greece.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias reiterated on Wednesday that the newly elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare in Albania, Fredi Beleris, must be released and that he does not understand the continuation of his detention. 

The ethnic Greek minority in Albania and the members of the Albanian community in Greece act as a bridge of cooperation between the two countries, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou told Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Tuesday.

Albania has yet to be held accountable for the “velvet ethnic cleansing” of the indigenous Greek Minority of Albania

"Bulgaria has always been among those countries of the European Union that support the European affiliation of the Albanian people". This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a position on the occasion of yesterday's speech by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

In the op ed text for the newspaper "Kathimerini", Mallias spoke about the relations between Greece, Albania and the so-called Kosovo, i.e. the policy pursued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias.

Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Stefan  Yanev conferred here on Tuesday with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is visiting this country on Tuesday and Wednesday,  the Government Information Service said in a press release.