He is a maximalist and i would have acted differently if I were him.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told Italy’s La Stampa that Kovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti is a fortress and maximalist and that he would have acted differently in his place.

Asked if he was worried that a new front would be opened in the Balkans after the war in Ukraine, given the tensions in Kosovo and that Bosnia was “always on the verge of bursting,” Rama said there was much to worry about, but that until 10 years ago it was unthinkable for Balkan leaders to sit at the same table.

Noting that even today relations are not easy and that he did not meet Kurti during his visit to Pristina, while Aleksandar Vucic continues “flirting with Russia”, and Dodik threatens the secession of Republika Srpska, the Albanian Prime Minister says that “Serbia must be viewed differently”.

“Serbia must be viewed differently, it has a very serious aggressor past and is the author of ethnic cleansing, which it must leave behind. They built their foreign policy in a mirror corridor between the West, Russia and China. They have to make a decision, but I think they will choose the West and the democratic world,” Kosovo online quoted Rama as saying.

The conflict in Kosovo can become huge, albeit on a small scale.

“The situation with the Serb minority in the north may be small Donbass, but Serbia cannot be Russia, even if it wanted to,” Rama said.

When asked what the Prime Minister of Kosovo was doing wrong, Rama replied that he respected him, but that he would have acted differently.

“I respect that, but I would have made a completely different choice. He’s stubborn and a maximalist. He has a fantastic opportunity, a Franco-German peace plan. Agreements do not stay on the table forever, and then history makes you wait,” Rama said.

Asked if Turkey could find the key to a solution to the Ukrainian conflict, Rama said no one, not even Erdogan, had the magic keys to changing the “imperialist, anti-democratic and chauvinist vision, like Putin’s.”

“All wars are ending at the political table, but this one, unfortunately, will last a long time,” Rama said.

Asked whether the war in Ukraine is slowing down or favouring Albania’s EU membership, Rama said he hoped it would speed up the full integration of the countries in the region.

“This is no longer just a financial issue, but above all a geopolitical issue. In the long run, it would be good for the Western Balkans to enter without delay, so as not to leave black holes and space for third parties, who have already created problems for the region,” Rama said.