Rama confesses to Spanish newspaper/ "We have zero relations with Russia, we have great respect for China"

2025-02-09 11:14:00, Politikë CNA

Rama confesses to Spanish newspaper/ "We have zero relations with Russia,

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Prime Minister Edi Rama, in an interview with the Spanish media outlet " La Razon ", spoke about relations with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with international partners, as well as Russia and China.

Rama spoke in superlatives about Sanchez and US President Donald Trump, while expressing confidence in Albania's membership in the EU by 2030.

As for Russia, the head of government stated that Albania has not had any relations with it since the fall of the communist regime.

For China, the Prime Minister emphasized that he has great respect, although economic relations are very small.

Full interview:

Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania since 2013, has presented the 30th edition of the World Justice Congress (WLC) in Madrid at the headquarters of Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo, where he took the opportunity to explain why Albania is the “land of opportunities” – with welcoming people, safe and beautiful like Spain but much cheaper.

"So come on," he encouraged his audience, when asked about the issue of immigration in Europe.

"We are turning something that has to do with border management and labor management into a cultural war. And this is something that could destroy the soul of Europe," Rama said.

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"As long as there is no politics on this issue, beyond left and right and electoral interests, Europe will have problems," he warned.

The Albanian leader was a basketball player (1.98 meters tall) and competed for his country's national team.

The son of a famous sculptor, this politician who has won three consecutive elections enjoys painting and writing.

But, above all, he dreams of making Albania a prosperous country where poverty and corruption are a thing of the past.

Have you met your friend Pedro Sánchez?

Not this time.

Do you think he is one of the most important socialist leaders in Europe at the moment?

Not just a socialist. Pedro Sánchez is one of the greatest leaders of our time. The way he handles problems with others, with Europe itself, is something truly respectable.

He is a politician who has sparked discussions in Spain.

Yes, it has sparked discussions here – because they are a Mediterranean country and whoever has the burden of leading a democratic Mediterranean country is debatable. It cannot be otherwise. Otherwise, we would not be a Mediterranean people. We would be Nordic and not live under the intense southern sun. So it is good that it is so.

How are the negotiations with the EU going? Will Albania become a member of the union in 2030?

The negotiations are following the course set out in the roadmap, which is the same for all countries. You simply need to do your homework and adopt the body of European law into your legislation and, on the other hand, demonstrate the ability to implement it. In terms of the timeline, the plan we have shared with the European Commission is to conclude all the technical part by the end of 2027 and then deal with the political part, ending with ratification by national parliaments. So, if everything goes according to plan, 2030 will be the year that Albania will become a new member of the European Union.

How will defense spending increase now that Trump is demanding more money from NATO members, of which Albania is a part?

American President, Donald Trump

Like all countries, we will do it little by little. We are currently above 2% of defense spending in relation to national GDP, so we are already in line with NATO. Now, it is clear that a new target will be set – and we will do our part like everyone else.

Do you see a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine imminent?

I don't know. But I think it's important that the talks continue and, on the other hand, it's very important to achieve peace, but also not to forget that we need a just peace.

Do you think the current troops will invade other European countries if Ukraine loses the war?

I don't think Russia would consider invading any other country. And I think it's time to exert all the pressure and increase all the efforts to reach a fair peace agreement.

How are relations between Albania and Russia at the moment?

We have no relations. We are the only country in Europe, since the fall of the communist regime in 1990, that has not had a single visitor to Moscow and we have never had a guest from Moscow. I mean at the highest level. And we have no Russian investment and we do not expect to have any. This is because of our history. We had to live with the worst version of Soviet communism in Albania (- referring to the dictator Enver Hoxha). When everyone else had turned the page and left Stalin behind in 1960, we still kept Stalin as our idol. So we have no appetite for Russian money. We have no appetite for anything other than Russian literature, music and culture, which is wonderful. Russian politics means nothing to us and we want nothing to do with it.

And China?

Albania is the only country in the Western Hemisphere where Chinese investments are 0.1%. We do not have their investments. In economic terms, the relationship is very small, absolutely insignificant for our economy. Our history with them has been a history of very close brotherhood at the worst moment in China, when they went through the Cultural Revolution, which was imported to a large extent into Albania and which practically completely destroyed our country in many ways. China is not Russia, of course, and we have great respect for it.

Prime Minister Edi Rama

In recent years, many young Albanians have left their country in search of better opportunities. When will the exodus stop?

It's not something that has only happened in recent years. Albanians have been emigrating since 1990. And they continue to do so. I don't think this happened once. People move. Young people have the right to experience new things. Even in Spain there are doctors who want to go somewhere else. So, we live in a different world. Of course we have this problem and we have to make Albania better and better, but let's not lie to ourselves that we will become like Spain or Germany and that people will stop emigrating.

Is Albania a land of opportunity?

Albania represents a kind of America for Europe – in what can be called a land of opportunity. We need investment. Albania has a very friendly environment for foreign investors and there is a lot to do.

Does Europe need the Balkans?

Europe needs the Balkans as much as the Balkans need Europe. They will not do us any favors by bringing us into Europe, but Europe will do itself a favor by integrating the Balkans. We are in the heart of the continent and we are the only reality in the history of borders and maps with a double border: an external and an internal one, and within this internal border lies the Balkans – so we must be part of the EU. Otherwise, others will take advantage of the opportunity and gain that space. I do not think the European Union likes to have other powers within its territory.

Do you think Donald Trump will be a factor in promoting further integration of the European Union?

Donald Trump says that God saved him from being shot to make America great again. And I am very happy that God did that. I add that God saved Donald Trump to wake up Europe. So if that is the case, Trump is a blessing for Europe in the sense that Europe has every reason to wake up and change and become much more aware – that the need for change cannot be postponed every year – because otherwise Europe will be less relevant. Europe can and must be a great power, and to do that it must change and become self-sufficient.

Do you think that a solution to managing the arrival of undocumented immigrants is to follow the Italian policy of transferring African immigrants to Albania?

Italy does not transfer migrants. It simply wants to use these two centers it has in Albania to process them before they enter the European Union and decide who respects the procedures and who does not. Albania has nothing to do with it, we have only given Italy these two places with an extraterritorial character for five years. They use it and do what they want. Other European countries are planning to do the same thing as Albania, even the Donald Trump administration is doing something similar. They can plan it, but not with Albania, as we did with Italy for historical reasons, but also because geography allows it./ CNA