Albanian PM Rama in Landmark Visit to Serbia
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will make a landmark visit to Belgrade on Monday, the first of its kind in 68 years and seen as a step towards calming tensions in the region.
Initially planned for October 22, the visit was postponed for three weeks following violence a week earlier that interrupted a football match between Serbia and Albania.
That incident spiralled into a political crisis and was followed by mutual accusations between Belgrade and Tirana, showing the fragility of their bilateral relations.
However faced with EU determination to push Serbia and Albania to normalise their relations, the two EU-aspirant nations tried to calm the situation.
Rama and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic agreed, in a telephone conversation, on the landmark visit despite "obvious disagreements."
- A new chapter -
Belgrade will welcome Rama in the hope that his visit will lead to "open talks" that will turn the page in relations between the two countries, a Serbian government source told Agence France Presse.
"We are seeing this as a new chapter to be opened in the relations between Serbia and Albania and towards cooperation with the joint goal to preserve stability in the Balkans," the source said.
Tirana hopes Rama's visit will put an end to the political-sport crisis that erupted after the football match, a qualifier for the 2016 European championships.
The match in Belgrade on October 14 was halted after home fans invaded the pitch and attacked Albania players after a pro-Albanian flag was carried over the stadium by a drone.
The match was goalless when it was abandoned as Albania players fled to the changing rooms as irrate fans invaded the pitch.
The provocative flag included a map of 'Greater Albania' incorporating parts of Serbia.
Albania insists it is now necessary to make efforts to improve the fragile relations in the Balkans.
"The time has come to turn the page and not to fall in a trap of the politics that has held us hostage for a long time," Rama said several days ahead of his visit.
"The interest of our countries is to move on, to work together for the prosperity of our region... Europe is our joint destination, we want to be part of the European family," he said.
Albania was granted a EU candidate status earlier this year, while Serbia in January launched accession talks with Brussels.
- Occasion that should be grabbed -
Rama's visit is an occasion that should be grabbed, both Albanian and Serbian analysts agree.
"This is a significant event, an opportunity for the two governments to begin a period of concrete cooperation and to ease tensions, in particularly on the idea of Greater Albania," Serbian analyst Dusan Janjic said.
"Greater Albania" is a nationalist project seeking to unite all Albanians from the region in one state, including Kosovo, the former Serbian province with an ethnic Albanian majority that unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008, despite fierce opposition from Belgrade.
"I believe that it (Great Albania) is only Serbia's nightmare. It has never been part of our projects or political goals," Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said.
"Our goal is to see the entire region integrated in the EU," he said.
Better relations between Albania and Serbia "could be the key for democratic stability of the region and its progress towards the EU," said Mark Marku, a professor at the University of Tirana.
"The two governments should show their will to overcome the current tensions that revive nationalist sentiments," independent analyst Aleksander Cipa said.
In Belgrade the visit is seen by ordinary people as a step in the right direction.
"It is high time to reconciliate with each other for a change," 21-year-old student Nikola Kovacevic opined.
Pensioner Gordana Vukmirovic said that "the time has come to normalise relations with Albanians, all these tensions have existed for too long."
During his two-day visit Rama will meet top Serbian leaders.
He would also like to visit Presevo Valley, the region in southern Serbia with a dominant ethnic Albanian community.
However that trip has yet to be confirmed by Belgrade authorities.
Source: Agence France Presse
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