Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was ready for regular telephone conversations with the Albanian side, and also pointed to the possibility of implementing the Russian-Albanian treaty on friendship and cooperation, signed back in 2004.
Foreign Minister Edi Rama of the Albanian OSCE chairmanship this year, after talks with Lavrov in Moscow, noted that “since Stalin” there have been no phone contacts between Tirana and Moscow.
“As for relations with Russia, it is no secret that our relations are on a low level. The Russian ambassador told me before we came here that Albania was the only country on Earth that hadn’t had telephone conversations between Tirana and Moscow for many years, as he said, since Stalin. Not a single phone conversation, not to mention meetings and negotiations. But, of course, we can work on it”, – Rama said.
In response, Lavrov said that the above statistics on telephone calls “reflects reality. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister said that he was ready for regular telephone conversations with Albania.
“We will at least have regular telephone conversations with you this year, I’m sure, and along with the OSCE theme, we can discuss bilateral issues of interest to you and us, we are ready for it”, – said the Russian Minister.
Lavrov also reminded that back in 2004 the parties signed an agreement on friendship and cooperation, which has not been ratified yet. “But as for personal meetings, in 2004, shortly after I was appointed Minister, I paid a visit to Tirana, during which we signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Mr. Islejami. It has not been ratified yet, because the Albanian side put this document on the shelf and did not give it further progress”, – the Russian Foreign Minister said.
“But it exists, it’s ready, and we can put this document into effect, so that we have clear principles of the basis of our relationship”, – said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.