Court verdict doesn’t impact bilateral ties, says Meta

TIRANA, Jan. 31 – Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said Sunday that the recent Constitutional Court verdict on annulling a maritime border deal with Greece would not negatively affect bilateral ties.
Meta met in London with Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.
“Greece is one of the principal supporters of Albania and the Western Balkans in its EU membership and in the process of visa liberalization with the Schengen zone,” said Meta at a news conference Sunday.
Meta said that “Greece’s response has been very correct. They respect Albanian institutions, as it has also been confirmed by the Alternate Foreign Minister of Greece, Mr. Droutsas in Tirana when answering your questions.”
Greece expressed concern yesterday following a decision by Albania’s constitutional court to annul an agreement between Tirana and Athens aimed at settling a longstanding disagreement between the two countries over their sea borders and continental shelf rights.
Droutsas spoke of “a negative development which displeases us.”
Last week Albania’s Constitutional Court annulled an agreement with neighboring Greece marking out maritime borders and the continental shelf in the Ionian Sea.
The agreement was found unconstitutional “due to procedural and substantial violations,” a court statement said.
Six Albanian parties, including the main opposition Socialists, had challenged the April 2009 agreement, accusing the governing Democrats of lack of transparency in negotiations with Athens.
Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said the government would respect the ruling.
“We still do not know the reasons behind it, as this decision has yet to be public from the Court and so far we have learned about it only through the media,” he said, as the Court said the detailed verdict was yet to be produced.
But Meta further continued saying that he could not “be quiet when extreme elements, I emphasize, in Albanian politics, who thankfully are in minority and isolated from our society, constantly attempt to poison the relationship between our countries and our peoples. Their position does not serve anyone, it serves only those groups who desire to turn our relationship backwards, in the past.”
Meta continued to say that “The clarification of the sea borders, with Greece and with Montenegro also, is a priority for our Government, because it is a step forward toward Albania’s EU membership, as an unresolved issue with our neighbors, but also because it gives us a chance to properly explore our waters.”
Relations with Greece have been strained in the past, mostly over the treatment of Albanian immigrants in Greece and of an ethnic Greek minority in Albania.