Rejection of weapons proposal won’t damage U.S. ties, Rama says

TIRANA, Nov. 20 – Albanian and American officials say the strong ties between the two countries have not been damaged following Prime Minister Edi Rama’s speech in which he said the country could not participate in a program to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles on Albanian soil, despite a U.S. plea to do so.
The negative answer, which came after days of non-stop protests and a large public backlash, was welcomed by many Albanians, but also some debate has taken place that Albania may have lost out on a deal to increase its international profile and gain much needed funding.
Rama said in an interview late Tuesday that he was sure that Washington harbored no resentment toward Albania following the decision.
In a statement after Rama’s speech, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana said it respected Albania’s decision.
“The United States appreciates that the Government of Albania gave serious consideration to supporting the international effort to eliminate Syria’s chemical warfare materials in a safe and secure manner,” the statement said. “The United States and Albania have a strong and enduring friendship. We continue to support the government and people of Albania as they work to build a more just and democratic society.”
In his media interviews following the speech, Rama also attacked the opposition Democratic Party’s leadership for their “anti-Americanism” during the protest, something the opposition denies.
Albania has been closely aligned with the U.S. for twenty years since the end of a brutal communist dictatorship in 1992.
Rama’s announcement Friday was met by cheers from hundreds of protesters on Tirana’s streets, some wearing gas masks and waving Albania flags.
However, there has been some remorse expressed publicly over the issue of the chemical weapons disposal proposal.
U.S. Ambassador to Tirana Alexander Arvizu said in an interview with a private television station that he was surprised to see the support from the opposition Democrats against the proposal after he had personally informed and received positive feedback from their leader, Lulzim Basha, before the proposal became public. Arvizu told the interviewer that he wondered whether Basha was the real leader of the party, hinting that former Prime Minister Sali Berisha was still in charge despite the fact that he had officially resigned from leadership following the elections loss last summer. Berisha responded Tuesday saying that Arvizu’s statement was “inappropriate for a diplomat.”
The grassroots protests that pushed the prime ministers to decline the proposal were the first of their kind in Albania, largely promoted though social media networks and civil society groups.
They featured the first protest ever in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana in post-communist Albania.
Arvizu, who has personally invested in promoting activism in Albania, said the protests were a sign of democratic maturity. Asked by the interviewer what he thought about the protest in front of the embassy being organized by an environmental civil society group that had received grants from the U.S. government, Arvizu said that it was a positive sign for Albania to break taboos when it comes to exercising democratic rights.
“It warmed my heart,” he said.