TIRANA, March 22 – Albania and Greece have pledged to resolve a formal state of war dating back to World War II, while several other issues such as the maritime border, the Cham issue remain unresolved.
“Greece is not at war with Albania. This is shown by the 1987 statement from the Ministerial Council, it is shown by Albania’s membership in NATO, it is shown by the Friendship Agreement of 1996,” Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said at a joint press conference in Athens with his Albanian counterpart Ditmir Bushati. The anachronistic law passed by Greece has been in force since 1940 as the Greek parliament never abolished it. The law is also seen as responsible for the sequestration of properties of the Cham minority, ethnic Albanians who lived in northern Greece and were forcibly expelled from their lands at the end of World War II accused of collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. The abolishment of wartime legislation is considered as a first step for the Chams to claim back their confiscated property.
Several previous Albanian governments have asked Greek authorities to remove the law, efforts which so far have failed.
“We want to resolve the problems that come from the past. We want to resolve them creatively, to the benefit of both sides and in cooperation with our societies, so that we can deal more with what we can do for the future and how we can upgrade the Balkan region overall,” said Kotzias.
Minister Bushati said he is confident Greece will advance with the abrogation of the war law to put an end to historical issues dating back to World War II.
Greece is Albania’s top foreign investor, the second largest trading partner and the host of some 500,000 Albanian migrants.
