TIRANA, Nov. 11 – A three-day meeting between the Albanian and Greek foreign ministers – Ditmir Bushati and Nikos Kotzias – began on Friday morning in the island of Crete, focusing on the open bilateral issues between the countries.
Some of the most important were the technical issues affecting the daily life of citizens, the possibility of a new Maritime Agreement, the issue of the cemetery of the Greek fallen soldiers in Albania, and the law on the state of war, which was not lifted since 1940, between the countries, freezing property rights for the Cham community.
Both capitals’ official press offices declared that the discussions and negotiations between the two Ministers developed in a cooperative and constructive atmosphere, thus achieving a substantial progress.
“Both sides accepted the importance of dialogue in solving unresolved issues and agreed on the further steps necessary to attain positive results, based on European norms and values serving the interests of both nations and their people,” a statement from the Albanian foreign ministry said.
Discussing and deciding on the drafting of a new Maritime Agreement was particularly important for Athens, and both sides were able to start negotiating on it from scratch, as the old pact was voided in 2009.
Local media reported that the Greek side negotiated in the context of international law and rights, and a new deal between the two countries is expected to be implemented soon.
While the issue of the Greek soldiers’ cemetery was given attention by Athens, requesting that the Greek nationals who died in Albanian soil be buried in accordance to Greek tradition, the Cham issue – which is of priority for Albania – was postponed for a future meeting.
Nonetheless, in the context of the school materials and avoiding negative connotations concerning each nation in history textbooks, the Greek side requested the removal of references concerning the Chameria region from Albanian books.
Kotzias’ request to respect and guarantee the Greek minority’s rights in Albania was met by Bushati, who raised the issue of the law on the state of war between the two countries, existing since 1940, as it was never lifted by the Greek Parliament, and penalizing the properties in Greece of Albanian citizens.
The legal solution to this problem can only be provided by the Greek side and Kotzias, reportedly, said that the issue will be given an answer soon.
There is another meeting scheduled between the two ministers – this time in Albania.
