Albania joins West to condemn Russian intervention in Ukraine

Russian ambassador seeks understanding from Albanians, citing natural support for ethnic brethren and President Putin’s comment on Kosovo and Crimea.
TIRANA, March 6 – Albania’s government has expressed its concern on the recent developments in Ukraine and said it stood alongside the western countries — the United States and the European Union — on the solution of the situation in that country.
Albania denounced the military intervention from the Russian troops which, it said,”runs counter with the international law and violates the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the country.”
A statement from the foreign ministry said Tirana called on for the return of the political dialogue there “as the legitimate tool that would lead to the normalization of the country.”
Tirana also supported the idea of sending to Ukraine international observers, including the Crimea area and the the eastern part of the country “to give a concrete possibility to the international community to get informed in real time and in a transparent way on the development of the situation” there.
Tirana says it is in complete synchronization with the “stands of NATO” and those of its “strategic allies” and has expressed its will “to join the stand of the European Union member countries,” according to a statement.
The Russian ambassador to Tirana, Leonid Abramov, told a private television station that Albanians should understand the Russian position, citing the fact that Albanians have always supported ethnic Albanians in the region.
The ethnic Russians in Crimea, who make up 60 percent of the population, say they want to be part of Russia, not Ukraine. On Thursday, the parliament in Crimea, controlled by ethnic Russians, passed a resolution calling for the region to join Russia. Russian President Putin had earlier referred to Kosovo in explaining his position on Crimea.
When asked earlier in the week in a press conference how he saw the future of Crimea, Putin said he did not see it as joining Russia, but the people of the region would have the final say.
“Generally, I believe that only residents of a given country who have the freedom of will and are in complete safety can and should determine their future. If this right was granted to the Albanians in Kosovo, if this was made possible in many different parts of the world, then nobody has ruled out the right of nations to self-determination, which, as far as I know, is fixed by several UN documents. However, we will in no way provoke any such decision and will not breed such sentiments,” Putin said. “I would like to stress that I believe only the people living in a given territory have the right to determine their own future.”
Tensions remain high in Crimea, with troops loyal to Moscow firing warning shots to ward off protesting Ukrainian soldiers. Russia took over the strategic peninsula on Saturday, placing its troops around the peninsula’s ferry, military bases and border posts.
The new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev, which Russian President Vladimir Putin does not recognize, has accused Moscow of a military invasion in Crimea.
The Russian stance is that it is ready to protect the lives of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine from Ukrainian nationalists.