Albania-Russia Diplomatic Clash

TIRANA, Aug 27 – In what seemed to become news after a reaction form Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the Albanian Center for International Trade reported that Albania had sold 2.3 million Euros of shells, grenades and ammunition to Georgia in 2006.
Berisha denied Tuesday Tirana had sold weapons to Georgia and denounced Russia of behaving badly against small countries.
A top Russian army official had said a day earlier that Albania was among other Balkan countries selling weaponry to Georgia.
The Center, funded from the USAID, regularly reports on the country’s trade exchange since 2002 based on the data it gets from official institutions, like the customs. It is not illegal for Albania to sell weapons to other countries, but it seemed that was exploited by Russia in the existing crisis following the armed conflict with Georgia on South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.
Arm traffic in post-communist Albania seems to have been a dark part of the governments.
It became evident after the March 15 blast in Gerdec at the ammunition disposal factory which killed 26 and injured 300 people. It was then learnt that Albania was not only disposing ammunition but also selling much of that to Afghanistan. That turned into a big scandal in the United States where the company making the deal was based. Albania has regularly sold ammunition, which it has had in excess since the communist regime that feared any attack from the big powers. From 133 tons of ammunition sold in 2003 it went up to some 2,870 tons in 2007.