TIRANA, Dec. 22 – A day after Albania joined 128 other UN member states in approving a resolution rejecting U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a spokesperson for Albania’s President Ilir Meta said the President, who was not informed of the government’s position beforehand, evaluated it as unnecessary and not reflecting a national stance.
Meta’s spokesperson said this decision is not crucial just for Albania’s foreign policy, but the entire Albanian nation. For this reason, he said voting against the U.S. should have been a reflection of a nation-wide consensus.
“The President stresses that we shouldn’t forget that the U.S. remains the most important strategic alley and partner, so this kind of positions and decisions should be well-coordinated,” the spokesperson said.
The declaration concluded the Albanian nation should be grateful of all the historic U.S. decisions related to the vital existence of the nation and the Euro-Atlantic futures of Albania and Kosovo.
On the other hand, in an official statement distributed to the media, the Albanian Foreign Ministry said it had kept same position as EU countries.
“Our vote today at the UN General Assembly reflects our unchanged position on this issue. Albania has maintained international consensus on Jerusalem based on a number of UN documents, including a number of Security Council resolutions, and it is united with the common position of the overwhelming majority of EU member states, consistent with its alignment with the European Union,” the statement said.
