The international community is not hands off, but Albania is not a protectorate, says US Deputy Assistant Secretary Tom Countryman. “It is a member of NATO. It says it is ready for European Union membership. If that is the case, you can’t expect outside interference to solve problems that political leaders have been unwilling to solve.”
Tirana Times
TIRANA, Jan. 6 – US Deputy Assistant Secretary Tom Countryman urges the Albanian political factors to reach a compromise and give an end to their standoff which does not benefit their people.
In interviews to the BBC and the Voice of America during the last days last year Countryman urged a fast solution of the political deadlock in Albania.
“This is our daily message to both parties: the current political standoff between the two leading parties in Albania does not benefit the people of Albania,” he said at the BBC.
Countryman continued saying that as “a NATO member and as a country that aspires to become part of the European Union, Albania needs to develop the capability for compromise between the leading parties and the capability to hold fair and transparent elections in the local elections coming up in the spring.”
“The international community is not hands off, but Albania is not a protectorate,” he said directly telling Tirana they have to reach a compromise on their own. Tirana “can’t expect outside interference to solve problems that political leaders have been unwilling to solve.”
To the VoA Countryman said clearly that “it’s important to understand that the United States does not stand behind the Democratic Party or the Socialist Party. We seek to stand behind the people of Albania. And sometimes I’m concerned that neither of the major parties is listening fully to what the people of Albania are seeking, which is a clean political system and one in which the two parties work in the interests of the people.”
He said that “so far, we’ve seen very little dialogue and virtually no compromise between the two parties,” adding that “even more important than establishing what happened in the last elections, Albania has to move today, to prepare for elections in May of 2011 on the local level”
Countryman said that the international community and the United States in particular were ready to work with both parties on such a package that could ensure that there are no grounds in the future for the kind of rejection or boycott that we’ve seen recently and that has not served well the people of Albania.”
Countryman also hailed Albania’s regional role in the Balkans.”I would say that we’re very pleased with the regional role Albania plays with the good relationships that it’s seeking to build with all of its neighbours. We hope for further progress between Albania and Serbia as well in terms of the normalization and the warming of their bilateral relationship.”
Since diplomatic relations between the two countries were re-established on March 15th, 1991, after a break of 52 years, ties have continued to grow and prosper. Albania is now one of America’s staunchest allies, particularly in the global fight against terrorism. The U.S.-Albanian relationship dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when President Woodrow Wilson extended American support for the young Albanian state.
