Feb 15, 2024. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Tirana.
U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Albania on Thursday to reaffirm
relations with a key partner in the Balkans and an ally in supporting Ukraine’s
fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Blinken will meet with top officials and focus on the future of the Western Balkans as Albania and several neighbors seek to join the European Union, according to top U.S. officials. Washington has strongly supported Albania’s integration into the EU.
The U.S.
has praised Albania’s leadership in the former war-torn region and its recent
role on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. Albania
is a NATO member and has regularly assigned small army units to international
peacekeeping missions and NATO operations.
Albania
will host an international summit on Ukraine later this month, with Ukraine’s
president expected to attend.
Tensions
between neighbors Kosovo and Serbia may be addressed during Blinken’s visit.
EU-facilitated negotiations to normalize their relations have had slow
progress, while occasional violent incidents have fueled fears of instability.
The United States and EU have expressed concern over Kosovo’s recent ban on the
dinar as currency in its Serb-majority municipalities.
Blinken
also will acknowledge Albania’s role after the Taliban seized power in
Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from the country.
Albania was the first to house about 3,200 fleeing Afghans before they moved
for final settlement in the United States.
Blinken is
expected to meet some of the remaining small number of Afghans still in
Albania.
After his
day in the capital of Tirana, Blinken goes to Germany for the Munich Security
Conference.
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