Berisha lashes out at Balluku: There is no one else as ignorant as her in the Balkans; terminating the Vlora Airport contract will cost Albanians at least €500…

Today, speaking to reporters, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha accused Prime Minister Edi Rama and Belinda Balluku of terminating the concession contract for Vlora International Airport, warning of severe financial consequences for the Albanian state.

Berisha also said that Albanian citizens would face a bill of at least €500 million if Behgjet Pacolli’s company takes the case to arbitration, as it has warned it will do.

The Democratic Party leader criticized Belinda Balluku’s previous statements about the airport project, mocking her promise that Vlora would have “the largest airport in the Balkans.”

“For the enrichment of Edi Rama and Lubi Balluku, and because they have looted €130 million in missing ticket revenue, Albanians are terminating a contract over which, I assure the citizens of this country, they will be fined at least €500 million. They are terminating the contract simply because they realized that Behgjet Pacolli has no intention of recognizing the shares they claim the Turkish company transferred to Pacolli. So, there is a sinister trio here—Edi Rama, Lubi Balluku and Taulant Balla—who used the other construction partner to take the shares away from Pacolli. Pacolli will not hand over the shares. He is an experienced businessman and apparently does not meet their demands for a deal. The proceedings concerning this case file are the most ridiculous in the world. Pacolli’s testimony—that he was summoned by Belinda and that Belinda met separately with the Turkish businessman—clearly showed that Rama, Balluku and Taulant are the main claimants to the shares relinquished by the Turkish partner. These are unprecedented, mafia-style corruption stories. Do you remember when Balluku—who, truth be told, represents a human disgrace in absolutely every respect—would rush to Akërni and declare that Vlora would have the largest airport in the Balkans, showing that there is no one else in the Balkans as ignorant as her, someone who does not know how to conceal her theft? Claiming that you will build the largest airport in the Balkans in Vlora means saddling Albanians with a terrible penalty,” Sali Berisha said.