Mediu: Berisha was received twice at the White House, there were efforts to prevent him from coming to the US

Fatmir Mediu, chairman of the Republican Party, spoke on Greta Topjana’s “Review” program about Sali Berisha’s visit to the United States and his meetings with Albanians there.

According to Mediu, the meeting with the Albanian community in America was highly successful and exceeded expectations, as attendees showed great interest in speaking with Berisha.

He said the event took place after a dinner organized the previous evening, attended by representatives of the Albanian community from all Albanian-inhabited territories, well-known figures for their contributions to the Kosovo issue, the Albanian issue in Macedonia and the national cause in general.

Mediu stressed that representatives and former officials of the State Department, as well as figures from American politics, were also present at these meetings.

“Everything went exceptionally well and beyond what we expected. Albanians in America had a great desire to meet Mr. Berisha and speak with him. There was also a question-and-answer session afterward, making the meeting particularly positive,” he said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Republican Party claimed that some people had tried to undermine the opposition and attack Berisha’s political record in the United States.

“They did not want Mr. Berisha to stay in America; they did not even want seven people to be there to protest. An entire policy has been built to destroy the opposition and, in particular, to damage the political record that Mr. Berisha has built from the United States of America,” Mediu declared.

He also recalled Berisha’s previous relations with American leaders, saying that the former Albanian prime minister was the only official to have been officially invited to the White House twice, once by President Bush and once by President Clinton.

“To remind everyone, the only official to have been officially invited to the White House twice was Mr. Berisha, once by President Bush and once by President Clinton. Likewise, the only official to have hosted a sitting, elected president of the United States of America in Tirana was Mr. Berisha,” he said.

According to Mediu, during President Bush’s visit to Tirana, two announcements of extraordinary importance were made: regarding Kosovo’s independence and Albania’s membership in NATO.

“The prime minister who signed Albania’s NATO membership at that time, one of the greatest victories for Albanians and the Albanian nation, was Mr. Berisha,” the chairman of the Republican Party concluded.