“The Kremlin is behind the protests” / Russian Embassy reacts after Balla’s statement: We were surprised! The government should be careful with its statements, they are looking for enemies where there are none

The Russian Embassy in Albania has reacted to statements by minister Blendi Gonxhja and the head of the Socialist Party’s Parliamentary Group, Taulant Balla, who said that Moscow is behind the protests that have been continuing for 34 days.

In a post on social media, the Russian Embassy said such statements were surprising, adding that these are not the first such remarks and that they show the government is looking for enemies even where there are none.

Full statement:

The statements by Albania’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, B. Gonxhja, and Member of the Albanian Parliament, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party of Albania, T. Balla, regarding the “involvement of the Kremlin” in the protests taking place in the country, are surprising. We are seeing similar claims in a number of media outlets from certain journalists as well. These statements are completely unfounded.

❗️Russia strictly implements one of the fundamental principles of its foreign policy: the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign states. Moscow always respects the choice of the people and works with the legitimately elected government. We wish the Albanian people success and prosperity, regardless of the current political climate and the current level of relations.

We regret to note that this is not the first time Albanian politicians have tried, without basis, to impose on the domestic public the idea of Russia’s so-called “malign influence.” We call for a more responsible approach to such statements and restraint from searching for enemies where they do not exist.