Zelensky Rules Out Recognizing Kosovo, Rama Reaffirms Albania’s Support for Ukraine

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Ukraine would not recognize Kosovo, Prime Minister Edi Rama responded in a post on the X platform. According to him, Ukraine’s position on Kosovo should not affect Albania’s support for the Ukrainian people.

Rama argued that support for Ukraine cannot depend on the country’s political stance toward Kosovo. He stressed that Albania must continue to stand for freedom, democracy and peace.

The full post:

My dear friend, Volodymyr Zelensky, while in Belgrade, stated that Ukraine has not changed its position and will not recognize Kosovo.

Not even an hour had passed before the loudest folkloric nationalists in Tirana and Pristina began making their geopolitical calculations: perhaps, in their view, we should punish Ukraine, stop supporting freedom and no longer feel pain for the people being bombed. The most irresponsible among them even attacked us because we did not abandon Ukraine. Some went so far as to cheer for Russia!

How shameful it is to forget such a simple truth: freedom is not transactional.

Opposing a war of aggression and defending a just peace are not an invoice you can tear up as soon as the victim of a barbaric aggression disappoints you. This is not one favor repaid with another, but is about who you are and the values you represent in this troubled world. Fortunately, Albania does not behave like a petty person calculating who owes what to whom. It is the Europe of the Balkans, and it proves this by leading through its belief in freedom, democracy and peace, as well as through the power of its own example.

Ukraine may be wrong about Kosovo—and, yes, it is wrong—but its right to live freely cannot be called into question. Fighting for that right means fighting simultaneously for Europe and for yourself. Both of these truths can be expressed in the same sentence without any contradiction. Albania has the maturity required to accept both, and that is what it will continue to do.

So, yes: FREE UKRAINE. Today, tomorrow and always.