TIRANA, May 21 /ATA/ US ambassador in Tirana, Yuri Kim, stated on Friday that no one stands above law.
Kim also spoke about the designation of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha as eligible to travel to the US from the Pashaliman naval base where together with Minister of Defense, Niko Peleshi, closely followed the military exercise “Defender Europe 21.”
“I have nothing to add other than what the Secretary of State has said,” she said.
“My message is that Albania is changing. Albania is a member of NATO. Albania will be a member of the EU. Albania is an ally and friend of the United States. The rule of law must prevail, it must prevail. It has to be a spotless country, it has to be a rich country. But to get to that point, no one can be above the law. So the time of impunity has to come to an end and we all have to work for it. This is not a US project, this is not just your project, but it is a project that we can do together, the Albanian and American people. So let’s continue to make progress,” said Ambassador Kim.
Regarding the military exercise, Kim said that, “Minister Peleshi and I had the opportunity to go to different places across Albania to see first-hand all the locations where the military exercise is taking place.”
“I have made myself clear that our priorities remain democracy, defense and business. We are now entering a significant period due to all these developments,” she said.
“Defender 21” is in fact the largest military exercise that has been held in the Western Balkans and Albania is the destination or location. That means thousands of troops from the US, but also other NATO allies, some of whom are still represented here today. It means a significant improvement of our capability to work together as allies. This week we visited Biza to closely follow infantry operations, Kuçova to see air defense operations and today here in Pashaliman to see naval operations. “This is to ensure that when NATO allies cooperate with each other they dominate on land, air and sea,” she said.
“Other than historic development in defense, you have witnessed major business developments on another front, which means major developments on the part of American business in the field of energy. As the US Ambassador I would like to see more opportunities for economic development of the country because Albania is a wonderful country. This is something we have to work on together because I have my part to play, but you also have your role to play.”
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