Regarding today’s claims by the leader of the Democratic Party on the letter of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs addressed to international institutions involved in the observation of the May 11, 2025 elections in Albania, the ministry stated that, “As it is crystal clear in the aforementioned letter, there is no question of interference into the work of the ODIHR Observation Mission, let alone pressure on them”.

“It is a normal practice that when there is any electoral process the authorities of the host state forward to the Observation Mission technical clarifications and context regarding the findings of the preliminary report, which are appreciated to be necessary to be considered in a final report based on facts and evidence”, emphasized the ministry.

“Even in the case in question, there were presented clarifications were presented that might be able to be taken into account by the rapporteurs during the drafting of the final report. Of course, whether or not the clarifications will be taken into account is at the full discretion of the Monitoring Mission”, added the ministry.

“We recall that the ODIHR itself has previously reacted emphasizing that there was no such pressure”, underlined the ministry.

The ministry stated that it always remains committed to respecting the independence and integrity of any monitoring mechanism in accordance with the mandate assigned to it by the ODIHR. /gj.m/r.e//a.f/p.s./

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that the action of Serbian authorities to mark Albanians’ addresses inactive violates human rights and the international standards on protection of national minorities, denying Albanians access to basic services and their fundamental rights.

According to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, making their addresses inactive is not merely a legal matter, but it affects daily lives of the Albanians in the region, violating the rights and equality.

The Ministry has addressed and will keep addressing the matter through dialogue with the Serbian authorities, as well as in the international forums.

Through its continued commitment, Albania will continue to seek the protection of the rights of Albanians in the Presheva Valley, in accordance with international standards for human and minority rights.

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In a statement, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned violence and called for the perpetrators to be brought before justice., saying “nothing would justify use of violence, violation of public properties and the rule of law.”

“Albania is particularly concerned over reports about Serbian armed forces deployed near the Kosovo border, and military aircrafts flying near and over Kosovo’s airspace, which provoke tensions, incite individuals to provoke unrest and violence and aim to destabilize Kosovo. Such action run counter international agreements aiming to ensure order and stability in that part of the region. We call on Serbia to withdraw armed forces deployed near the borders of Kosovo and work for immediate de-escalation of the situation. We urge all actors to exercise restraint and return immediately to dialogue as the only way to move ahead to solve pending issues in the spirit of cooperation to which Albania is irreversibly committed, in its bilateral and multilateral efforts,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

“As a NATO Ally and a responsible United Nations member, Albania will do whatever it takes to support all efforts toward immediate de-escalation and return to dialogue,” the statement concluded.

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