Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared in Belgrade that Ukraine will not recognize Kosovo. In a post on social network X, Rama defended Albania’s continued support for Ukraine, calling Kyiv’s position on Kosovo wrong, but without linking it to any change of course by official Tirana.
Zelensky’s statement and Rama’s response
According to the statement made by Zelensky in Belgrade, Ukraine will not recognize Kosovo. Rama’s reaction came immediately afterward, amid a climate of public debate in Tirana and Pristina over how Kyiv’s position should be interpreted.
Rama rejected the idea that support for Ukraine should be weighed against its position on Kosovo. According to him, this is a case in which Albania should simultaneously hold two positions: opposition to Ukraine’s stance on Kosovo and support for Ukraine’s right to be free.
A message against the logic of political trade-offs
In his response, the prime minister attacked those who, according to his version, are seeking some kind of retaliation against Ukraine because of its non-recognition of Kosovo. He presented this approach as a narrow calculation of interest, in which principles change depending on the case.
Rama argued that opposition to a war of aggression and support for a just peace cannot be treated as political bargaining chips. In essence, he called for Albania not to condition its support for Ukraine on its own diplomatic interest in the issue of Kosovo.
Kyiv criticized over Kosovo, but support for Ukraine unchanged
At the core of his response, Rama clearly acknowledged that Ukraine is “wrong” on Kosovo. Nevertheless, he insisted that this does not, in his view, undermine Ukraine’s right to freedom and to defend itself against aggression.
This is the line the Albanian government is trying to maintain publicly: criticism of Kyiv’s position on Kosovo, but without affecting political support for Ukraine. On the diplomatic front, it remains a difficult balance, especially when an ally strongly backed by Tirana rejects one of the most sensitive issues in Albanian foreign policy.
Tirana’s political message
At the end of his response, Rama closed with a direct statement in favor of Ukraine: “Free Ukraine. Today, tomorrow and always.”
His position aims to preserve the Albanian government’s pro-Ukraine line, even after a statement that directly affects Kosovo’s interests. But Zelensky’s statement has once again highlighted the limits of political solidarity in the region: public support does not necessarily translate into support for recognition of the state of Kosovo.
Rama’s reaction makes clear that Tirana has no intention of changing course on Ukraine because of Kyiv’s position on Kosovo.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian president’s statement once again raises uncomfortable questions about the relationship between the rhetoric of alliances and the concrete diplomatic interests of Albania and Kosovo.