Edi Rama and Alexis Tsipras took advantage of the London Summit to hold a head to head meeting on outstanding issues from the two countries’ agreement.
At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister announced that some issues are still under discussion and that “a positive solution can be achieved soon”.
After the first meeting at the London Summit, where host Theresa May had given support to six Western Balkan leaders, Edi Rama was waiting for a meeting with Alexis Tsipras.
At the negotiating table there are some issues from the delimitation of the maritime border to the revision of school textbooks or the issue of war law by Greece.
The negotiating groups meet regularly for several months now and have set a milestone for an agreement that, according to governments, solves problems that have been lasting for 70 years between the two countries.
The final agreement between the parties is not yet ready, but it is important to establish trust between the parties during the negotiations.
Some steps towards the pact have already been carried out. The two countries have decided mutually to recognize driving licenses; Greece has decided to remove the lapustile stamp, simplifying the procedures for Albanian emigrants there and has been the initiator of some activities in support of the opening of negotiations between Albania and the European Union.
Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati confirmed expectations from the Rama-Tsipras meeting while considering it a “golden chance” for reaching the final agreement.
In Albania President Meta has repeatedly shown reservations about how the negotiations were being conducted by publicly rejecting the authorization for their launch and asking for more information before signing the second authorization, this time to finalize agreement. This is also due to the failure of the Constitutional Court, which according to the President would be a guarantor for the legality of this document.
While political resistance in Greece is well-known. Even today, Greek media say that Greek government is reluctant to sign the agreement to avoid further political costs following the reactions that the name issue with Macedonia sparked to the Greek public./tvklan.al
