State Department backs US Ambassador to Albania after allegations of political preferences

State Department Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner
State Department Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner

Washington D.C. (Tirana Echo) – The State Department has full trust in its US Ambassador to Tirana Donald Lu, according to State Department Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner who gave an exclusive statement to Top Channel after a Huffington Post article criticized the role of US Embassy in Albania and US foreign policy in the Balkans.

The USA will continue to stand on the side of rule of law and justice reform and against attempts to manipulate its implementation. As we have already said previously, the State Department has full faith in our Embassy and Ambassador Lu in Tirana” – said the Department of State Spokesperson.

Toner’s supportive statement comes at a time when public debate in Albania has been dominated by clashes between US Ambassador Donald Lu and Albanian General Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla and only one day after Luke Coffey of the Foreign Policy Center at the Heritage Foundation criticized US foreign policy in the Balkans in an article at the Huffington Post, using the Tirana example to illustrate the role of certain US diplomats engaged in ‘political activism’ geared to stir support for Democrats across the world.

Speaking to Top Channel, Mark Toner who is acting as current State Department Spokesperson said that the State Department supports the work of its Embassy in Albania and its efforts towards justice reform in the country, adding that everyone in Albania demanded US involvement in this delicate process.

US policy in Albania is to support the country in its EU membership and the reforms which take this goal forward. This included the justice reform, fight against corruption and organized crime as well as against violent extremism” – said Toner.

He added that US Ambassador Donald Lu and his team “have worked for more than a year with leaders in the government, parliament, opposition, civil society and the international community to deliver on an important reform of the justice system. Both government and opposition have asked for US involvement in this process, including the implementation of justice reform”.

It remains to be seen if this position will hold after the major reshuffle taking place at the State Department under the new administration of President Trump, who has accused several diplomats of exercising US diplomacy based on personal political preferences.

During his inaugural speech, new State Secretary Rex Tillerson said that each US diplomat is entitled to the expression of their political beliefs, “but we cannot let our personal convictions overwhelm our ability to work as one team. Let us be understanding with each other about the times we live in as we focus our energies on our departmental goals”.

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