Albanian President Blocks Albania-Greece Water Border Deal

The President of Albania, Ilir Meta has announced today his decision to refuse authorization of ‘omnipotence’ to the Foreign ministry of Albania to enter official talks with Greece on their sea border delimitation, unless certain conditions are met first.

According to President Meta, once a former ally of current socialist PM Edi Rama, “every solution needs to comply with the principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and to uphold the interests of the state”.

“The President of the Republic believes that the constitution of the negotiating group as far as the institutions which have been involved is not complete and that this may fail to deliver the standards which are required and the necessary guarantees for a moral and professional integrity in participating in these important negotiations for the Albanian state” – added Meta during a press conference in Tirana.

Meta underlined the fact that the failure by the Foreign Ministry to name a negotiating group and its full membership is a must in assessing the demand to grant authorization for omnipotence.

Meta’s decision further delays an already announced planned agreement between the two governments of Greece and Albania, which is expected to be finalized in the spring, when Greek PM Tsipras visits Albania to meet with his counterpart Edi Rama.