Albanian defense ministry denies NATO base opening snub
Albania’s defense ministry said on Saturday that Defence Minister Nikos Dendias declined an invitation to the opening of a refurbished NATO air base in Kucova earlier in March, rejecting a press report that the Greek official had been snubbed.
The invitation was sent on January 29 by the Albanian Minister of Defense, Niko Peleshi, the ministry said. On February 14th, Greece’s Defense Ministry replied that due to already scheduled commitments, Dendias would not be able to attend the ceremony in Kucova on March 4th. Instead, high-ranking officials from the Greek Embassy in Tirana attended.
“We regret such news that do not reflect the truth and reality regarding our cooperation with our neighboring state, Greece, and may contribute to further misunderstandings between our two friendly countries,” the ministry said.
“Albania and Greece enjoy an excellent level of security and defense cooperation as two committed NATO allies. We are grateful to Greece (and Italy) who have been performing Air Policing for our country for years,” it added.
Defense sources had told Kathimerini that although Greece’s Air Force participates in the protection of Albania’s airspace along with Italy, no invitation had been extended. They had added, however, that even if the Greek side had been invited, the current state of the relations between the two countries would not allow the presence of officials or warplanes.
