Statement of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs

Following today’s ungrounded reactions concerning overall discussions with Greece and particularly the issue of delimitation of maritime zones, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that:

Delimitation of marine zones is of common interest to both countries, in terms not only to finally determine the limits of excercizing their sovereignty and sovereign rights in these spaces, but also in terms of their economic exploitation.

The decision of the Constitutional Court overruled the agreement signed between the two countries in 2009. In the absence of an agreement between them since 2013, parties have conducted a series of exploratory discussions to find a viable solution to this issue.

In the course of these discussions, the unwavering position of the Albanian side has firmly been and remains the conclusion of an agreement on the delimitation of maritime zones based upon the principles of the Convention on the Law of the Sea where both countries are parties, the international practice, the decision of the Constitutional Court and respective domestic legislation which will enable a fair and acceptable delimitation for both countries.

This unwavering position is the starting point for experts who will conduct negotiations with the Greek side on this issue. Any other interpretation by political actors is malicious aimed at relativizing, or even worse, denying past mistakes.