Rama on Albania-Kosovo-Croatia Defense Pact: “This is for defense, not for attack”
Prime Minister Edi Rama has downplayed reactions to the military cooperation agreement between Albania, Kosovo, and Croatia, stressing that it is a defensive arrangement, not a call to arms.
Why is this important: Rama’s remarks aimed to address criticism and concerns about the pact, which has come under serious criticism from Serbia, framing it as a cooperative effort among democratic states.
Context: Speaking in an interview for Klan Kosova’s program Jehona Politike, Rama clarified the true nature of the agreement.
“We have not made an alliance to go to war with anyone. We have made an agreement between three democratic states to cooperate in the field of defense. It is not a military alliance to go on the offensive.”
He dismissed the “outrage” from the Serbia and any other actors in the region as a sign of outdated thinking, stressing that what truly troubles him is not the “outrage” but the behavior of Kosovo in the region.
“If there is ‘fury,’ it is simply a sign of backwardness — the product of backward thinking. The problem is not that there are signs of backward thinking on the part of Serbia. The real problem for me is when we see Kosovo acting in a backward way.”
Regional tone: Rama has frequently urged Kosovo’s leadership to focus on reforms and EU integration rather than reacting to Serbia’s behavior. His latest comments reinforce this position, portraying the defense agreement as a pragmatic tool for security cooperation rather than provocation.
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