President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister, Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of Albania, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Edi Rama.
“It is very important to us that Albania has always expressed support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Thank you for that,” the Head of State said.
The President stressed that an important factor for Ukraine was the issue of relations with the OSCE in the context of Albania's presidency in the organization.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at the Normandy format meeting in Paris on December 9, 2019, the parties had agreed on several positions as regards the OSCE that would help achieve peace in Donbas. It is about the work of the Special Monitoring Mission 24/7, a mirror increase in the number of observers in Ukraine-controlled territory and occupied territory, as well as OSCE access to the areas where there was no disengagement.
“The 24/7 OSCE work throughout Donbas, including the monitoring at the Ukrainian-Russian border, is crucial. And it is imperative that conditions for the safety of observers are created there. This is an important humanitarian mission,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
Edi Rama agreed that such a format would help obtain more reliable surveillance data, and stressed that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should be stepped up.
The parties discussed extending the mandate of the OSCE Mission to Ukraine.
They also touched upon economic relations between Ukraine and Albania. In particular, the interlocutors emphasized the development of tourism industry and the trade turnover potential.