Albania Denies It Gave Territory to Greece

Tirana | 29 April 2009 |

Continental shelf agreement signature ceremony

Albania’s government flatly rejected reports by local media on Wednesday that during a recent meeting between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis Albania ceded part of its territorial waters to Athens.

The two leaders signed an agreement on Monday, which has not yet been made public. However, local media have published reports that in it Albania gives 225 square kilometers of its territorial waters to its southern neighbor.

“We reject the unfounded, misleading and ill wishing inaccurate information published in an Albanian daily newspaper on the so-called “shrinkage of the strategic position of the Albanian state”, as an outcome of the signing of the Agreement on the Delineation of the Continental Shelf and the Maritime Zone Between the Republic of Albania and the Hellenic Republic,” said a joint-statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.

“The Agreement signed by the Foreign Ministers, in the presence of the two Prime Ministers was made through a cautious negotiation process lasting for nearly a year, in the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, based on the will of both parties to have a fair delineation of the maritime border, under international law in this area and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea whereby both sides are signatories,” the statement adds.

According to the Albanian government the new measurements used to mark the continental shelf between the two countries were made employing the most advanced scientific methods and by the best experts in this field. The delineation registers 150 coordinates, which are joined in an unbroken line and define the maritime border between the two countries. They are absolutely equally distanced from the most extreme points of the land in each of the two countries.

“This agreement, which is already an important part of the bilateral legal frame observes strictly, fairly and equally the sovereignty and integrity of both countries,” the statement said.

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Comments:

Giving away your territory
2009-04-29 16:55:43

Since when Balkan Insight is turning into a mouthpiece of the Albanian government? Everyone can read its press releases in English. Why Balkan Insight reporters are not covering reports of the Gazeta Shqiptare where it is evidenced that the recent Bakojanis-Basha agreement ceded to Greece 250 square km of Albanian territorial waters in the Ionian Sea? Please, Balkan Insight - try to do your job fairly, accurately, objectively and impartially. Thank you.

coordinates
2009-04-30 15:51:53

where exactly is the Gazeta Shqipatare "evidence", in English, of course, so we can compare it to the exact coordinates cited in the agreement, thereby arriving at an informed opinion?

to no name
2009-04-30 18:40:54

You are saying that Gazeta Shqiptare has provided facts and arguments about this. That is ridiculous, they have been rambling on for days without providing anything but propaganda for the left wing. if what they said was true it would have been reported by other, more serious media.

2009-04-30 22:20:43

The Law of the Sea is very specific! It is not something that somebody can change according his/her agenda. It is so specific that makes it so easy to be followed. Now, why some media in Albania try to "bring up" an issue..? Its easy to be seen; Political opposition in Albania must find something to accuse their govmnt. What is best for a nationalist Turkalbanian (Specific category of Albanians who have the feel of emptyness after Ottoman Empire collapsed) from targeting Greece? It was so predicted...

The government kept the agreement secret
2009-05-01 01:42:07

The evidence was the text of the agreement with 150 coordinates. Published by the paper rather than the government. I didn't put them on GoogleMaps and now that page is no longer there. The agreement won't be presented to the current parliament for ratification -- that's one more sign that the government screwed up big time

so confusing
2009-05-01 08:00:47

I think it's better to wait till the signed document is made public, and then we can see if if the accusations are based on facts. Gazeta Shqiptare is not the most impartial media outlet in the world, that's for sure, but the current Albanian government has behaved in a shady manner too.

inferiors
2009-05-01 16:00:38

I am really sad from this fact. Why albanian people and especially the politicians should feel inferior with greeks. It is unfair. It is standing up for your own rights when I think of Macedonia which rejected to be part of Nato and not to give up its name. It is time for us to demand from Greece an equal treament for our immigrants there as they ask for their minorities here. We should stand for our rights and territory!

no inferiority complex, just a treaty based on Int'l Law
2009-05-04 11:36:26

@exactly what rights are foreign nationals with work and residency permits deprived of, except for political rights, which are offered for citizens of a country, like everywhere in the world; and minority rights, which apply to "authochthonous" minorities, as applied in most of the west, as well. Human and civil rights apply to all, everywhere, anywhere. As far as "macedonia", it's the other way around, NATO rejected the bid pending resolution of the "name issue".

Albanian Parliament should reject the agreement
2009-05-12 10:25:45

A governemet signs a secret agreement when it comprise something bad for the county. Why this agreement is still secret? Why Albanian PM, the main responsable for this agreement, does not make clear its terms? Has hi sold out piece of territory of our beloved county? If yes, hi and his servants must be charged for treason. Nobody can touch Albania whoever hi is, even the PM. On behalf of Albanian nation the new parliament should reject this agreement, if it goes counter with albanian interests. This is not a matter of Left or Right politics, but a patriotic one. Long live Albania, the beautifull place on earth.

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Dancing Alexander-style, Down Under

Albania Denies It Gave Territory to Greece