TIRANA, Albania — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Albania on Thursday to reaffirm ties with a key partner in the Balkans and an ally in supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s large-scale invasion.
Blinken will meet top officials and focus on the future of the Western Balkans as Albania and several neighboring countries seek to join the European Union, top U.S. officials said. Washington has strongly supported Albania’s integration into the EU.
The US has praised Albania’s leadership in the former war-torn region, as well as its recent role on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. Albania is a member of NATO and has regularly deployed small army units to international peacekeeping missions and NATO operations.
Albania will host an international summit on Ukraine later this month, with the Ukrainian president expected to attend.
Tensions between neighboring countries Kosovo and Serbia could be discussed during Blinken’s visit. EU-facilitated negotiations to normalize their ties have made slow progress, while isolated incidents of violence have fueled fears of instability. The United States and the EU have expressed concern about Kosovo’s recent ban on the dinar as a means of payment in Serbian-majority municipalities.
Blinken will also acknowledge Albania’s role after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops withdrew from the country. Albania was the first country to host approximately 3,200 fleeing Afghans before they settled permanently in the United States.
Blinken is expected to meet with some of the remaining small numbers of Afghans still in Albania.
After his day in the capital Tirana, Blinken heads to Germany for the Munich Security Conference.