Ilir Meta letter to Donald Trump relating to Jerusalem: Sympathy for the vote of Albania, it wasn't the will of people

 The Albanian President Ilir Meta expressed his regret to US President Donald Trump over yesterday's vote at United Nations in favor of a resolution rejecting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move there the US embassy. In his letter sent to the President of the United States, who he initially thanked him for the congratulations he received on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of Independence, Mr. Meta wrote that "the vote against our great ally and friend was taken without any prior consultation with the institution of the President of the Republic and neither with the Albanian parliament and does not reflect the will and the stance of the Albanian people and nation, who will never forget and never forgets the support of the United States in the most difficult moments of its existence."

The Albanian president notes furtherin his letter that "I will personally seek explanations for this position and decision of the Albanian Government, which conflicts with the relations of our strategic partnership and our national interests."

Even earlier in the day, through his spokesman Tedi Blushi, President Meta underlined, among other things, that "this stance and this vote against, completely unnecessary, does not reflect a state standpoint, and even more a nationwide stance and consensus".

The Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Policy clarified last night, through a statement the position held at the UN. "Our vote at the UN General Assembly reflects our unchanged position on this issue. Albania is based on the international consensus on Jerusalem, based on a number of UN documents, including a number of Security Council resolutions, and has joined the common position of the overwhelming majority of EU member states by staying coherent in its attitude aligned with the European Union," explains the statement.

But according to the leader of the Albanian Democratic party , Lulzim Basha, "Albania has consolidated for 27 years an American standpoint relating Middle East issues. For the first time, Albania has changed its position and is aligned with the majority of EU countries ", stressed Basha last night on the TV show "Opinion" on Tv Klan. According to Mr. Basha, Albania has kept "a wrong attitude. This issue has to do with the national interest of Albania and the Albanian nation, which until now have been served only by a strategic ally that is the US, without whom we would not be NATO members and Kosovo would not be independent ", said Mr. Basha. "On the other hand - he explained - we have another strategic interest, that of EU membership. But as long as the EU did not condition its foreign policy, there was no reason for Albania to change its position and not stick to the American position. Not for the way the issue should be solved, but for the sake of national interest ", underlined Mr. Basha.

In response to criticism, Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati through a Facebook status reacted today by saying that "in foreign policy we do not have the luxury of not discerning the facts from the fabrications. For those who still believe in the facts, the vote of Albania yesterday at the United Nations General Assembly is not a vote against the US, but an expression of our coherent, principled and unchanged attitude over the years, based on the international consensus expressed in the countless UN and Security Council resolutions, which have binding force, as well as in line with the views of the overwhelming majority of UN member states, NATO and the EU, historic US partners "

"Albania - writes further Mr. Bushati - has consistently voted on UN resolutions on the Middle East peace process in general, and in particular on a specific resolution dealing with the issue of settlements in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. This consolidated position of Albania has remained the same regardless of who has been involved in state affairs, including the voting in 2012 and 2013 and still today, the same as the overwhelming majority of UN countries."