Haradinaj: Tirana has forced me to pay official tolls; Albanian Government: Not all authorities are exempt from tax

 Ramush Haradinaj

 The outgoing Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has criticized the official Tirana for forcing him to pay road tolls even during his official visits.

In an interview with T7 television in Pristina on Tuesday, he said his convoy was stopped and forced to pay Albania's toll, although it was under protocol escort.

"Albania stops the prime minister of Kosovo in the highway, neither Macedonia nor Bulgaria stopped me, I assure you, they did not stop me...” he said.

Albania's Foreign Ministry said that all high-level authorities, whether Albanians or not, including high-level delegations on official visits, are not exempt from road tax.

In response the Albanian Foreign Ministry said that "security is not compromised because high-level authority is accompanied by the Guard of the Republic. If security concerns are raised then this concern is formally forwarded to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Guard of the Republic is required to increase security measures depending on the level of threat to foreign authority throughout its stay on the territory of the Republic of Albania”, reads the response of the Foreign Ministry.

On January 15, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama filed a lawsuit against outgoing Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj for allegedly slandering him, seeking compensation for the damage caused.

The lawsuit, which prompted a backlash in Pristina and Tirana, marked the highest point of deteriorating relations between the two prime ministers, who often clashed over ideas thrown up in 2018 over the possibility of changing borders in the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia.

Prime Minister Rama has also come under criticism from authorities in Pristina over the initiative to create a Balkan mini-Schengen, which was opposed by Kosovo.