"Washington Post": Blinken visits Albania, the key regional ally of the USA

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Albania today to reaffirm relations with a key partner in the Balkans and an ally in supporting Ukraine's war against the full invasion of Russia, the well-known American newspaper "The Washington Post " writes today.

Blinken will meet with senior officials and focus on the future of the Western Balkans, as Albania and several neighbors seek to join the European Union, according to senior US officials.

Washington has strongly supported the integration of Albania in the EU.

The US has praised Albania's leadership in the former war-torn region and its recent role in the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member.

Albania is a member of NATO and has regularly assigned small army units to international peacekeeping missions and NATO operations.

Albania will host an International Summit for Ukraine at the end of this month, where the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to participate.

Even the tensions between neighbors Kosovo and Serbia can be addressed during Blinken's visit.

EU-brokered negotiations to normalize their relationship have made slow progress, while sporadic incidents of violence have fueled fears of instability.

The US and EU have expressed concern over Kosovo's recent ban on the dinar as currency in its Serb-majority municipalities.

Blinken will also recognize 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 to host around 3,200 Afghan refugees before they were eventually resettled in the US.

Blinken is expected to meet some of the Afghans still remaining in Albania. After Tirana, Blinken will go to Germany for the Security Conference in Munich.

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