Ex-Albanian president warns Biden that Russia seeks to 'undermine European values and foundations' in region

FIRST ON FOX – Albania’s former President Ilir Meta has a clear message for President Biden, 'Don’t forget about Albania and the Western Balkans.' Meta, who was president of Albania from 2017 to 2022 and now leads the Party of Freedom, is worried that the United States is forgetting one of its most important European and NATO allies.

The small Balkan nation, one of Europe’s poorest, has made significant contributions to U.S. foreign policy goals over the years. Albania, an authoritarian Marxist country with bitter relations with the U.S. during the Cold War, is now one of the most pro-U.S. countries in Europe and has a large diaspora community in the United States. But the amount of attention Albania receives from President Biden and Western policymakers is little for a country struggling to consolidate its democracy.

Former President Meta warned about the dangers of the 'Open Balkans' initiative, a proposal that would facilitate a freer flow of people and goods across the Balkans, which on the surface seems like it would benefit the region. But Meta called the initiative an 'alternative against European integration,' and fears it will strengthen hybrid regimes like Serbia that will undermine free and fair elections, eliminate political pluralism, and target the media and freedom of speech.

This plan aims to strengthen Moscow’s regional influence and give Putin leverage over Western powers who do not want the violence to escalate,' Stradner added. Meta concluded by saying that the people of the Balkans love the United States because they see it as a symbol of democracy and the country, in Meta’s eyes, must never forget this.

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