Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic departed for Kyiv earlier on Tuesday where they are expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Kyiv-bound at the invitation of President Zelensky,” Rama wrote on social media.
Abazovic had announced his plans to visit Ukraine last week, after accepting an invitation by President Zelenskyy. With Rama, they are the first Western Balkan leaders to travel to Kyiv since February 24, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
In early May, Zelenskyy addressed the Albanian Parliament via video-conference. During his speech, he called on the Albanian government to restrict access to Russian businessman and tourists.
“I ask you to restrict your borders to Russian ships and restrict the arrival of tourists, because maybe the killers of Bucha or Irpin are coming. Let’s do something principled and stop using UN funds for Russia,” he urged.
Albania has joined the European Union in imposing sanctions against Russia and has approved a $1 million donation towards Ukraine.
So far, however, Albanian government has chosen not to change its policy of removing visa requirements for Russian citizens visiting Albania over the summer.
