Albania–U.S. relations sour. Meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State is rejected President Berisha refused yesterday to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Timothy Wirth, turning state relations with the U.S. into a personal grudge. The American Embassy in Tirana, asked whether this was true, said, “No comment.” Meanwhile, in the State Department in Washington, the official responsible for Albania, Underwood, confirmed to us: “It is true that yesterday a meeting between Albanian President Sali Berisha and U.S. Deputy Secretary Wirth did not take place.” Underwood declined to provide further explanations about the reasons for the meeting’s failure. Sources in Washington who do not wish to be identified say that Wirth’s visit to Albania was an initiative of the U.S. administration and had been viewed as part of a tour the senior U.S. official has undertaken in Europe in recent weeks. But the Albanian “leg” of Wirth’s European agenda [continues outside the frame] prisoners, during the second visit...[?] Deputy Secretary of State Timothy Wirth. “I don’t have time to see you, Wirth!”

the senior American official has undertaken in Europe this week. But the Albanian “leg” of Wirth’s European itinerary failed. The source explains that President Berisha informed Mr. Wirth by telephone on Thursday that he did not have time to receive him, as he was busy with very important matters. We recall that Wirth was in Albania just two months ago, shortly before the elections. During his visit to Tirana, he met all the main political forces and had a several-hour, one-on-one meeting with President Berisha. It was Deputy Secretary Wirth himself who, after the meeting with Berisha, declared: “The Albanian president assured me that the 26 May elections would be completely free and democratic.” But on 26 May, the elections turned into a farce, and the U.S. administration has so far taken the most critical stance toward the Tirana regime. Berisha’s confrontational stance toward the U.S. is not new. Mr. Shifter, Deputy Chairman of the American National Security Council, was the first senior American official who, two years ago, found himself face-to-face with the door of Berisha’s office. Arthur, sent by the U.S. government to mediate in the case of the five imprisoned members of the Greek minority, was shown the road to Rinas instead of being allowed to talk with Berisha during his second visit to Tirana. Since then, especially after the elections, the pro-government press has launched fierce attacks on Mr. Shifter. But now Wirth seems to be suffering the same fate. It is certain that President Berisha’s many “duties” could not possibly have been the reason for canceling the meeting. It is enough to recall that he has met secretaries of associations and organizations from Africa, Asia, or Latin America, with no influence on the country’s political, economic, or social life. Berisha’s decision seems like a pathological grudge against the American “enemy,” who has declared war on the dictatorship established on 26 May. One thing is certain: the senior American diplomat would have presented Berisha face-to-face with the U.S. concerns about the elections and would have asked him, on behalf of the U.S. government, to hold the elections again. After this refusal, it is not very difficult to predict the climate of bilateral relations, which cannot be eased even by the presence of American Marines in Bizë... E. BARÇI

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From yesterday’s military exercise in Bizë photo L.Lika Reuters