Albania–Serbia relations


Albanian–Serbian relations are foreign relations between Albania and Serbia. Albania has an embassy in Belgrade. Serbia has an embassy in Tirana. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Central European Free Trade Agreement and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Serbia and Albania are both official candidate countries for EU accession.. However, despite this relationship, the two countries have, in general, had a very tense confrontation, owning to the Kosovo dispute, historical massacres of Albanians by Serbian military, persecution of Serbs during Ottoman empire and Second World War, and Albanian involvement in the Yugoslav War.

History

Ottoman period

In the late Ottoman period, Serbian diplomat Ilija Garašanin contacted the abbot of Mirdita, Msgr. Gasper Krasniqi, with the goal of acquiring the Albanian Catholic element as the alleged solution to the "Eastern Question". However, their goals were different. While Garašanin considered those contacts as means for the realization of a Serbian exit to the Adriatic Sea, Krasniqi made effort to help Serbia to organize a revolution of the Albanian Catholic community, primarily Mirdita, against the Turks, for the political freedom and independence of Albania.

Balkan Wars

At the beginning of Balkan Wars, one of the important strategic goals of Serbian politics was to acquire a corridor to the Adriatic Sea, as such, its intention had been to share a common border with its ally the Kingdom of Greece thus denying the Albanian nation independent status. The First Balkan War found the Albanians as a nation fighting for its own national state. This fighting was largely limited, however, to militia operations and guerrilla tactics.

World War II

During World War II, a very close cooperation developed between the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the People's Liberation Army of Albania. The Albanian People's Army assumed power in the country in 1944. Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was the first country to recognize the new government of Albania in April 1945.

Cold War

There were communist plans to create a Balkan federation which would include Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. However, after the resolution of Informbiro 1948, Albania broke relations with the Yugoslav communists, because Enver Hoxha remained loyal to the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

Yugoslav Wars

21st century

visited Serbia and met with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić on 10 November 2014 for the first meeting of its type between the two countries' leadership since the 1947 meeting of Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha with President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito. However, tempers flared when Rama said that Kosovo's independence was "undeniable" and "must be respected" and Vucic accused him of a "provocation".

Minority rights

In December 2008 Serbian police arrested ten former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, in an Albanian-populated area bordering Kosovo. Serbia's war crimes prosecution office stated that it had evidence that the ten KLA members had killed 51 people and kidnapped 159 civilians in Kosovo between June and October 1999. In January 2009 Albanian President Bamir Topi demanded that Serbia respect the Albanian minority in southern Serbia.