Albania's prime minister ends Serbia trip with visit to ethnic Albanian-dominated south

Published December 04, 2015

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama reacts during an interview with The Associated Press in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Nov. 10, 2014. Rama arrived on a two-day official visit to Serbia the first by an Albanian leader in 68 years. The prime ministers of Serbia and Albania pledged Monday to put their differences aside and focus on their mutual desire to join the European Union — but the detente between the Balkan rivals didn't even last until the end of their joint press conference. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (The Associated Press)

Albania's prime minister has struck a conciliatory tone as he wrapped up a two-day trip to Serbia with a visit to the ethnic Albanian-dominated south.

Edi Rama said Tuesday the two countries need to overcome a troubled past and work toward EU membership.

Relations between Albania and Serbia hit a low during the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Soon after that conflict, ethnic Albanians in Serbia's Presevo Valley staged an insurgency. The conflict ended in 2001 with a deal granting the ethnic Albanian minority more rights.

Rama's visit, the first by an Albanian official in 68 years, was underlined with tensions as he remarked that Serbia has to come to terms with losing its former province.

Kosovo's 2008 secession is fiercely rejected by Serbia.

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