Rama is lobbying for a meeting with Trump or Rubio at the Davos Summit in 2 weeks

2026-01-14 12:12:39Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Edi Rama

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has not had any official visit or direct contact with the United States for months, in a period that coincides with the change of administration in Washington and the transfer of power to the Republicans. This situation is not only related to the political change in the US, but also to Rama's previous public, official and unofficial positions and statements towards the American President, Donald Trump.

The peak of the tension between Rama and the Trump administration is an episode that occurred during the European Political Community Summit in Copenhagen in November 2025. There, Rama was filmed making an ironic joke about US President Donald Trump , in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. According to the report of the American media Newsweek, Rama addressed Macron ironically a slip of Trump, who in his recent statements had mentioned that he had brokered a peace agreement between Albania and Azerbaijan — a conflict that in reality did not exist.

“You should apologize to us for not congratulating us on the peace agreement that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan,” Rama said at the time as other leaders laughed. Macron responded with a mocking apology.

As a result, the perception has been consolidated in Washington that Trump and his inner circle have no interest in building political relations with Rama and his government. One of the strongest opponents of a meeting between Trump and Rama is the US President's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who considers such a meeting politically harmful and unprofitable for the White House. Rama is also seen by a significant part of Trump's team as a political figure closely linked to networks financed by George Soros.

Despite this reality, the Albanian prime minister has intensified his lobbying efforts. Verified journalistic sources claim that Rama has engaged well-known businessmen, politicians and international intermediaries close to Trump's family and political circle, with the aim of opening a communication channel that would lead to a direct meeting. These attempts, however, have not yielded results to date.

The name of Richard Grenell, who in the past has been involved in informal negotiations for a meeting between Rama and Trump, has also been mentioned in this process. Various media reports state that Grenell has recently distanced himself from the center of American decision-making , which has made this channel practically closed to official Tirana.

Meanwhile, sources close to the Albanian government tell Vox News that Rama is in intensive negotiations to hold a meeting with either Donald Trump himself or US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the World Economic Summit in Davos , which is expected to be held in two weeks. There is still no official confirmation of such a meeting, while resistance to Rama within Trump's political circle remains strong and structured.

Rama's efforts to break the political isolation in Washington look more like a lobbying battle than a consolidated diplomatic process, while Davos is expected to show whether these attempts will materialize or remain simply part of an unsuccessful rapprochement strategy.

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