The Foreign Minister, Olta Xhaçka, immediately responded to the statement of her Greek counterpart, Jorgo Gjerapetriti, after the latter stated that Beler's case is "political will" and that, according to him, the oath as mayor has nothing to do with justice.
In a reaction on Twitter, Xhaçka says that this issue is in the hands of the new justice bodies, which have already spoken clearly with their decisions.
"The issue of the mayor's oath banned by justice is an issue of justice. Not the Albanian government. Not even the Greek government", Minister Xhaçka declares.
The Albanian chief diplomat adds that she does not have the "political will" to release Fredi Beleri from prison, or to send him a notary to swear in the prison cell.
Xhačka's full reaction:
There is no way that our Greek friends and neighbors are the only ones who are right, when they insist on a request dismissed by the Albanian courts and clear to other friends and partners, who say that this is a matter of Albanian justice! https://t.ly/8N8Qo
The new Albanian justice bodies have spoken clearly with their decisions and the Albanian government has also spoken clearly: The issue of the oath of the mayor banned by justice is a matter of justice. Not the Albanian government. Nor the Greek government.
I told my Greek counterpart, for whom I have a lot of respect, that this issue should not be based on Greek law but on Albanian law.
And according to Albanian law, there is no political will to get Mr. Beleri out of prison or to put a notary in prison for him to take the oath as mayor.
Unfortunately, this is so and only so.