
In a recent development, Albania has accepted a request by the US to temporarily take in Afghan refugees seeking visas to enter the United States, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Sunday,
As per Rama, US President Joe Biden's administration had recently asked fellow NATO member Albania to assess whether it could serve as a transit country for a number of Afghan refugees whose final destination is the US.
On his Facebook account, Rama said, "We will not say 'No', not just because our great allies ask us to, but because we are Albania".
Albania ready to temporarily house Afghan refugees, PM Rama says
Biden's administration, according to Reuters, has been in talks with nations such as Kosovo and Albania about the protection of US-affiliated Afghans until they are approved for US visas.
Luan Dalipi, chief of staff of prime minister Albin Kurti, said his government had been in contact with US authorities since mid-July about housing Afghan refugees.
"There's a lot of logistical, technical, security and social work that we are handling carefully," Dalipi said in a statement.
More than two decades after the 1998-1999 war with the then-Yugoslav security forces, hundreds of US troops remain in Kosovo as peacekeepers.
In 2014, Albania accepted some 3,000 members of the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran, also known by its Farsi name Mujahideen-e-Khalq, and they have settled in a camp near Durres, the country's main port.
(With inputs from agencies)