The portal "Lecanton27.ch", which calls itself "the first Swiss newspaper in the Albanian language", published yesterday (October 2) an article claiming that official Tirana is pro-"Greater Russia".
With the title "Tirana says YES to "Greater Russia"! Of the nine European countries (NATO members) that denounce Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territories, Edi Rama's Albania is missing?!", this portal has hinted that Albania is in favor of, as it is said, "Greater Russia".
In the content of the article, the aforementioned portal, based on Albania's non-involvement in an interstate initiative to condemn Russia's unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, calls it unfounded as an approval by official Tirana and Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Link to the article published on the portal "Lecanton27.ch":
However, after research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has confirmed that Albania is against the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia.
On October 1, Albania and the United States submitted a draft resolution to the UN against the Russian annexation of regions of Ukraine, which was voted for by ten countries. (see here)
Also, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Albania, through a post on Twitter, writes that Albania condemns the fake referendums organized by Russia in Ukraine and that official Tirana will not recognize their predetermined results. (see here)
The portal "Lecanton27.ch" made this claim after the joint statement of the presidents of Central and Eastern Europe, who condemned the annexation of Ukrainian territories by the Russian Federation. (see statement) here)
According to the Office of the President of Poland, Andrzej Dud, the presidents who have attached themselves to this statement are: President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman; President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis; President of the Republic of Latvia, Egils Levits; President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda; President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski; President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović; President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda; President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis; President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová.
In order to avoid aligning Albania with this position, or more precisely Prime Minister Edi Rama, the portal "Lecanton27.ch" has presented this as an approval by official Tirana for "the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia."
So, it is not true that Tirana has said "yes" to "Greater Russia", as falsely claimed in the title of the article published on "Lecanton27.ch".
Analyze:
The portal "Lecanton27.ch" claimed that Tirana said "yes" to "Greater Russia", linking it to the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Moscow.
This entire allegation was raised by Edi Rama's failure to make a statement regarding this issue.
However, this claim in this article is incorrect, as Albania has repeatedly spoken out against Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories. On October 1, at the UN, together with the US, they submitted a draft resolution against the Russian annexation of Ukrainian regions.
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Albania also stated in a post on Twitter that Albania condemns the fake referendums organized by Russia in Ukraine and that official Tirana will not recognize their predetermined results.
After fact-checking analysis based on the work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the article published by "Lecanton27.ch" as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.