ANKARA

Greece is optimistic that Albania will agree to refer their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mitsotakis described the matter as “a debate that continues between our countries with many legal complexities,” but said “significant progress” has been made in recent months, Greek daily Kathimerini reported.

The Greek premier’s comments came in Albania’s capital Tirana, where he attended the EU-Western Balkans summit on Tuesday and held bilateral talks with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Mitsotakis said he remains hopeful Albania “will do its part” to move ahead with the signing of an agreement to refer the dispute to the ICJ, alluding to a “mutual understanding” with Rama, the report said.

Greece and Albania have had contesting maritime claims in the Ionian Sea for decades, with a delimitation agreement inked in 2009 to resolve the issue.

However, Rama, an opposition leader at the time, challenged the agreement in Albania’s Constitutional Court, arguing it gifted Greece 225 square kilometers (86 square miles) of Albanian territorial waters.

The court agreed in 2010, extending a dispute that remains a constant source of tension between Athens and Tirana. The issue came to the fore again after the Greek Parliament approved a bill in January 2021 to double Greek’s territorial waters in the Ionian Sea from six to 12 miles.

Despite Mitsotakis’ apparent optimism, the Kathimerini report pointed out that “there is some way to go before Albania approves the process.”

It said Greece saw “no substantial results” after asking the US and Germany to mediate with Albania.

The constitutional impediment that Tirana invoked to strike down the 2009 agreement also “in various ways, still exists,” the report added.

​​​​Greek opposition slams Mitsotakis’ trip

Syriza-PS, the main Greek opposition party, criticized Mitsotakis’ visit to Albania, saying the prime minister failed to achieve any tangible results.

There was no progress on the EEZ dispute, the party said in a statement, labeling the trip “a major fiasco as far as Greek interests are concerned.”

Mitsotakis’ decision to cancel a scheduled visit to areas home to the ethnic Greek minority in Albania was made on Rama’s behest, the statement added.