Albania is planning to open its embassy in Kyiv “soon,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social platform X on Feb. 28 after meeting his Albanian counterpart Igli Hasani in Tirana.

Ukraine opened its embassy in Albania in 2020, 27 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Albania maintains an honorary consulate in Kharkiv, and its diplomatic representation in Ukraine is carried out through its embassy in Warsaw.

Kuleba said he “greatly appreciates” Albania’s decision to open an embassy in Kyiv, which, according to him, “will significantly boost” the nations’ ties.

“We identified ways to strengthen defense cooperation, with a particular emphasis on artillery ammunition,” the Ukrainian minister noted, as Kyiv faces critical shell shortages.

Kuleba also thanked Albania for its willingness to join the Core Group on the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Zelensky arrived in Tirana late on Feb. 27 to attend the second Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit, marking his first visit to Albania since the start of the full-scale invasion.

During the visit, Zelensky signed a Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and met other European leaders.

Read also: Albania, Ukraine sign cooperation agreement

We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.