- Title: GERMANY: Albania to bring normality to lawless village - Rama
- Date: 18th June 2014
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JUNE 18, 2014) (REUTERS) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER AND ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER EDI RAMA ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE ALBANIAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "For everything that lies ahead the question will be whether we will succeed to make the Russian-Ukrainian border less transient for the delivery of weapons and fighters. That will be the job at hand for the next hours and days to come." RAMA SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER EDI RAMA, SAYING: "We will bring normality and law and order to that region. This action will continue to go on, the police are working on it. They are fighting against armed militants. This shows not only our will but also our ability to continue the fight against drug smuggling." RAMA AND STEINMEIER LEAVING
- Embargoed: 3rd July 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA54IWKX2J5EIOLAK7UJ81BZ1E6
- Story Text: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier repeated a call on Wednesday (June 18) for both Russia and Ukraine to better control their common border in order to stop fighters and weapons from infiltrating into the volatile eastern Ukrainian region.
"For everything that lies ahead the question will be whether we will succeed to make the Russian-Ukrainian border less transient for the delivery of weapons and fighters. That will be the job at hand for the next hours and days to come," Steinmeier said after meeting Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Rama vowed to impose a rule of law on a region known for cannabis plantations, where police launched a crackdown on Monday (June 16) and faced heavily armed cannabis farmers.
"We will bring normality and law and order to that region. This action will continue to go on, the police are working on it. They are fighting against armed militants. This shows not only our will but also our ability to continue the fight against drug smuggling,"
Police raided a cannabis plantation in a lawless Albanian village Lazarat, exchanging fire with locals who responded with anti-tank grenades and heavy machinegun rounds.
The raid was launched after police came under fire on Saturday (June 14) as they started the first serious security operation against the marijuana growers who have made the area their fiefdom in the more than two decades since the end of communist rule.
The security crackdown began just days before the European Union's 28 member states decide whether to confirm Albania as a candidate to eventually join the bloc - something that would require convincing undertakings about the rule of law. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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