Turkey During the post-cold war, geo-political complexities and conflicts in the
Balkans, made Albania seek a protector power with
Turkey, which is a NATO member. During
civil war in 1997, Turkey alongside other countries, participated in
Operation Alba by providing a brigade of 800 Turkish troops to restore order and its involvement served mainly as a stabilising force. Turkey considers its friendship with Albania as important due to the context of state relations with Greece and through policy have exploited difficulties arising in Albanian-Greek relations. Having a powerful ally in Turkey has suited Albania at times regarding difficult interstate relations with Greece. Albania's emergence in the Balkans as a key NATO partner contributed to good and stronger Albanian-Turkish relations, in particular relating to military matters. The military alliance during the 1990s between Turkey and Albania was also aimed against Serbia in case a war over Kosovo had a wider regional spread. Greece has expressed concerns regarding Turkish relations with Albania and interpreted them as an anti-Greek measure to isolate Greece within the wider context of Albania being a potential outlet for expanding Muslim influence and Turkey allying with Muslim populations in the Balkans. Turkey on the other hand claimed Greece increased tensions within the region and conveyed concerns relating to Albanian and Greek polemics with Ankara expressing a partial bias on Albania's side angering the Greeks. Though not officially considered in Turkey as a rival within Albania, during the unrest of 1997 Greece was able to become an influential actor in Albania and the early period of the Kosovo crisis (1998-1999) when Albanian officials looked to Greece for assistance. The resumption of closer Albanian-Turkish relations ensured during the Kosovo crisis that made both countries act along the same policy lines toward
Slobodan Milošević and the issue of
Greater Serbia. Turkey supported Albania's membership to become part of
NATO. Albania has come to depend heavily on Turkish assistance and a high amount of military security. Radar systems for the surveillance of Albanian airspace in addition to telecommunication equipment have been supplied by Turkey to Albania. Albania receives Turkish assistance for police training. State relations of Albania with Turkey are friendly and close, due to maintenance of close links with the Albanian diaspora in Turkey and strong Turkish sociopolitical, cultural, economic and military ties with Albania. In
Gallup polls conducted in recent times Turkey is viewed as a
friendly country by 73% of people in Albania. Albania has established political and economic ties with Arab countries, in particular with
Arab Persian Gulf states who have heavily invested in religious, transport and other infrastructure alongside other facets of the economy in addition to the somewhat limited societal links they share. Albania is also working to develop social-political and economic ties with
Israel.
Greece After the fall of the Albanian
communist regime in 1991, relations between
Greece and Albania became increasingly strained because of widespread allegations of mistreatment by Albanian authorities of the Greek ethnic minority in southern Albania and of mistreatment the Albanian communities in northern Greece. A wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. The crisis in Greek–Albanian relations reached its peak in late August 1994, when an Albanian court sentenced five members (a sixth member was added later) of the ethnic Greek political party
Omonia to prison terms on charges of undermining the Albanian state. Greece responded by freezing all
EU aid to Albania, and sealing its border with Albania. In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the
Omonia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four. There are still other impending issues in the relations between the two countries, regarding many Albanian workers in Greece who have not received legal papers despite promises by the Greek government. In 1996, the two countries signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship and discussed the issues of the status of Albanian refugees in Greece and education in the
mother tongue for the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania. In the 1990s, Greece preferred and assisted
Fatos Nano as Albanian leader due to him being Orthodox over
Sali Berisha a Muslim, as Nano was seen as being friendlier to Greek interests. The government of Fatos Nano was viewed by Turkey as having a pro-Greek orientation and expressed some dissatisfaction though during that time still maintained close military relations with Albania in rebuilding its armed forces and a military base. Today, as result of very frequent high-level contacts between the governments and the parliaments, relations between the two countries are regarded as excellent. Greece is a staunch supporter of the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Republic of Albania. Since Albania's NATO entry in May 2009, Albanian-Greek relations have been developing on all fronts, and especially after the election victory of
Edi Rama in 2013, with the Albanian Chief of Foreign Policy, Ralf Gjoni, describing the diplomatic relations between two countries as "excellent". Greece today is Albania's most important European Union ally and NATO partner. At the Albanian government's request, about 250 Greek military personnel are stationed in Albania to assist with the training and restructuring of the Albanian Armed Forces, as part of the NATO programme. Big projects currently in running between the two countries include the touristic development of the Ionian coastline shared between the two countries, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which helped boosting the relations of the two countries even further. Albania's ties with Greece are also based on cultural and historic relations of the two peoples, including migration and national minorities. In addition, since Albania's transition to democracy, Greece has become a major financial partner of the country with Albania's economy being heavily reliant on investments from Greece. Culturally, the two nations' populations, whilst having a tense history, share numerous cultural and historic traits that have been used to boost the political relations of the neighbouring countries. There had been numerous discussions, research and attempts by Albanians and Greeks to form a confederation during the Ottoman period. In the 19th century there were plans to create a Greek-Albanian confederation, which was revived from the earlier 18th century plans. In 1907 a special protocol and memorandum of understanding was signed by
Neoklis Kazazis and
Ismail Qemali, the first
prime minister of Albania. Furthermore, Arvanite author Aristides Kollias in his book "The proclamation of the Association of Arvanites" states "from 1881 to 1907 we have sustained efforts and repeated consultations between Greeks and Albanians to create a Greek-Albanian state." In addition, Thanos Paleologos-Anagnostopoulos in his book "Greece and Albania in the early 20th century (1995)" stated that Ismail Qemali, a philhellene, worked with numerous Greek politicians and lobbyists, including
Arvanite leaders, on a possible Greek-Albanian federation, one that "maintains national and religious independence of the two peoples." Likewise, Neoklis Kazazis saw this as a way of Greece quashing Italian influence in the region. == International ==