TIRANA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Albania and Greece will soon start negotiations on the delimitation of the maritime borders between two countries, Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said Wednesday in a statement.
The negotiations are expected to start after holding several talks on this issue since 2013 when Albania's Constitutional Court quashed an agreement on maritime borders signed between the two countries in 2009.
"The delimitation of maritime borders is in the best interest of both countries, both in terms of the final delineation of the frontiers where sovereignty and sovereign rights are exerted in these spaces, and also in terms of their economic exploitation," the Albanian foreign ministry said in its statement.
But, a statement made by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias for a Greek TV two days ago has sparked strong reactions from politics and public in Albania.
In his statement, Kotzias said Greece and Albania had agreed on delimitation of borders that would result in an expansion of Greek border by 12 miles towards Albania.
According to the Albanian opposition Democratic Party, Bushati has agreed to start negotiations with his Greek counterpart without consulting with Albanian President Ilir Meta and the parliamentary committees.
Opposition officials declared that for such issues, the involvement of the president and parliament in negotiations process is a must.
According to opposition and several representatives of civil society, the delimitation of maritime borders is a sensitive issue of national interest so the whole process should be made transparent.
Some Albanian political analysts even called such development as another betrayal made to Albanian citizens.
Former Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha accused current Prime Minister Edi Rama and the foreign minister of giving away around 1,000 square km maritime surface.
"With this agreement, under which Albania loses at least 1,000 square km maritime surface, Edi Rama kept the whole story a secret and Albanians learned it from the statement that Greek foreign minister Kotzias did in his country," Berisha said.
Meanwhile, Adriatik Llapaj, a civil society representative, said late Wednesday that citizens would stage a protest on Saturday against any potential agreement of this kind.
He said that if the Albanian government adopted such an agreement, the citizens would take to the street.
Reacting to such claims, Bushati said that the outcome of talks would be way better than those carried out by the then Albanian government in 2009.
"The agreement is in full compliance with the decision of Constitutional Court and the international right. The 2009 deal has been negotiated according to the principle of equidistance, the new one is being negotiated in compliance with the principle of equidistance, but adjusted to geography," Bushati said.
