MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. The Albanian government supports the Kiev regime in the political, diplomatic, military, economic and humanitarian spheres, Russian Ambassador to Albania Alexey Zaitsev said in an interview with TASS.

"Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation [in Ukraine], the Albanian government has embarked on a course of comprehensive support for the Kiev regime - in the political, diplomatic, military, economic and humanitarian fields," the Russian diplomat noted.

"This assumed direction is carried out both in a bilateral format and on international platforms - in the UN, OSCE, PACE," Zaitsev noted.

The Russian diplomat recalled that in 2022-2023, when Albania held a chair of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, it actively conducted the so-called Ukrainian dossier, demonstrating solidarity with the West and Ukraine, joined all packages of illegal anti-Russian sanctions adopted by the European Union.

"Unfortunately, the Albanian authorities ignore calls from the Russian side to take a more balanced position and refrain from participating in blatant Russophobic formats," Zaitsev continued.

Under this context, the Russian diplomat pointed out to the fact that in January of this year, Albania and Ukraine signed an agreement on security cooperation, providing comprehensive long-term support to the Kiev regime. Along the same course, the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit was held in Kiev, the key topic of which was the provision of comprehensive assistance to the Ukrainian authorities, he added.

"We also witness indicative statements made by Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, who on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Summit in Brussels in June this year had thanked Albania for providing financial, humanitarian and military assistance, including supplies of ‘armored vehicles, helicopters and ammunition’ to Ukraine," Zaitsev added.

The diplomat noted that in recent years, the territory of Albania has seen an expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance’s military infrastructure.

"In recent years, there has been an expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure in the Balkans in general, and in Albania in particular," according to him. "Among such developments is the opening in March 2024 of a NATO tactical airbase in the city of Kucove (Central Albania)."

"Work is also under way to modernize transport and maritime infrastructure, including for the needs of NATO’s Combined Naval Forces," the diplomat stated.