The diplomatic relations between

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

were established in 1922. In September 2020, Ukraine opened an embassy in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

. Albania is accredited to Ukraine from its embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and has an honorary consulate in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. Both countries are members of the BSCE and

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. Albania is member of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, for which Ukraine applied for membership in 2022.

History

Early contacts

During a visit to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Albanian leader

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

visited

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

on his way to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Post–Cold War and new relations

Albania recognized the independence of Ukraine on January 4, 1992. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on January 13, 1993. The Embassy of Ukraine in Albania has been operating since September 1, 2020. In early 2023, Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka announced that Albania plans to open its embassy in Ukraine. On July 2, 2020, Albania handed over a diplomatic note on opening of a diplomatic mission of Albania in Ukraine. In September 2021, a new Head of the Albanian diplomatic mission in Ukraine, Adhurim Resuli, was appointed.

Opposition to Russian activity

Annexation of Crimea and War in Donbas

Albania opposed the

2014 annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

by Russia and its moves to destabilise eastern areas of

. Albanian authorities stated the West needed to respond in a firm and unitary manner toward Russian actions in Ukraine. In March 2014, Albania voted in favour of the

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 was adopted on 27 March 2014 by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and entitled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine ...

which affirmed the General Assembly's commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and underscored the invalidity of the

2014 Crimean referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russi ...

2022 invasion of Ukraine

As Russian military actions in Ukraine commenced, Albanian President

Ilir Meta Ilir Rexhep Meta (; born 24 March 1969) is an Albanian former politician who served as President of Albania from 2017 to 2022. Previously Meta served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he was Speaker of the Parliament of Albania from 2013 ...

, Prime Minister

Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...

, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs

Olta Xhaçka Olta Xhaçka (born 25 December 1979) is an Albanian politician and Socialist Party member of Parliament. She served as the minister of Europe and foreign affairs from January 2021 to September 2023. She served as Albanian minister of social welf ...

, and Ambassador to the UN

Ferit Hoxha Ferit Hoxha (born 22 February 1967 in Koplik, Albania) is the Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations, in New York City. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2015, was succeeded by Besiana Kadare, and again assumed ...

made statements condemning the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. After a NATO summit, Rama said that Albania would be ready to welcome a few thousand

Ukrainian refugees An ongoing refugee crisis began in Europe in late February 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Over 6 million refugees fleeing Ukraine are recorded across Europe, while an estimated 8 million others had been Internally displaced person, ...

fleeing the war. Albania opposed Russia's recognition of the separatist regions in Ukraine's Donbas as independent and considered it a violation of international law, the Minsk Protocol and Ukrainian sovereignty. In late February 2022, Albania and the US tabled a co-written resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the 15 member UN Security Council, but failed to pass as Russia vetoed it. At the UN Security Council, Albania cosponsored a resolution with the US for an emergency General Assembly session to be held regarding the invasion of Ukraine. As it was a procedural vote, Russia's opposition did not affect the outcome and the resolution passed. In a phone call with Prime minister Rama, Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

thanked Albania's efforts and assistance to Ukraine. The name of a Tirana street where the Russian embassy is located was changed to "Free Ukraine" by Mayor

Erion Veliaj Erion Veliaj (born December 17, 1979) is an Albanian politician who has served as the 42nd mayor of Tirana since 2015. Beginning as an activist and the leader of MJAFT!, Veliaj joined the ranks of the Socialist Party of Albania in 2011, where h ...

. In early March, Albania's honorary consulate in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

was shelled and destroyed by Russian forces, there were no casualties as its staff had evacuated the building. A resolution was passed by the Albanian parliament supporting Ukraine and its borders. Albania delivered military equipment to Ukraine for its combat operations opposing Russia. In mid-March, Albania received 351 Ukrainian refugees with the government offering to house several thousand other Ukrainians. Albania has allowed any Ukrainians entering the country to remain without visas and a resident's permit for up to a year. In the years following the invasion, Albania kept reiterating its support for Ukraine in its fight to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty. In 2024, the President of Albania

Bajram Begaj Bajram Begaj (born 20 March 1967) is an Albanian politician and military officer who has been President of Albania since 2022. Having had a long career in the Albanian army, he served as the 26th Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Fo ...

considered Ukrainian people and government as 'the everyday heroes of resistance in the name of sovereignty and human dignity'. In February 2024 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited

, where he attended a summit of southeastern European countries. During his visit, he presented his vision of peace in Ukraine and promoted the idea of joint arms production with Albania. A joint declaration signed by 10 countries at the summit said their leaders were ready to take part in a Ukrainian-led peace summit in Switzerland in the spring of 2024 to discuss Zelenskyy's vision of peace.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Albania has an embassy in

. * Ukraine has an embassy in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albania-Ukraine relations

Bilateral relations of Ukraine