Taravari admits: Kurti was directly involved in Albanian politics in North Macedonia, without his guarantees I would not have joined VALEN

Taravari admits: Kurti was directly involved in Albanian politics in North Macedonia, without his guarantees I would not have joined VALEN 

The Chairman of the Alliance for Albanians, Arben Taravari, has made a strong statement regarding the involvement of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the formation of the VALID coalition in North Macedonia.

During a live broadcast to Euronews Albania, Taravari said that Kurti had a significant influence on his personal decision to join VLEN. He even goes further, describing the incumbent prime minister as the architect of this coalition of Albanians in the RMV.

“It definitely had an impact. I often say that the political architect of VLEN was Mr. Kurti, and without his guarantees I would not have made the decision to join VLEN,” he said.

The coalition, according to Taravar, has proven dysfunctional and unstable.

He stressed that he left the coalition because cooperation with other parties in VLEN has been “lethargic” and ineffective.

“I have said it publicly, before I left the government, both with Prime Minister Kurti and with Prime Minister Misovski here in Macedonia, as we were four parties plus Vetëvendosje in the coalition. All decisions had to be approved by the party bodies and by the coalition we formed,” he said.

Taravari admitted that, at some point, all coalition members agreed that internal functioning was weak and decided that until the local elections, each would act independently.

“But as party leader, I have an obligation to think about where my party will be in 2026 and beyond. If we evaluate the progress up to the local elections, I think we have not achieved much. It is more reasonable for the Alliance for Albanians to follow a clear path and develop as an independent party that functions on its own,” he concluded.