Swearing in and taking office by the elected Mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri has nothing to do with the judicial function in Albania, but it is simply a matter of political will on the part of the Albanian government, underlined Thursday Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis. 

In a statement to Greek media after his participation in the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers "Gymnich" in Toledo, Minister Gerapetritis warned that Greece will continue to use every opportunity, in order to enable the swearing in of Mr. Beleri as mayor and to express in the best way the will of the inhabitants of Himara, as it came through its municipal elections on May 14 

This reaction by Greek diplomacy came only a few hours after Prime Minister Rama's interview on public television ERT mainly about the imprisonment of Mr. Beleri, Greek-Albanian relations and the Greek minority in Albania. 

"The issue of the temporary detention of Fredi Beler, which prevents his swearing in as mayor of Himara, has already been raised by the Foreign Ministry, by me, in all possible forums. All the ministers of the EU member states, the High Representative for the Foreign Policy of the EU and the Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Stoltenberg, have been informed personally. The European Commission and the European Parliament have also been fully informed. 

I had the opportunity to have an extensive one-on-one discussion with the Commissioner responsible for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, with whom we raised the issues of the Western Balkans. Greece, as you know, has taken the initiative to accelerate the path of the Western Balkans towards the European family. And 20 years after the historic Thessaloniki Declaration, Greece will always be a support for these countries regarding their European perspective. 

Especially in the case of Mr. Beleris, I want to emphasize that, regardless of the issue of judicial decisions, the independence of the Albanian judiciary, here is the issue of detention that prevents him from taking office. This is a clear violation of the presumption of innocence, the rule of law, his political rights and the citizens of Himara who elected him. 

And I want to emphasize that this matter, especially the oath and assumption of duty by Mr. Beleris, has nothing to do with the judicial function in Albania, but is simply a matter of political will, on the part of the Albanian government. And for this reason, Greece will continue to use every opportunity, in order to enable the swearing in of Mr. Beleri as mayor and to express in the best way the will of the inhabitants of Himara, as it came through its municipal elections on May 14", declared the Greek Foreign Minister.