Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that on Thursday, February 19, he will travel to Washington to join U.S. President Donald Trump at the inaugural meeting of the founding states of the Peace Board.

Rama said Albania holds the privilege of being a founding member of the initiative and stressed that the country will not contribute financially to secure or maintain its membership. Instead, he said, Albania’s role is based on its international standing and dignity.

“I will be in Washington for the official establishment of the Peace Board and the launch of its activities, where Albania has the privilege of being a founding state,” Rama said. “Albania will not contribute money to become or remain a permanent member, but contributes with its dignity and with what has made it respected internationally and invited to such a high-level discussion on the future of peace.”

According to Rama, the invitation from Trump came at a time when Albania’s opposition was staging violent protests, including the use of fireworks and Molotov cocktails near government offices and parliament. The prime minister sharply criticized what he described as escalating acts of violence led by the opposition, referring specifically to the Democratic Party of Albania.

“Mercenaries reappeared at the start of this week and caused even more damage, moving on to throwing fully fledged homemade bombs prepared by the leadership of the so-called Democratic Party, injuring more police officers and causing burn wounds,” Rama said. He argued that such protests damage Albania’s image abroad and create a distorted perception of instability.

Rama claimed the opposition is undergoing what he called “an unstoppable degeneration,” describing it as a force without mission and driven solely by destructive intent. “The result is the further shrinking of what you might call a party — I don’t know what force it is anymore — a political structure with no mission, only a function,” he added.

In his weekly remarks, Rama also commented on developments in The Hague, where prosecutors have reportedly sought 45-year prison sentences for four prominent figures of Kosovo’s Liberation War. While he did not name the court directly, his remarks referred to proceedings at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

“The request for 45 years in prison for four significant figures of the Liberation War was a bomb thrown at the people and the Republic of Kosovo,” Rama said, criticizing what he described as an unworthy prosecution and calling it a disgrace for the states that support and finance the court.

The prime minister’s comments come amid heightened political tensions at home and renewed debate over Albania’s international positioning and regional developments.