In a wide-ranging interview, Albanian PM defended ongoing talks with Jared Kushner over the sale of Sazan Island in the Adriatic.
Nicholas Vinocur
Kushner, via his company Affinity Partners, is negotiating to purchase the formerly uninhabited, 5-square-kilometer island in the Adriatic for $1.4 billion in order to turn it into a luxury eco-resort with high-end villas, marinas and bunkers for wealthy visitors.
The plans have prompted howls of protest from environmental groups, with 41 organizations writing to Rama and his environment minister in January to urge the immediate breakoff of negotiations, arguing that the plans represent a “direct contradiction” of Albania’s obligations under the EU accession process.
Asked about the plans, Rama voiced frustration: “It’s incredible that even big channels, highly reputed worldwide, they even talk about an island that was sold to Jared Kushner. It’s not true … I don’t know how to make this end because we haven’t made a deal with Jared Kushner. We are negotiating a deal with Jared Kushner.”
Talks about the sale have been ongoing since before Trump’s second term, added Rama, at a time when it was “not clear if he [Trump] would be in the White House or in jail.” But the deal should in no way impede Albania’s bid to join the European Union, a process in which, along with Montenegro, “we are the frontrunners,” said Rama.
On the contrary, “I wish we will finally have the deal because if their [Kushner’s company] investment will go through, it will be a beautiful present … to make to Europe,” he said, adding that it was “about beauty, about sustainable development.”
An EU official, granted anonymity to speak freely, said the European Commission was aware of the planned sale and had no immediate comment on its potential impact on Albania’s accession bid.
