Albania and Turkey have generally always had stable and friendly relations. There is a fairly large population of Albanian descendants in Turkey (approximately 5 million). Albania was the last country to claim independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. Albania and Turkey are both predominantly muslim nations, both countries are members of NATO, but neither are yet members of the EU. Turkey is a candidate for becoming a member of the EU and Albania is a potential candidate for becoming a member of the EU.
Recently, in November 2012, Albania was going to vote for Palestine to become a state. However, this did not go over because of the heavy criticism and you could say bullying, from Turkey. The prime minister of Turkey said, "The world consists of many cowards" directed towards Albania. In an attempt to keep good relations with the country, they changed their vote later from no to vote in abstention against Palestine becoming a state.
I found this interesting. I was not aware of how close Turkey and Albania's relations were. Also, I didn't realize that they were both attempting to become members of the EU. It seems like if they were able to cooperate, they would stand a better chance of becoming members. I also didn't realize that Turkey had so much influence in that area.
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