Scandalous Statement by Edi Rama’s Analyst: The U.S. Embassy in Tirana Has Seriously Lost Its Influence

Baton Haxhiu, who is known as the media spokesperson of Edi Rama, made a scandalous statement during an appearance on the show Opinion on Thursday, February 19, 2026. He said that the embassy of the most powerful state in the world no longer has any influence in Albania.

In a studio debate with Democratic Party MP Belind Këlliçi, Haxhiu declared that the power of the U.S. Embassy in Albania has declined.

Discussion in the studio:

Program host: Were you serious when you said that the Americans might remove the ambassador here?

Baton Haxhiu: Not remove him…

Program host: That there might not be a resident ambassador?

Haxhiu: Yes, that it could be covered by a country in the region. But because of stability, there will be one. The last cable sent from the U.S. Embassy in Tirana to the State Department is dated December 16. That cable concerned Mirlinda Karçanaj. From that date until today, there has been no other cable from the Embassy to the State Department.

Belind Këlliçi (DP MP): How do you know the last cable was on that date, since those are secret?

Haxhiu: I know. This shows that the power of the embassy has seriously declined, and they will wait for the new staff…

The statement by Edi Rama’s most trusted media figure, that the United States Embassy in Tirana has seriously lost its influence in Albania, is described as not only scandalous but extremely grave, especially when referring to the embassy of the world’s most powerful country, for which diplomacy is one of its main pillars.

It is worth recalling that Baton Haxhiu has publicly declared himself a close friend of the Prime Minister of Albania and is often used by him to publicly convey messages that the head of the executive wishes to send to the broader public.