Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama sparked a diplomatic furor at a global sustainability summit, launching a personal tirade against a Greek American moderator and declaring that modern Greeks are “not the heirs of Plato and Aristotle.”
The outburst occurred during a panel at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, moderated by veteran journalist John Defterios.
The exchange began when Mr. Defterios mispronounced the names of Mr. Rama and fellow panelist Milojko Spajić, the prime minister of Montenegro.
While Mr. Spajić corrected the error calmly, the Albanian leader appeared visibly agitated. Mr. Rama immediately attributed the mistake to the journalist’s ethnicity, accusing him of a uniquely Greek arrogance.
“This is what you do—you always belittle people because you think you have a monopoly on philosophy,” Mr. Rama told Mr. Defterios in front of a stunned audience. “You think you are the direct heirs of Plato and Aristotle, but you are not.”
‘Calculating like a Greek’
The confrontation escalated as the discussion turned to economics.
When Mr. Defterios cited a $1 billion investment figure for a project in Albania, Mr. Rama interrupted to correct him, using the moment to invoke stereotypes about Greek financial reliability.
“You are calculating like a Greek again,” Mr. Rama said. “When you talk about your own money, you add three zeros. When you talk about other people’s money, you subtract three zeros. That is what you do.
That is why the EU loves you so much.”
The tension on stage culminated in a sarcastic and factually baffling assertion regarding neighboring Montenegro.
Standing beside Mr. Spajić, whose country has a population of approximately 630,000, Mr. Rama proclaimed it the "largest country in the region."
“It has 50 million citizens; we are a small country,” Mr. Rama said, a comment that drew scattered, confused laughter from the crowd.
Mr. Defterios, a former CNN anchor with decades of experience in the region, attempted to defuse the situation with humor but did not respond directly to the insults.
The incident comes at a delicate moment for Greek-Albanian relations, which remain strained over issues involving ethnic minority rights and maritime borders.
Mr. Rama’s rhetoric, often characterized by a combative populist style, has drawn sharp rebukes from Athens in the past.
Greek officials have not yet issued a formal response to the remarks.
However, analysts warn that such personalized attacks at high-level international forums risk deepening the diplomatic rift between Tirana and Athens.