The Christmas Theater venue in the Athens district of Galatsi will, by all accounts, host Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s rally on Monday for Albanian nationals residing in the Greek capital.
The venue, known as the Galatsi Olympic Hall during the 2004 Athens Games when it hosted the table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics competitions, reportedly was the Rama team’s first choice for the rally, with initial apprehension on the part of the company that manages the site overcome.
Rama arrives in the Greek capital on a private visit, with the Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in Ankara for an official trip the same day. The latter, in fact, said Rama’s visit does not entail “bilateral characteristics”, given the current frigid official relations between Athens and Tirana in the wake of the Beleri case.
Beyond the company managing and commercially exploiting the venue, approval was also given by the Hellenic Public Properties Co., the owner of the site.
Rampant speculation emerged this week when the organizers of the rally could not finalize a venue to host the Edi Rama rally and what, according to reports, will also be a musical show.
Mitsotakis: Rama visit ‘unnecessary’ at this point
A day earlier, Mitsotakis himself was asked about the Rama visit to Athens on Monday, during a wide-ranging interview with protothema.gr
Asked about the Edi Rama rally in Athens on Monday while he’s on an official visit to Ankara, Mitsotakis said:
“…first off, he’s not coming as a guest of the Greek government. It isn’t a visit…with bilateral characteristics. He (Edi Rama) comes, as I understand, to speak to fellow (Albanian) citizens. He has a right to do so. Beyond this, I think that this is an option that, at the present time in view of the European elections, seems rather unnecessary to me,” the Greek premier said.
