Albanian political parties strike deal to end crisis

After several hours of talks, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama and head of Albanian opposition Lulzim Basha reached an agreement in the early hours of Thursday to end the political crisis here.

The much-awaited agreement was put on the table as the way out by U.S. State Department official Hoyt Yee as an attempt to persuade the opposition to take part in elections.

The Albanian opposition, led by the Democratic Party, had been protesting and boycotting the parliamentary works since Feb. 18.

After the long hour meeting between two main political leaders at parliament's presidency, both Rama and Basha told reporters that the details of the agreement they reached would be disclosed within 24 hours.

Albania was scheduled to hold general elections on June 18 but the opposition parties had refused to register and take part in these elections.

Although none of them gave any details, unofficial sources told media here that Basha and Rama agreed on ending the crisis based on a European-U.S. plan, which includes the voting of the vetting process as part justice reform, the postponement of the parliamentary election which was scheduled to take place on June 18 and several minister posts approved by the opposition.

After shaking hands with his opponent, Basha went to the tent where his supporters were and informed them about the agreement.

"Everything we stood for these three months is accomplished. The agreement opens the way to free and fair elections. I thank you all to your resistance," the DP leader told supporters.

However, he stressed that the tent would remain open until the agreement reached is detailed. Enditem