Albania is "categorically" opposed to attempts to secure recognition of a Palestinian state in the United Nations, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Barisha, said in a speech before the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) in Jerusalem.
"Short cuts will not produce the desired result, peace," he said.
He also stressed that a nuclear Iran "is for sure the greatest threat to peace and stability in the region and in the world."
"There is only one man who I know of today who is using the same language which the Nazis used 70 years ago and that is (Iranian) President Ahmedinejad," Berisha added.
He noted that Albania is a predominantly Muslim country, but one that could serve as a model of coexistence and mutual respect. He denounced the hijacking of Islam by extremists.
Speaking on the long tradition of friendship between Albania and Israel, he reiterated his country's admiration for the Jewish state and expressed his satisfaction that Israel would shortly be opening an embassy in Tirana, the Albanian capital.
During the Holocaust, Albania rescued its Jewish community and many Jewish refugees.