Overview

• At the European Political Community gathering in Copenhagen on Oct. 2, Albania’s Edi Rama joked about President Donald Trump’s error during an informal chat with Emmanuel Macron and Ilham Aliyev.
• Rama quipped that Macron should congratulate Aliyev and him because Trump had ended a conflict between Albania and Azerbaijan, drawing laughter in the group.
• Footage aired by Albania’s A2 CNN shows smiles from Aliyev, Macron and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker after the remark.
• Trump had said on Fox News in mid-September that he fixed a conflict between Azerbaijan and “Albania” and repeated the claim days later at a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, mispronouncing “Azerbaijan,” according to Politico.
• Albania has not been in conflict with Azerbaijan, while Armenia and Azerbaijan fought for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a war that concluded in 2023 with an Azerbaijani victory.