PM dismisses Serbian minister as irrelevant

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says he will not join the public anger against a Serbian minister who defended ethnic cleansing.

He dismissed Snezhana Paunovic as unimportant, claiming nobody outside her own family knew who she was before her interview.

He said Albania has already sent an official protest, adding that serious governments must never act like a "hysterical choir".

The prime minister also criticized rival politicians at home, accusing them of using the crisis to score easy political points.

He warned that giving attention to extreme comments only spreads their hate speech and weakens the country's official diplomatic position.