Europe has cut off talks with Moscow and thinks it has thereby shown resolve. Edi Rama, Albania's prime minister, thinks otherwise - and he said it loudly at one of Europe's most influential economic conferences. Europe has made a major strategic mistake by cutting every channel with Russia, Rama declared at the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece. The words arrived quietly, without drama - but the impact was strong.

Rama wasn't defending Putin. He was talking about realpolitik - the kind of practical diplomacy at which Europe was once a master, and which it now appears to have forgotten. The argument is simple: if Europe wants to influence the final outcome of the war in Ukraine, it must stay in dialogue with all parties. Every week of silence is another reduction of that influence.

Rama also stressed that Russia remains a permanent geopolitical force - regardless of how and when the conflict ends. The country won't disappear, Putin or someone after him will be there, and Europe will have to talk to them. The only question is whether Europe will be a negotiator or a spectator.

On the security side, Rama also opened the topic of American military operations from Albanian territory, saying that Tirana would allow such things if Washington provides air defence systems. That is not a small statement. That is Albania clearly positioning itself - not just rhetorically, but militarily.

Will Europe listen? Or will it continue to believe that isolating Russia is a victory in itself? On the Balkans we know that feeling well - when someone speaks reasonably and nobody listens, and then they ask in surprise why things went wrong.