Albania's former 'Stalin City' looks West with NATO airbase

In an Albanian city once named for Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, dozens of Soviet- and Chinese-made planes rust in the open air on a former communist airbase, some with flat tyres, others covered with dust. The site in the central city now called Kucova is being transformed into a modern NATO airbase, a symbol of Albania's westward shift -- and a key military buffer in Europe as Russia wages war in Ukraine. The renovation project was agreed in 2018 by the Balkan state and NATO, which has already committed $55 million (50.4 million euros) to the project, according to Albanian sources. Construction began at the beginning of the year, ahead of Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine that has sparked fears of a spillover into NATO and EU member states. Though the timing of the Kucova base redevelopment was a coincidence, for some it is a welcome one. The base, due to be completed in 2023, will give the 'alliance an important strategic facility in the Western Balkans, within short reach of the Mediterranean, Middle East and the Black Sea region', the NATO official said. After decades of global isolation, Albania became a NATO member in 2009. The country embraced the West after the fall of the communist regime in 1990, and today is eager to become an EU member. The defunct aircraft at the Kucova base are reminders of a chapter of Albania's history many are happy to leave behind -- and a signal to Russia which has sought to extend its influence in the region. The construction is certain to irk Moscow, which strongly opposes any NATO expansion into eastern and central Europe -- especially in the Balkans which has traditionally been torn between East and West.