Embattled Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama made a testy comment, telling Albanians from Macedonia that they will not be eligible for Albanian citizenships once the country joins the European Union.

The unexpected comment from Rama comes after he accused Albanians from Macedonia, and the ruling VLEN party, of supporting the massive protests against his corruption scandals.

Rama was asked by a friendly political activist from Macedonia whether, if Albania joins the EU before Macedonia, it will follow Bulgaria’s lead and begin issuing passports in Macedonia. Rama responded that Albania would not veto Macedonia, like Bulgaria now does, but that it would not issue passports to Albanians from Macedonia because it would have committments before the EU.

The practice of holding dual and triple citizenship is widespread among Albanians in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo, due to the close family, business and cultural ties. But there is also a protracted political dispute between Rama and Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Albanians from Macedonia have been divided between the two camps and also caught up in the dispute.