Albania (, , or sometimes , ; ; ), officially known as the Republic of Albania (; ), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.