Written by Petrit Latifi.
The claim that Albanians originally come from the Caucasus is based on a misinterpretation of historical and geographical facts and is often used as propaganda to stir up political or ethnic tensions. This theory refers to the ancient Caucasian state of Albania, which, however, has nothing to do with today’s Albanians in the Balkans.
The Albania region in the Caucasus was an independent political entity in the ancient and medieval Caucasus and included parts of today’s Azerbaijan. There is no scientific evidence linking this region to today’s Albanians. The name “Albania” was used in several places in ancient times, as you also mentioned (e.g. Albania in the Caucasus, Albany in the US), but these names arose independently.
Moreover, genetic evidence has confirmed the continuous presence of the Albanian population in the Balkans for at least 8,500 years, providing strong support for the indigenous origins of the Albanian people. This undermines claims of a Caucasian origin, highlighting that modern Albanians are a native population of the Western Balkans  .
Serbian political actors or nationalists might spread this theory to claim historical legitimacy for certain political positions or ethnic claims. However, it is important to emphasize that this theory is widely considered by modern historiography to be inaccurate and part of political propaganda to question the legitimacy of Albanians in the Balkans.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-54952-7_2
Balkan Academia 