British troops should be sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)due to the risk of destabilization in the Balkans, claims the former commander of the United Nations (UN). Yesterday, independent deputy Bob Stewart said the British battalion would be the “best battalion” to send to the south-east region of Europe to help restore peace. After the discussion, parliamentarians in the lower house of the British Parliament adopted a proposal addressed to the Government of Great Britain, which calls for increased engagement of that country with other partners and allies, in order to improve the security situation in the Western Balkans.
In the conclusion announced by the president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Alicia Kearns, it is stated that the House recognizes the acute security situation in the Western Balkans and expresses support for the “territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo and BiH“.
The deputies also condemned the attack by Serbian nationalist militants in Banjska, Kosovo, on September 24th, 2023, supported the powers of the Constitutional Court in BiH, and condemned “Russian interference in the Balkans”, and with concern pointed out “pro-Russian and pro-Serb irredentist political rhetoric in Montenegro”.
They called on the United Kingdom (UK) government “to increase its engagement with regional partners and international allies in order to improve the security picture in the Western Balkans”.
The President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Alicia Kearns, warned during the discussion that the Balkans could become the site of the “third major global conflict”, along with Ukraine and Gaza, if preventive measures are not taken, local media reported.
During a discussion on security in the region, moderated by Kearns, she stressed the need to build a new security alliance between the United States (U.S.), the UK and other willing NATO member states with Kosovo, “as this would help alleviate the immediate security concerns that we see”.
Earlier in her speech, Kearns said: “As a minimum, the UKshould send NATO peacekeepers to the strategic Brcko District.”
Building on this statement, the former UN commander in BiHsaid that a British battalion stationed in BiH would give a “very, very strong signal”.
“And frankly, the British battalion is probably the best battalion to send into such a peacetime situation,” he added.
Kearns agreed, adding that British troops would make a “fundamental difference”.
“And the fact that the Dayton Agreement gives us express permission to create new security forces means that we should actively discuss this,” she added.
Later in the debate, Stewart, a former Conservative, said the UK had contributed positively to the region in the past and should continue to do so amid rising tensions and Russian influence.
“We did it on many political, social, economic levels and a lot of work in the field of economy was done in BiH and, of course, military. I really believe that our efforts will pay off. We have saved many lives. Nothing is more important to us in our lives than saving someone’s life. And we must continue to do that… do everything we can to help the Muslim, Serb and Croat people in BiH, the vast majority of them all they want is a decent life, a life that we are lucky to have,” he underlined.
Before the debate, Kearns told the PA news agency that the Balkans are important “and if we ignore them, we will end up with a fire on our doorstep.”
“It is not only important for European security, because it is essentially our extended backyard and if there is a crisis in the Balkans, we will feel it here, it will affect all of us, and we cannot afford the third global major conflict event, which is exactly what would happen,” she added, N1 reports.
E.Dz.
