A two-day meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries is being held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. As announced, one of the topics will be the situation in the Western Balkans region. Vlado Radulović, a military analyst based in Brussels, spoke about the meeting for BHRT.
“There are several topics on the table regarding this meeting. In addition to the one that is probably known to everyone, which is the provision of unequivocal and continuous support to Ukraine, through China to the Western Balkans. When we talk about the Western Balkans, it seems to me that it was essentially repeated what we had the opportunity to hear recently during the Secretary General’s visit to our region, i.e. the Western Balkans area, and I would say that two points were particularly highlighted, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. It was reiterated that NATO remains committed to peace and stability in the Western Balkans of the Balkans,” said Radulović.
As he stated, at the meeting in Brussels, the problems that were recently in the area of Kosovo were highlighted, namely the cases of Banska, where 93 members of KFOR were injured.
According to Radulović, the incidents were most strongly condemned, as well as the secessionist rhetoric and the negative influence of the Russian Federation on the Western Balkans.
“If we were to sum it up in one sentence, it is NATO’s commitment to peace and stability in the Western Balkans. NATO will make additional efforts to persevere on that path. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are two special items,” said Radulović.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference ahead of the two-day meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member states.
The meeting will discuss current security challenges, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the situation in the Western Balkans.
“We will also discuss the situation in the Western Balkans, where we see secessionist rhetoric that brings discord in Bosnia and Herzegovina and malignant attempts to sow discord, including from Russia,” Stoltenberg said.
The Chief Secretary also mentioned the serious violence in the north of Kosovo. He added that the ministers will talk with the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, about how to strengthen stability in the region.
“NATO has already sent an additional thousand soldiers to Kosovo and we are considering a more permanent increase in our peacekeeping contingent,” Stoltenberg said.
He added that Serbia and Kosovo must re-engage in dialogue under the auspices of the EU.
“Stability depends on whether all parties choose dialogue and diplomacy over conflict and chaos,” the NATO Secretary General added, Klix.ba reports.
