Members of the United States (U.S.) Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC) ended their visit to the Western Balkans, but also to the European Union (EU), and Senator Jeane Shaheen expressed concern over Russia’s growing influence in the region, Klix.ba writes.
NBC journalist Dan De Luce posted on his official Twitter profile that Senator Jeane Shaheen, who led a delegation of U.S. senators visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), warned that Russia continued to pose a threat to the Western Balkans, and especially to BiH.
”Senator Shaheen just returned from a trip to Serbia, BiH, and Kosovo, warns at SFRC hearing that Putin’s fingerprints of “malign influence” are all over the Balkans. She describes a ‘security situation in BiH as troubling,” said De Luce.
After that, the senator also referred to the peacekeeping forces deployed in BiH.
”Senator Shaheen expresses concern that there appears to be no contingency plan if Russia tries to block the renewal of an EUFOR-led peacekeeping force in BiH later this year,” it was mentioned.
Also, the senator stated during her address that the problems that burden BiH today are primarily related to corruption.
”After visiting BiH, I am more concerned about the situation today than I was in 2010,” she stated.
On the occasion of Senator Shaheen’s speech, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a possible Russian blockade on the extension of EUFOR’s mandate in BiH is a problem, but that he is discussing with other governments how to resolve this situation.
E.Dz.
