Former British Secretary of State and former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague wrote in an article for The Times about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) andpointed out that tensions could push the whole of Europe into crisis.
At the beginning of the text, Hague referred to the current relations between European countries and Russia, emphasizing that Germany is one of the countries that has stumbled under Russian influence.
Neglect of the Western Balkans
The former diplomat stressed that there are answers to each of these threats that the West can use against Russia. But, the key area for the West, a region in which it is necessary to oppose the disruption of stability, is the Balkans.
“History has shown many times that we ignore the dangers in the Western Balkans. It was the center of events in 1914 and the scene of the bloodiest wars in Europe during the 1990s. Here, Russia tried to thwart the aspirations of millions of people to live in stable and Western-oriented countries. Coup attempt in Montenegro, referendum interventions in North Macedonia, and increasing pressure on political and business life in Serbia. To sum up the chaos, the European Union (EU) has closed its doors to further enlargement while the United Kingdom (UK) has lost influence through Brexit, ” it was mentioned in the text.
Hague said that the West, including Great Britain, does not have the luxury of neglecting the events in the Balkans.
“Milorad Dodik has been undermining the state of BiH for years now with the active support of Russia and Serbia. For Moscow, this serves to block Euro-Atlantic integration. Bosnia would be like Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, a country unable to join NATO or ever function as a normal state. The situation has become serious in past weeks, with Dodik approaching secession, saying he would raise a Bosnian Serb army, the one responsible for the Srebrenica genocide. He seeks to use the weakness of the West to accelerate the crisis leading to redrawing borders with the territory that would be annexed to Serbia, “ the former diplomat stressed.
Time to act
He pointed out that such threats pose a direct challenge to the Dayton Agreement.
The foreign ministry said that Liz Truss would raise these issues when NATO foreign ministers meet in Riga next month. However, some urgent decisions and actions are needed. Britain and the EU should join the United States (U.S.) in imposing sanctions on everyone who undermines Dayton. The West should reaffirm its support for the High Representative (HR), supporting his legal authority to intervene directly to protect the country’s integrity, “ Hague said.
In the conclusion, he also referred to the necessity of sending NATO troops to BiH.
“Small European military forces, better known as EUFOR, should be reinforced by NATO troops deployed in strategically important areas such as Brcko and Tuzla airport. It sounds dramatic, but only strength and determination will take us away from the big trouble. The collapse in Afghanistan shows what happens when the West loses focus. The same cannot be allowed to happen within the European continent. The West must look into Vladimir Putin’s cold eyes and face his tactics. The Balkans is a key place to start implementing that,” Hague concluded.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
