The American ambassador at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday that Russia is trying to destabilize the Western Balkans region with classical methods, but NATO is carefully monitoring these actions and is working with partners to maintain the stability of the region.
She made these positions known during a statement to journalists, on the eve of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels. “NATO has had a significant presence in the Western Balkans.When it comes to Russia’s activities, we have seen for several years now its classic attempts to destabilize the region through hybrid attacks.
Russia uses a classic list of tools, with the main focus being a disinformation campaign aimed at divisiveness and destabilization. Divisions between allies, divisions between the US and partners in the region and between European allies. We carefully monitor the situation and work with a number of NATO member countries in the region, some of which are already member countries. We also work with the aspirant country Bosnia-Herzegovina and help them modernize their army. We also work with partners in the region.
For example, we have a partnership with Serbia”, said Smith, underlining that through these channels NATO works and maintains focus on the Western Balkans region. “This is also related to our monitoring of Russia’s actions, in general, in Europe and in the neighborhood. So, it cannot be said that we do not have focus, because we carefully observe what Russia is doing in that region”, she said.
At the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, the Minister of Sweden, as the 32nd member country of NATO, will be welcomed as a participant for the first time. In this meeting, the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO will be marked.
In addition to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – launched in February 2022 – the ministers will also discuss cooperation with partners outside the Euro-Atlantic space, with whom they share common values, such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
The meeting is expected to discuss the preparation of the NATO summit, which is expected to be held in Washington in July, writes Rel.
