NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. File photoBELGRADE, Jul 25The Western Balkans are of strategic importance to NATO, which fully respects Serbia's policy of military neutrality and maintains peace and security in Kosovo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Almost all states in the Western Balkans region are NATO members. Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina participate in the Partnership for Peace program and conduct joint exercises and activities with the alliance and its member countries, a KFOR peacekeeping contingent has been stationed in the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo since 1999.
Part of the EU is at war with Russia, Vučić said»NATO and Serbia are close and long-term partners. Our partnership is based on political dialogue and practical cooperation, with full respect for Serbia's proclaimed policy of military neutrality,» Stoltenberg said in an interview with a Serbian mass publication Kurir.» The new NATO Strategic Concept, approved at the Madrid Summit, once again emphasizes the strategic importance of the Western Balkans for our alliance. With this in mind, the ambassadors of NATO member and partner countries, who contribute to the KFOR mission on their own, recently visited the NATO and KFOR ties in Kosovo,» said the Secretary General of the alliance. According to him, KFOR continues to maintain security and guarantee freedom of movement for the well-being of all communities in Kosovo in cooperation with the UN, the EU rule of law mission EULEX, security structures in Kosovo, as well as Serbian army. «Any changes in KFOR strength will be based on conditions on the ground, and not on predetermined deadlines,» Stoltenberg emphasized. Trass about the behavior of Britain in the BalkansSerbian President Aleksandar Vucic in April reproached the West for hypocrisy because it condemned Belgrade's purchase of FK-3 air defense systems in China, while the UK is supplying Javellin anti-tank systems and NLAW anti-tank systems to the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo. Before that, official London handed over Javellin anti-tank missile systems and NLAW anti-tank guided missiles to the authorities in Pristina. According to media sources, it was planned to transfer 70 units and train Kosovo fighters to use these systems. The Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Kosovo, Albin Kurti, asked NATO to join the alliance in early March in the light of events in Ukraine.
The Balkans is a new front in the war with Russia
