23 minutes agoUN: Russia's fight against Ukraine makes clear the urgency of Western Balkans integration
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)The US State Department says Russia's unprohibited and unwarranted fight against Ukraine makes clear the increasing urgency it poses for the transatlantic alliance, the Euro-European integration of the Western Balkans. This stance was expressed Monday by a State Department spokesman in response to a request for a comment by Voice [...]
The US State Department says Russia's unprohibited and unwarranted fight against Ukraine makes clear the increasing urgency it poses for the transatlantic alliance, the Euro-European integration of the Western Balkans.
This stance was expressed Monday by a State Department spokesman in response to a request for comment by the Voice of America, as 19 members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden's administration to boost diplomatic engagement in the Western Balkans.
In a letter lawmakers sent to State Secretary Antony Blinken last week, they expressed that increasing American engagement is more important than ever in conditions created by Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“The United States remains fully committed to implementing European integration for Western Balkan countries”, the State Department says.
“Russia has long been a destabilising force and a source of disinformation in the Western Balkans, for example, supporting a coup effort in Montenegro in 2016 and continuing efforts to fuel tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, the State Department spokesman for Voice of America continues.
He added that media watchdogs have criticised Russia's-sponsored media, RT and Sputnik for producing malicious items and spreading disinformation.
American lawmakers from both parties expressed in their letter to Secretary Blinken, that the United States should double efforts to consolidate democracy and promote the region's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The full integration of the Western Balkans into the transatlantic community should be a priority for the United States as we try to consolidate our alliances across Europe and counter the spread and impact of autocratic regimes, including those of Russia and China”, says the letter.
On paper, members of Congress say US efforts should focus on increasing investments, commitment to rapid EU integration, promoting Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, easing tensions in Bosnia and helping democracy.
Meanwhile, one of the letter signatories, lawmakers from New York Ritchie Torres, has demanded that NATO membership Kosovo in the alliance. In a Twitter post, he writes that “The United States “has no greater ally than Kosovo in Southeast Europe”.
