High Military NATO: Kosovo, Balkans must not expect all alliances to do

NATO's top military official, Rob Bauer, who recently rocked the opinion with dramatic statements that fighting Russia is a real possibility and that all should prepare for such a thing, has talked about the situation in the Balkans.

Asked where he bases his assessment that the world should be ready for a war between NATO and Russia, Bauer said he relies on the conduct of the Russian state.

Last Sunday, I said what I said for the last year and a half. The fascinating thing is that he's echoed only now and I didn't say anything new, I just repeated my views, and for some reason it's only now making sense. We in NATO received a treaty agreement in December 2021, where the Russians told us that they wanted to return to the border of 1997, including the territories of many countries since then becoming NATO members”, the Dutch military said in an interview for the Montenegrin newspaper. Pobjeda.

He also talked about issues raised by US President Joe Biden, where he had declared that “if Russia wins Ukraine, what do you think will happen to the Balkans?”

Bauer says that many people are rightly concerned in such a scenario, broadcasting Telegrafi.

If Russia wins the war in Ukraine, it is not the end of hostilities. It's not the end of instability. It will be the beginning of new instability. Because the Russians will then believe that their behavior is actually rewarded. Hence, they will think: It is not the respect of international rules but the aggression. And basically, by occupying another country, you get what you want, which is against international order based on”, Bauer said.

I think the way we work together with the European Union in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina is an example for the future.

And these are not NATO countries, but with the help of the EU and NATO have stabilised in recent years”.

So this is not new in themselves, for them this is an additional argument. So I don't think it will change the Balkans itself, I think it is one of the reasons to continue supporting the Balkans as we are currently doing. As I said, the European Union and NATO support the Balkans in a practical sense, not only in words, but in practice they provide protection and a safe environment for all people in Kosovo, regardless of their ethnic affiliation. The EU is doing the same in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with NATO support, with our mission in Sarajevo. In this way the two organisations are not speaking only, but are also practically helping to ensure the security and stability of the Balkans”.

He says he sees a fragile stability in the Balkans.

“It is not enough to “shake hands” and wait for the EU and NATO to do something for the Balkans. The countries and leaders in these countries themselves play an important role in maintaining the stable and secure Balkans... NATO and the EU will help as we have done for years, and we will continue to do so in the future. NATO, in response to what happened in September in Kosovo, increased the number of soldiers in KFOR, and that is because we are monitoring what is happening on the ground”, he said.