Montgomery: The perfect “system Javelin” to contain a possible attack with armoured instruments against Kosovo

Mark Montgomery, director of the Washington Foundation for the Protection of Democracy, a retired American Marine Force Admiral, has a long experience with the American Army.

He served as policy director at the Senate Commission for Armed Forces, when he was headed by Senator John McCain, as well as the American Army Command in Europe, responsible for planning and strategy. The decision to secure the Javelin missiles, he says “is well thought-out”.

“To adopt such a requirement requires much planning and inter-institutional efforts, which means that the political, economic and military side of the US government's assessment about the Balkans in general and Kosovo in particular agreed that this is the right thing to do,” says Mr. Montgomery.

Mr. Montgomery says the message conveyed to the sale of the advanced Yavelin system for Kosovo has diplomatic goals.

“We know we want to provide Kosovo with necessary equipment to create stability within its borders by any use of force from abroad. The Jávelinʹ system is a perfect weapon, because it is a fantastic defence weapon to contain a possible attack with armoured vehicles against Kosovo,” he adds.

According to Mr. Montgomery, the Yavelin system, which became famous by use in Ukraine, in coping with Russia's attack, is effective, both in preventative and budgetary terms and on the strategic level, is the right step. Missiles Yavelin, says Mr. Montgomery, are one of the most required systems of American military arsenals they are being sought by Ukraine, by many Eastern European states and the Baltic states, as well as by Taiwan and Romania.

I think this system makes a difference, not in its capacity to do something dramatic, but as a defense system. The United States' assessment is that Kosovo should be equipped with advanced weapons systems. This is a single soldier's weapon, which means we're not giving them high-scale military maneuver equipment, but we're offering them what you need. And we are sending message to every potential enemy, that Kosovo has the equipment it needs to contain a possible attack,” says Mr. Montgomery.

Mr. Montgomery, who has been working in recent decades on various capacities with Balkan states, estimates that the equipping of the Kosovo Armed Forces with the Yavelin missiles, which occurs in the changing geopolitical context in Europe due to the Russian attack on Ukraine and tensions in the Balkans, including incidents such as Banjska, which he sees connected with Serbia's Russian influence and support, is also becoming part of a exit NATO strategy from the peacekeeping role in Kosovo.

According to him, “Russia does not intend to cause anything great in the Balkans, but requires destabilisation and chaos in order to draw NATO's attention away from the war in Ukraine and in this respect they have also been helped by their traditional partner Serbia. ”

He says NATO, the United States and the European Union have done excellent “work in establishing sustainability in the region, including the membership of most of the states that emerged from the former Yugoslavia in NATO, but Kosovo, according to him, remains a still unfinished issue because of Serbia's position, which is assisted by Russia. Russia this year, according to Mr. Montgomery, will try to create chaos “in countries like Moldova, in the states of Baltic, and perhaps even in the Balkans.

Our “Our work is to continue to build stability in Kosovo, to make sure that the Kosovo Armed Forces have the necessary equipment to ensure a safe environment for themselves. It is fair to say that NATO forces have stayed in Kosovo much longer than originally planned, and I still do not believe there is a deadline for them. And their departure deadline is hard to determine if there is no capable, stable force that can create a safe environment in Kosovo,” he added.

Mr. Montgomery says it is difficult to predict a new outbreak of violence between Serbia and Kosovo, but adds that the possibility exists because this is an unresolved issue between the parties, and depends on Serbia's stance, whether it will foster tensions. / VOA