From Ukraine to Kosovo, former secretary NATO talks about danger of Russian influence in Balkans

Defence Secretary in Great Britain during the war in Kosovo George Robertson says currently the biggest security challenge facing the world is the defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Robertson stresses that Ukraine's victory is vital for halting Russian influence in the Balkans and beyond. On the contrary, he adds, Russia will go even <x0m from”.

While he says Russia is seeking to expand its influence, throughout the world and in particular in the Western Balkans, he expresses optimism about the future of the Western Balkans, and especially Kosovo, which he adds also cares about.

Total interview:

25 years after you were Secretary General NATO, what are the challenges it faces NATO today?

Lord Robertson: At the Washington summit, Ukraine will top the agenda. We must defeat Vladimir Putin. Ukraine must survive and win this conflict, and nothing matters more than that.

It is extremely important to the whole world, and especially to the Western world for Ukraine to survive as a country and to resist and repel those who have occupied it illegally and without provocation at all.

You said (at the conference) that the biggest challenge is Russian influence in the Balkans, how do you see the problem of Russian influence, especially in Serbia?

Lord Robertson: There is no doubt that Russia is seeking to expand its influence, not only in the Western Balkans, but in fact worldwide and especially in Western Europe. But the Western Balkans is part of the territory that they (rusts) would like to dominate. So they're involved in divisions, in economic sabotage, they're involved in cyberattacks, because that's the way they operate, and they, if they win in Ukraine, will do much more in the future. So people must be very careful in this region for what Russia will eventually do, especially if they win in Ukraine.

NATO gave Kosovo its freedom, today, 25 years later, how do you see Kosovo and its future?

Lord Robertson: We gave Kosovo its freedom. We freed her from the violence that was taking place against her, but we didn't give her her her future, her future is in the hands of people like you, the people of Kosovo as a whole, and they should make sure that they build on it.

You know that children who were young at the time of liberation 25 years ago will now be parents and grandparents themselves and that's why we and you have to see a lot what it takes to create a prosperous community where there is a unity among all the different countries in the Western Balkans. You know, Madeleine Albright was once asked whether she was pessimistic or optimistic and she said, I'm an optimistic optimist. So I am optimistic about the Western Balkans and especially about Kosovo, but I also care.

/The Geopost