Official NATO is talking about the Croatia-Albania-Kosovo military agreement: We're aware.

A declaration of co-operation in the field of defence between Kosovo, Albania and Croatia angered Serbia, which saw it as threatening it. What does NATO say about the new Balkan initiative, and how do they view security connoisseurs in Pristina and Belgrade?

Kosovo and two Western Balkan region states that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Albania and Croatia signed a deepening declaration of co-operation in the field of defence and security this week.

Without providing concrete details, the defence ministers of three states said they would increase the interoperability of armies through common education, training and training, and engage in fighting hybrid threats, but also co-ordinate policies for Euro-Atlantic integration.

Serbia saw this as a step that <x0 minuss regional stability” and as a threat to its “territorial integrity”, while Kosovo said the initiative should be seen as a threat to anyone, but should also be accepted as a message that the three states will be united in the face of any challenge or threat.

Security recognition, in Pristina and Belgrade, does not view the declaration as a step towards forming a formal defence alliance, such as NATO's.

What unites the three states?

For Ramadan Ilazin, head of research at the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (QKSS), the importance of the declaration lies in the fact that it came at the time when the unpredictable of the existing security alliances in the world has increased.

He sees the initiative as a step towards strengthening strategic options or alliances, for Kosovo to advance in terms of defence, as there is still no clear path to NATO membership.

I am not optimistic that this alliance marks the beginning of creating a formal defence bloc, but rather of a new group of states in Europe that share the same concern or same reading of the security situation in Southeast Europe”, Ilazi told Radio Free Europe.

Ilazi believes peacekeeping mission NATO in Kosovo, KFOR, and the alliance itself, will be the umbrella of these co-operation, as it does not think Albania and Croatia would act contrary to NATO interests in the region.

An official NATO told Radio Free Europe that Albania and Croatia are active contributors to regional stability, even through the KFOR framework. Asked about the new initiative, the official said the coalition “is aware”, but that it is up to the signatory parties of the declaration to say more.

Although it does not form an international agreement, the initiative, with political will of the parties, could lead “to soft political actions”, according to security issues expert at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy Vuk Vuksanovic.

He told Radio Free Europe that Balkan co-operation has been driven, in part, amid warnings of a possible reduction of the United States' <x0 change in NATO unless Europeans invest more in their defence”.

According to Vuksanovic, in an environment where NATO does not depart, but “where it weakens, it may happen that the countries designated form informal groupings to co-operate”.

Kosovo, Albania and Croatia warned that the initiative could be expanded with new members, although they have not mentioned names of states. However, Serbia alludes that one of these states could be Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government failed to respond to Radio Europe Free for Comment.

Even if added to other countries, Ilazi does not think this group is moving towards creating a military alliance that embodys NATO principles, like collective protection.

Why is Serbia opposing the initiative?

Belgrade asked for an explanation from Tirana and Zagreb regarding the goals of the initiative, while saying that “will not allow unilateral actions that could jeopardise our territorial integrity, citizens' security and peace in the region”.

Kosovo's Foreign and Diaspore Ministry countered, saying such conduct of Serbia represents a new violation of the Brussels Agreement, “which clearly stipulates that Serbia will not prevent Kosovo's international relations”.

Meanwhile, Croatia said the time has passed when Zagreb asked Belgrade for permission to act with whom to co-operate.

For Vuksanovqi, Serbia most likely views this initiative as “political approval on the part of Zagreb”.

According to him, power in Belgrade could use this development to shift attention from the political situation in Serbia and the protests being held there for months and months.

Even Ilazi thinks Serbia's harsh reaction is simply due to Croatia's involvement, which in the years of '%90s held a war for independence from the former Yugoslavia.

However, he considers that trilateral co-operation has been fostered by the same belief that Russia exercises a malicious influence in the region, and that autocratic regimes in the region pose a threat to Balkan stability that has been repeatedly made by Kosovo authorities.

While thinking that Kosovo would benefit greatly from the experiences of two NATO states, but also from various training, Ilazi expresses scepticism about implementing the initiative, remembering the low level of implementation of previous agreements between Pristina and Tirana. / REL/ Periscopi/

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