Rubio plans to visit the Western Balkans this year, Malaysian minister says

US Secretary of State Marko Rubio has warned a visit to the Western Balkans this year, Montenegrin Foreign Affairs Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic announced on Friday.

Ibrahimovic met with Rubio on the first day of the NATO member states' foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

“A brief but content conversation for current bilateral and regional topics, which I had with US Secretary of State Marko Rubio. We will continue him in Podgorica as well during his visit to Montenegro and the region, which he warned me about this year”, Ibrahimovic wrote in his X account, reports REL Transmitt Periscope.

He has made it known that they have exchanged opinions on bilateral and regional issues, stressing the importance of continued dialogue and partnership between Montenegro and the US, especially regarding common security challenges.

The “agreed that the visit [of Rubios] would provide additional opportunities for advancing bilateral co-operation and for confirming the strong Allied relations between the two countries”, Montenegro's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

A two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers is under way in Brussels, where, among other things, it will be decided whether member states will increase protection spending by the current minimum 2 per cent of gross domestic production.

The Trump Administration earlier proposed that minimum expenses be 5 percent of gross domestic production, while its chief NATO, Mark Rutte, has demanded that each ally pledge to spend at least 3.7 percent of the gross domestic production for protection as soon as possible.

Rubio called on 32 member states of the military alliance Thursday to pledge to increase spending on strengthening defence capacities.

Montenegro has been a member of the NATO alliance since 2017.