NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed concern about the increasing tensions in the Western Balkans, promising that the North Atlantic Alliance will do everything to maintain stability in the region.
“What we see there is that tensions are rising. We are seeing an increase in tensions and provocative rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have seen serious incidents of violence in Kosovo, including the attack on NATO peacekeepers. 93 NATO soldiers were injured, some very seriously. We also had the attack in Banjska,” declared the head of the North Atlantic Alliance on the eve of the meeting of foreign ministers of member states.
“NATO will do what is necessary to maintain or ensure stability in the region because it is important not only for the Western Balkans but for all of Europe,” Stoltenberg emphasized.
The foreign ministers of the 31 NATO member states, meeting in Brussels on November 28 and 29, will discuss, among other things, the security situation in the region.
On November 27, the Secretary General of the Alliance warned that the meeting will discuss the possibility of a permanent increase in the number of troops within the alliance’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR.
According to the Associated Press, violence between Kosovo and Serbia has erupted twice in the last two months, and Western countries fear that Russia may try to stir up trouble in the Balkans to divert attention from the war in Ukraine.
After the attack in Banjska on September 24, NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo – established after the bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999 – with around 1,000 additional troops and heavier weapons, bringing its troops in Kosovo to 4,500.
Now the possibility is being considered for the added number of troops to be long-term, as well as for the troops to have enhanced military capabilities.
On September 24, the Kosovo Police were attacked by an armed group of Serbs in the village of Banjska in Zvecan, where police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. During the subsequent clashes, three Serbian attackers were also killed.
On May 29, dozens of KFOR members were injured after a confrontation with protesters in Zvecan when Albanian leaders entered municipal buildings with the help of the Police.
The debate on the region will be held on Wednesday afternoon, and the meeting will also be attended by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
