According to Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti, the Western Balkans is in danger of a new conflict due to what’s currently happening with the war in Ukraine.

According to him, Serbian president Alexandar Vucic is a ‘Kremlin’s puppet’ and he rules in a country that is a ‘Russian replica’.

In an interview for La Repubblica, Albin Kurti said that he has noticed several efforts being made to destabilize the Balkans because according to him, Putin’s influence over the Western Balkans continues to be very prominent.

“The Soviet Union has transformed into an octopus – with the Russian Federation at its center, and its tentacles spreading over Donbas, Crimea, Transnistria, Southern Ossetia…former Yugoslavia is to an octopus – with Serbia in the center, followed by the Serbian entity in Bosnia, a Serbian entity in Montenegro that doesn’t recognize the independence of its own nation, along with the illegal structures in northern Kosovo,” – said Kurti.

In addition, Kurti commented on Serbia’s stance in relation to Russia, by saying that “Serbia wants European money and Russian weapons at the same time”.

“…in addition to Russian gas, which it buys at an affordable price. He is Kremlin’s puppet. Last year, 350 soldiers from Kosovo participated in NATO’s largest military exercise, ‘Defender Europe 2021’. Instead, Serbia participated in the ‘Slavic Shield’ along with Russia and Belorussia,” – said Kurti.

Kosovo’s PM reemphasized that he will continue to intensify his efforts to become a NATO member, adding that these processes are detrimental to the security of the entire Balkan region.

“These are three NATO nations: Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. Then, there’s my Kosovo, which isn’t part of NATO, but NATO is an integral part of it (with the peacekeeping mission KFOR). We need to take a further step towards NATO’s Program for Peace, as this is detrimental for the security of the entire Balkan region,” – said Kurti.

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