
“The fact that Serbia is being armed by countries that appear to be open enemies of Europe and NATO should help clarify the image of the Western Balkans region for some important political addresses within the European and Euro-Atlantic community,” said the Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic, in Cetinje, after talks with the President of Northern Macedonia, Steve Pendarovsky.
“Armaments are always a concern and show that the sense of danger in Europe has increased. Weapons in the Balkans pose an additional risk. We must not overlook the fact that, unfortunately, culture in general and even security in the Balkans is not at the level it is in other developed parts of Europe. This is why we are generally concerned. In this case, it is about a prolonged tendency to arm Serbia with weapons that are from countries that are now emerging as competitors of both Europe and NATO. This is something that needs to be recorded,” Djukanovic said in Cetinje, answering reporters’ questions.
“It is a consistent policy move that Serbia has been pursuing for several years. “But I believe that this fact will be an additional help to further clarify the image of the Western Balkans region on some important political issues in the EU and NATO addresses,” said Djukanovic.
The President of Northern Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, said that there is no assessment that Serbia is a security threat to them, and assessed that the war in Ukraine has shown that no matter how far it is, it affects the economies of the countries in the region.
“The war in Ukraine has shown that the future of the Western Balkans must be European,” Pendarovski said.
Djukanovic stressed that Montenegro and Macedonia are friendly and partner countries, adding that Montenegro is pursuing the problems facing North Macedonia on its path to achieving the European goal.
“Montenegro is committed to starting the first step in intensifying the European agenda for the Western Balkans with negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania. We believe this could happen during France’s EU presidency. In all of this we have our expectations. Even our pace of rapprochement with Europe is not what we want it to be,” he said.
He recalls that the encouragement that should come from Brussels and all European political centers for the Western Balkans region is extremely important.
“We expect that the warning that Europe received on the issue of security through Russian aggression in Ukraine will be able to ensure the long-term focus of the EU and its institutions on further enlargement and unification of the Western Balkan countries,” Djukanovic said. / The Geopost /