WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: A sign stand outside the U.S. State Department September 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The US State Department says Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted war against Ukraine makes clear the growing urgency it poses to the transatlantic alliance, the European integration of the Western Balkans.
The position was expressed Monday by a State Department spokesman in response to a request for comment from VOA, after 19 members of the US Congress urged the administration of President Joe Biden to increase diplomatic engagement in the Western Balkans.
In a letter sent by lawmakers last week to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they said increasing US engagement was more important than ever in the conditions created by Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“The United States remains fully committed to achieving European integration for the countries of the Western Balkans,” the State Department said.
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