Nov 27, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves on the day of his departure from Joint
Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S. November 27, 2023, as he travels to Brussels for
a NATO Foreign Ministers meeting.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is turning his attention to Ukraine, NATO and the Western Balkans after weeks of intense focus on Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Blinken has spent much of the last month-and-a-half deeply engaged on the
Gaza crisis, making two trips to the Middle East. Now, amid signs that a
cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas due to expire on Monday may
be extended, Blinken is departing for Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers
meeting.
In Brussels, the alliance will reaffirm its support for Ukraine’s defense
against Russia’s invasion, explore ways of easing tensions between Kosovo and
Serbia and look at preparations for NATO’s 75th anniversary next year.
The two-day session on Tuesday and Wednesday will include the first foreign
minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance
leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help
prepare Kyiv for eventual membership.
“Allies will continue to support Ukraine’s self-defense until Russia
stops its war of aggression,” said Jim O’Brien, the top U.S. diplomat for
Europe.
The ministers will also address the situation in the Western Balkans where
there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence amid concerns that
hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict.
Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western
countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert
attention from the war in Ukraine.
Last week, Albania’s prime minister urged NATO to further boost its
military forces in Kosovo and secure the country’s borders with Serbia, warning
that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider
Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in
Kosovo — established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia — with
about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment
there to about 4,500 troops.
Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and regional
stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries’
aspirations to join the European Union, O’Brien said.
Serbia doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s formal declaration of independence in
2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a
dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to
compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc.
In addition to Ukraine and the Western Balkans, the ministers will also
discuss plans for the alliance’s 75th anniversary summit to be held in
Washington in July 2024 at which allies will celebrate NATO’s founding and
highlight what leaders call the most successful military alliance in history.
agencies
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