Ibishi: The agreement between Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo is a result of the disturbed balance of power in the region

Security expert Nuredin Ibishi stated that the recently signed declaration on a military alliance between Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo is the result of a disturbed balance of power in the region. He said it is of an exclusively defensive nature, but that the same cannot be said for the military alliance between Serbia and Hungary.

"The balance of power in the region has been disrupted. There is now an imbalance of forces, so these alliances are more defensive in nature. An agreement was made on joint defense and on other investments in the arms and ammunition production industry," Ibishi told Kosovo Online.

He clarified that there is "nothing wrong" with the alliance between Kosovo, Croatia, and Albania, due to the fact that its backbone consists of NATO member states.

"NATO is already present here, and two of the three countries are NATO members. Kosovo is not yet, because its armed forces are still in a transitional phase and will soon enter the stage preceding NATO membership, through the Partnership for Peace program," he explained.

He believes that the military alliance between Serbia and Hungary is a kind of "response" to the tripartite declaration, but that it poses a greater danger due to "Serbia's territorial aspirations toward Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"The first alliance between Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo is more defensive because it does not involve territorial claims against any country. But the second alliance may be different in some ways, because Serbia has aspirations toward Kosovo and other countries, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially the Republika Srpska. In that sense, this is a temporary balance," Ibishi said.

He also sees the purpose of the tripartite alliance in the fact that Croatia has long been a military leader in the region, but that Serbia has since surpassed it, as confirmed by data from the military portal Global Firepower.

"However, I see no real risk from these alliances, because NATO remains the strongest alliance, and within it there is Article 5, which guarantees collective defense," the security expert noted.

When asked whether this means a military division in the Western Balkans, Ibishi said that Hungary has no real interests in the region.

"Serbia has friendly relations with Hungary, partly because of their stance toward Russia, as both countries maintain a kind of partnership and have not declared or adopted sanctions against Russia. From that angle, their positions are aligned. It is an alliance formed between two authorities, Vucic and Orban," Ibishi concluded.