Lunic: NATO will defend its geopolitical influence in the Western Balkans at all costs

Executive Director of the Council for Strategic Policies Nikola Lunic says that the sending of additional NATO troops to the Western Balkans should be seen in the light of preventing potential conflicts, but also as a clear message that this region is of geostrategic interest to the West.

"This is a preventive decision to prevent any escalation of the crisis in the Western Balkans. On the other hand, this decision shows the dedication to NATO alliance decisions. In the final document from the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, it was explicitly stated that the Western Balkans were of strategic interest to NATO. The EU has repeated this several times as well. Therefore, the West will not jeopardize its geopolitical influence in the Western Balkans at any cost. Those who attempt to do so will pay a high price," Lunic said for Kosovo Online.

When asked if the increased NATO engagement means that new conflicts are looming in the Balkans, Lunic says that is not expected, but incidents like the one in Banjska can be anticipated.

"The countries of the Western Balkans do not have the potential for a warlike conflict at this time. Their military capabilities are outdated compared to technological advancements, and they are also outdated in terms of the requirements of a modern concept of war as seen in Ukraine. However, certain incidents should not be ruled out, such as what happened in Banjska and the price Serbia pays in terms of foreign policy. That should not be ruled out. That is why NATO is concentrating with its troops and clear, explicit messages," Lunic said.

According to him, such incidents would suit Pristina and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in a regional context, and Russia in a geostrategic context.

"In the Western Balkans, conflict suits those actors, political entities to whom the Banjska incident suited, and that is unequivocally Pristina and Kurti. In the global geopolitical context, any complication of the situation in the Western Balkans suits Russia. We saw President Zelensky's statement that after the October 7th incident when Hamas committed a terrorist act, ammunition deliveries to Ukraine were drastically reduced. The same would happen if a new crisis hotspot were exploited. The West would simply turn to supporting that part of the crisis location and to some extent lose interest in Ukraine. This could only suit Russia in a global context," Lunic emphasized.

He adds that Serbia should be most concerned about such incidents because, according to him, Serbia would suffer the most.

Therefore, Lunic believes it is important for Serbia to clearly and explicitly promote foreign policy as outlined in Article 1 of the Constitution.

"And that is Serbia based on European principles and values. We are already economically and industrially integrated into the EU, and now we only need security and foreign policy integration," Lunic stated.