Lunic on Stoltenberg's visit: NATO will not allow any foreign influence that would undermine regional stability

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has begun his Balkan tour, during which he will visit Pristina today, and tomorrow he will have meetings in Belgrade. Executive Director of the Council for Strategic Policy Nikola Lunic tells Kosovo Online that during his visit to the countries in the region, Stoltenberg will reiterate NATO's decision from the Vilnius Summit that the Western Balkans is of strategic interest to NATO.

Lunic adds that Stoltenberg will undoubtedly emphasize that the Alliance will not allow any malicious foreign influence that could disturb peace and stability in the region.

"He will certainly convey this to all the leaders in the region," Lunic says.

He adds that Stoltenberg will have specific messages for each country, mentioning that in Pristina and Belgrade, he will support the continuation of talks leading to the normalization of relations and negotiations between the two entities, while, for example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he will condemn the "extremist secessionist narrative."

Since the events of September 24 in Banjska, the number of KFOR troops has increased in Kosovo, and Lunic emphasizes that it always benefits Serbia for this increase to occur.

"KFOR is a guarantor of stability and, ultimately, the security of every resident in Kosovo and Metohija, including Serbs. Therefore, Belgrade should advocate for an increase in KFOR troops. However, in this global geopolitical context, it is very demanding. We all must know that tolerance in this age when geopolitical tectonic changes of influence are taking place globally has been lost, and there will not be as much tolerance for the Western Balkans as some leaders may think," he notes.

Recalling the bombing of the FR Yugoslavia in 1999, Lunic emphasizes that it is too late to change foreign policy when planes have already taken off.

"We learned this from our own example, and that is, it's too late to change foreign policy when planes take off from Aviano; then it's too late. We must predict future events in time; we must find our place in the geopolitical context and make decisions because of which we may shed a tear or two," he adds.

Stoltenberg stated in September that the Kosovo Security Forces could not move to the north of Kosovo without consulting KFOR, and Lunic says that this will undoubtedly be negotiated again.

Lunic points out that Russia poses a threat to the peace and stability of the Western Balkans because, as he says, they are currently interested in diversifying conflicts.

"We saw that at the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, which even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned, arms deliveries to Ukraine decreased. In a way, in addition to the fact that media attention shifted from the war in Ukraine to the conflict in Gaza, this is a kind of success for Moscow. Whether it directly contributed to this or not, there is no evidence, but it definitely has motivation and interests to diversify the conflict to multiple areas," he said.

What is interesting is that, in addition to meetings with leaders of non-NATO countries, Stoltenberg will have a meeting in Skopje with leaders of NATO-member Balkan countries, Lunic notes, adding that Russian influence will surely be emphasized at that meeting, which is not limited to non-NATO countries but also affects NATO countries.

Additionally, as he adds, a search for modalities to increase production in the defense industry in NATO and EU countries can be expected.

"This would, in a way, round off his visit with a key moment that NATO is committed to peace and stability in the Western Balkans and will not allow conflict," Lunic concludes.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg began his Balkan tour yesterday with a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, he will visit Pristina. After Pristina, Stoltenberg will come to Belgrade, where he will meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, and after Serbia, he will travel to North Macedonia.