Radojkovic: Military pact of Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo outside NATO framework, oriented toward Washington

Historian Stefan Radojkovic assessed that the first concrete steps of the military alliance between Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo indicate an attempt to operate outside the NATO framework and the EU member states, while establishing stronger ties with the United States.

“What is very indicative here is that this group, consisting of two NATO members and one entity in Kosovo and Metohija, is trying to act outside the NATO framework. On the other hand, it is clear that they rely on the United States in their relations. This indirectly shows that they do not expect significant support from other European NATO members. They are very insecure in that regard, which is why they are not ‘placing all their chips on one number at one table,’ but are trying to ensure that if NATO’s capacity or efficiency weakens, their relations, especially Albania’s and Croatia’s, will remain primarily tied to Washington,” Radojkovic told Kosovo Online.

The intention of Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo is for the first concrete form of cooperation within the alliance to be the purchase of weapons from the United States.

Radojkovic stressed that this move is primarily symbolic.

He assumes that Kosovo will focus on acquiring anti-tank mines and new models of drones.

Behind all this, he argued, lies not only an attempt to achieve lower prices through joint procurement but also to send a clear message that US President Donald Trump understands very well – financial benefit for the US.

“It is not only cheaper and allows for larger quantities of weapons to be delivered, but it also clearly shows that you are ready for certain agreements – ‘deals’ from which the US will reap financial benefits. What is highly questionable here is the scale of these deliveries. I cannot imagine them being large, considering the needs of Israel and Ukraine in their conflicts, which are being met in part by the US itself,” the analyst argued.

He emphasized that regardless of the actual quantities of weapons the alliance plans to procure, the key aspect is the symbolic message behind such plans.

“This is more of a symbolic move, sending signals to Washington that they are ready to cooperate regardless of circumstances, while Kosovo is trying, in a way, to connect with NATO through this route, via two member states, Croatia and Albania,” Radojkovic is convinced.

Commenting on the statement of Kosovo’s acting Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci that new members are expected to join the tripartite alliance in October, Radojkovic underlined that for Serbia the most important thing is that North Macedonia and Greece do not join.

“For Serbia it is of crucial importance that Montenegro and North Macedonia do not join this tripartite pact. That is of explicit significance. Strategically, in every sense, Serbia would be cut off from the Adriatic Sea,” Radojkovic stressed.

He pointed out that this is also important because the agreement on the Albania, Kosovo, and Croatia military alliance states that it was formed to ‘counter malign influences and hybrid warfare,’ while in essence, it is different.

“In reality, it is directed against Serbia. Therefore, some form of tripartite pact or alliance between Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia would serve as a good counterbalance to this initiative from Tirana, Pristina, and Zagreb. It would also be excellent if Bosnia and Herzegovina were not included in these arrangements,” Radojkovic said.
He underlined that in military terms Serbia should not fear such alliances.

“Serbia should not fear an immediate, direct threat from this pact. Serbia is far stronger, especially compared to the administration in Pristina or to Albania, in terms of military power, and there is no doubt about that. With Croatia, the situation is somewhat different. That is precisely why they all signed this tripartite alliance, in order to somewhat balance Serbia’s hard power,” Radojkovic concluded.