Skopje: Western Balkans Vulnerable to Malicious Third-Party Influence

Skopje ( Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said on March 27 that the Western Balkans were especially vulnerable to strategic competition and malicious influence by third parties attempting to use weaknesses and unfinished Euro-Atlantic integration to their own ends.

"The solution is in accelerated democratic reforms to bolster resilience, but also in strengthening and coordinating cooperation between NATO and the European Union in closing the circle of Euro-Atlantic integration in the region and the completion of democratic transformation," Osmani said at a NATO Breakfast held in honor of the third anniversary of North Macedonia joining NATO.

North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said it was "clear that Euro-Atlantic orientation of the region was necessary in service of European peace and stability and in the interest of prosperity."

"By joining NATO and beginning negotiations with the EU, with the concept of an equal society, brave but statesmanlike decisions protecting identity qualifiers and national identity, functional policies of dialogue and understanding, the Republic of North Macedonia is today a force for stability in the Western Balkans," Kovacevski said.

Ukrainian Ambassador Larysa Dir spoke as a special guest, voicing gratitude for North Macedonia's support to Ukraine and stressing that it was "vital" to Ukrainian fighters defending Ukraine and democratic values with their lives. The NATO Breakfast opened NATO Days in North Macedonia, scheduled until April 4, the 74th anniversary of the alliance.