Sources: NATO Fears Violence in Balkans

Jens Stoltenberg (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

NATO fears violence in the Balkans which is why it is sending military reinforcements, while the standstill in Ukraine in the war against Russia is also a cause of great concern and Israel's war on Hamas is seriously threatening the security interests of the West, sources close to NATO said on Dec. 3.

This surfaced at a discussion during a recent session of NATO foreign ministers, though the press releases from the session were brief and focused only on the Ukrainian-Russian war, the growing rivalry with China and the war in Gaza. In his summary of the ministerial discussion given at a news conference, NATO general secretary Jens Stoltenberg made no mention of what was said about the Western Balkans, despite announcements that he would do so.

Asked by BETA what the ministerial discussion was like and about any conclusions on the crucial issue of Belgrade-Pristina relations and developments in the Western Balkans, with whose leaders Stoltenberg met with just days earlier, officials at NATO's headquarters only underlined that the ministerial session "again stressed a commitment to the lasting security and stability of the Western Balkans."

Analysts in Brussels are of the opinion that the slippery issue of normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina persists as a cause of concern among the Atlantic allies with its portent of new security challenges and violence, which was why NATO is considering new security measures after sending an additional 1,000 troops to Kosovo.