FLASH NEWS
Congress appeals to Trump: US to engage in the Balkans, Albania targeted in case of conflict
2025-12-03 13:15:40 / BOTA
The US Congress has asked the Donald Trump administration to increase its engagement in the Western Balkans, a call that came from participants in discussions in the Foreign Policy Committee of the United States House of Representatives, who believe that this move will help stabilize the region where, according to them, Russia, through Serbia, is a fundamental factor of instability.
At the opening of the hearing, the Republican chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Keith Self, assessed that the Western Balkans, apart from Ukraine, which is under Russian occupation, is "the most unstable region in Europe."
Serbia's unresolved relations with Kosovo are one of the main drivers of regional instability, which enables Russia to further undermine the European Union and NATO's ability to strengthen the Balkan countries, he stated.
In the event of a conflict, NATO allies Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro would be directly targeted, Self underlined, adding that such a thing could lead to the potential activation of Article 5 of the Alliance.
NATO allies in the Balkans must build political and military deterrence together, but Kosovo, he insisted, will be particularly exposed because it is not part of the military alliance.
US adversaries are actively exploiting vulnerabilities to wage hybrid warfare that increases instability in the region, Self said, underlining that China is using its influence by conducting military exercises and sending weapons to Serbia.
In addition, he added, China is signing economic agreements across the region with the aim of maintaining its malign apparatus and exploiting corruption in the Western Balkans.
Russia also contributes to the rise in tensions in Bosnia, Republika Srpska and Serbia, Self stressed, noting that the former president of the Serb entity in Bosnia, Milorad Dodik, is continuing to use his political capital to control Republika Srpska and act in Russia's interests by threatening its separation from Bosnia.
On the other hand, according to him, Serbia, despite indirectly sending weapons to Ukraine, also has defensive ties with Russia and China, and promotes Chinese and Russian propaganda. He noted that in order to end Moscow's political influence, the issue of Serbia's dependence on Russian energy must be addressed.
Luke Coffey, a researcher at the Center for Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, said that Russia sees the Balkans as an area for causing instability and for the disruption of the transatlantic alliance, while Serbia remains Russia's aide and serves as a major Russian base in the region.
" While Serbia occasionally claims a balanced foreign policy approach, the reality is that Belgrade is deeply anchored in the Russian orbit and that is not going to change anytime soon ," Coffey said.
He added that the Kremlin is using Republika Srpska to further spread instability, noting that Dodik, despite being removed from office, remains influential and continues to advocate for secession, which has been supported for years by Russia and Serbia. He also criticized the lifting of sanctions against Dodik and his associates.
Coffey assessed that the Dayton Agreement is one of the greatest successes of American foreign policy after the Cold War and that its undoing would create further instability.
“ Although the US is not a Balkan country, it can be a Balkan power, and President Trump should take steps to ensure the protection of American national interests there ,” Coffey said.
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