- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Guess What NATO Considers as its Main Threats in the Balkans

© Jean-Christophe VerhaegenThis April 2, 2009 file photo shows shadows cast on a wall decorated with the NATO logo and flags of NATO countries in Strasbourg, eastern France, before the start of the NATO summit which marked the organisation's 60th anniversary.
This April 2, 2009 file photo shows shadows cast on a wall decorated with the NATO logo and flags of NATO countries in Strasbourg, eastern France, before the start of the NATO summit which marked the organisation's 60th anniversary. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
According to a classified NATO document published by a Croatian newspaper on Wednesday, the alliance is ready to interfere in the Balkans to prevent an ethnic conflict and check Russia’s growing role in the region. Sputnik Serbia discussed the matter with Serbian political analyst Aleksandar Pavic.

A man holds the Croatian flag as he takes part to a march in support of the Homeland War veterans' rights in Zagreb on April 14, 2015. Croatian leaders April 22, 2016, honoured the victims of the Balkan country's most notorious World War II death camp, in an event boycotted by critics who accuse rulers of tolerating a revival of pro-Nazi ideology - Sputnik International
Top NATO Chief Says Balkans Threatened by Islamic Terrorism, Russian Influence
The document approved by NATO foreign ministers earlier this month points to the rising extremism and radicalization caused by the return of jihadist fighters from Syria and Iraq and Russia’s “destabilizing behavior” as the two main threats the Balkan counties are facing today.

In an interview with Sputnik Serbia, Aleksandar Pavic said the document reflected NATO’s desire to wreak new chaos in the Balkans, control it and move it in the “right” direction.

“NATO is the main factor that could trigger a major war in Europe. It is stirring up tensions in Europe, primarily with the help of this anti-Russian hysteria. Its main priority now is to minimize Russia’s role in the Balkans,” Pavic noted.

As for the threat posed by Islamic extremism, he insisted that rooting it out was not a priority for the alliance, which “is using   extremism as a means of achieving its geopolitical goals.”

“NATO is doing nothing to persuade Bakir Izetbegović (leading member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina) to close down their Wahhabi camps and keep a close eye on those returning from the war in Syria. NATO’s ambitions are clear: to neutralize Russia’s influence and provoke a conflict with Moscow in order to goldbrick on a new Cold War, there are no other reasons for NATO’s existence,” Pavic emphasized.

He added that the alliance never speaks openly about its military incursions and regime changes in other countries even though this is exactly what it does under the disguise of “preserving peace and stability.”

Alexandar Pavic named the two main targets of this “stabilization” in the Balkans: Serbia and the Bosnian Serb Republic, which prevents Bosnia-Herzegovina from joining NATO even though NATO’s main priority now is to complete the inclusion of Montenegro before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

“The alliance deems this so important because with Montenegro in, it will have legal grounds for using the republic as an instrument of its meddling in Balkan affairs,” Pavic emphasized.

Rescue workers evacuate mock flood victims as part of an international field exercise organised and conducted by NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) in Podgorica, Montenegro - Sputnik International
Overlap of NATO, Russian Military Drills in Balkans Poses No Threat for Region
“Montenegro will thus become another Camp Bondsteel (US military base in Kosovo), but on a bigger scale than what they now have in Kosovo,” Pavic warned.

Professor of political science at the University of Banja Luka Aleksandar Vranjes said that any military intervention by NATO in Serbia would be viewed as an aggression because Serbia is a neutral state.

“NATO has no right to meddle in domestic affairs of the Balkan states some of which do not even happen to be NATO members. Even if an ethnic conflict flares up, Serbia still remains a neutral country, which means that any intervention by NATO will be considered as an act of war,” Professor Vranjes said.

On December 2, 2015, NATO invited Montenegro to join the military bloc and Podgorica accepted the invitation the following day. Serbia has been a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program since 2006, but is officially a militarily neutral state.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала