Invited to the Debate by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN, analyst Lutfi Dervishi has commented on the tense situation in the Balkans and Russian interest in our region.
He stated that Russia's interest in the Balkan region is the conflict as it happened in Banjska. Furthermore, he also spoke about the role of NATO and the European Union, which he said has been reluctant to include the Balkans as part of its front yard.
"All of these are effects of the war in Ukraine and we must see what the interests of the actors are, what is the interest of Russia and NATO's response. If we look at what has happened since the start of the war in Ukraine, NATO is moving towards expansion, with Finland and Sweden, two countries that had chosen for decades to be in a cold peace with Russia. We have a stronger commitment from the main EU countries, such as Germany, to immediately double the budget for the army and the Prime Minister's statement today that Albania has increased its budget to 2 percent.
So, Stoltenberg's messages are against Russian interests. The Russian interest, at best, is a conflict and we saw this in the case of Banjska, we see it in the Republic of Srbska with the actions of Dodik. The least interest is for the countries of the region to get bogged down in petty conflicts and not move forward. Russian narratives appear intentionally or unintentionally also in Albania with articles about the multipolar world. The Russian influence is clear with the historical, traditional connections with the Slavic world and it is exercised through the church, through media propaganda, and with the attitudes it has held. The attitude he has maintained towards Kosovo has gained sympathy in Serbia, but he has also used it as an instrument with Crimea.
It must be admitted that the EU has been reluctant to include the Balkans as part of its front yard, not as a nuisance, not as a powder keg, but as its own strategic interest. We have seen that enlargement has stopped since the accession of Croatia. From the point of view of democracies, it is the collision of two models. The Russian interest is to show that even countries like Albania, with a western orientation, the members of the alliance fail with the democratic model. In a way, this is the Russian interest," said Dervishi on A2 CNN. (A2 Televizion)
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