Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, in "Debat" by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN, revealed details of the trilateral agreement for cooperation in the field of security and defense that was signed between Kosovo, Albania and Croatia in Tirana.
The pact, which has sparked strong reactions in Belgrade, is, according to Vengu, a natural alliance between three countries that face similar threats to their security.
"The initiative is not at all controversial. It is a completely natural tripartite alliance, initially articulated a year ago in joint regional round tables of the staffs of the Ministries of Defense and by my predecessor with the Croatian counterpart. Reaffirmed in the last Ministerial we had at NATO at the beginning of this year where we saw a meeting with the Croatian counterpart and joint consultations with the Kosovar counterpart. It came naturally as a result of truly reading the threats that threaten the region from the point of view of security and defense, third-party interventions in the region, hybrid threats, from a cyber point of view, from a point of view of influencing and disinformation in our public debates. So a series of elements that we read the same way," said Vengu in "Debat" by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN.
The Minister of Defense further stated that such an initiative is in line with Kosovo's journey towards NATO and the EU, as it enjoys the support of the two member countries of the Alliance in every discussion that takes place in its antechambers.
"Second, we support Kosovo as two allied countries, members of NATO. Kosovo is recognized by Croatia and for us constitutes a priority from the point of view of national security and our foreign policy and whenever we are given the opportunity to support Kosovo in regional tables, which are the antechambers of membership in the EU and NATO, we do so consistently. And one of the points of the trilateral agreement is the unwavering support of Croatia and Albania for Kosovo's progress in these regional initiatives, such as the Adriatic Charter which is effectively the antechamber of a country before it joins NATO", declared Vengu in "Debat" by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN.
Asked whether Croatia and Albania have consulted with NATO and the US to give life to this military alliance, Vengu said that allies and strategic partners have been informed about the steps taken.
"We have not built a cooperation against another party. This is cooperation between three sovereign countries. Consequently, we do not have to consult with parties that are not part of this agreement. This does not mean that we do not inform our allies or our strategic partners about the content of this agreement from the beginning. And this does not mean that we do not inform other actors who should be informed about the purposes of this agreement," Vengu revealed in "Debat" by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN.
In conclusion, Vengu explained that the agreement with Kosovo and Croatia is an open agreement and not closed to only three countries, so there are discussions and consultations with other countries to become part of it.
"Why not, we aim to have other members with whom we have consultations, whether current members of the EU and NATO, who have a genuine perspective regarding security and defense risks in Southeast Europe," Vengu explained in "Debat" by Alba Alishani on A2 CNN. (A2 Televizion)
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