[ad_1]
NATO has said that through the enlargement process of this military alliance, certain states are not pressured to become members, but rather enlargement is a process based on the principle of “open doors” for all those who want to join and are willing to meet the criteria.
Russia has recently said that the NATO enlargement process is an example of aggression and growing sphere of interests to the detriment of Russia.
Moscow is making the allegations at a time when it has amassed more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders and is urging Kiev never to become part of a military alliance. This gathering is seen by the West as a preparation of the Kremlin to invade Ukraine.
Responding to Moscow’s allegations, NATO said the Western Balkans region was an example of the success of its “open door” policy.
Balkan countries, such as Albania, northern Macedonia and Montenegro, have shown aspirations for membership, met the criteria and are now members of the alliance.
But Serbia, which has decided not to become a member, according to the alliance, is not forced to change its mind. Recently, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his position that he respects Belgrade’s decision on military neutrality.
Stoltenberg said that NATO does not force states to join the alliance, but keeps the door open for states that with their sovereign will and decision, without interference from anyone, decide to join.
Because of this policy, NATO has rejected Russia’s request that, in addition to Ukraine’s non-membership in NATO, the latter not expand eastward.
Several clarifications have been published on the NATO website aimed at refuting Moscow’s claims. Among other things, the alliance has reiterated that there has never been a guarantee that it will not expand.
Currently, there are three countries in the Western Balkans region, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are not members of NATO, but these three countries have their own specifics.
Serbia has decided not to become a member of NATO, but it is a partner of this alliance. Belgrade is involved in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program and co-operates with the alliance.
As one of the 20 Partnership for Peace countries, Serbia is also a member of the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Council (EAPC), which has 50 member states. This is a forum for political cooperation between 30 NATO countries and 20 Partnership for Peace countries. Russia and Ukraine are also members of this council.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a member of the Partnership for Peace, while NATO has an additional role in this country through its mission. Sarajevo has launched with NATO the so-called Membership Action Plan, which in the alliance is known by the acronym MAP.
But due to internal political composition, Bosnia and Herzegovina still does not have a clear position on future NATO membership. Membership in the alliance is publicly opposed by the leadership in the Republika Srpska entity.
In formal relations with NATO, Kosovo has the biggest obstacles in terms of the possibility of integration. In Kosovo, NATO has its military mission and in this country the alliance had intervened to end the war and ethnic cleansing from Serbia, in 1999.
Because four NATO member states – Greece, Romania, Spain and Slovakia – have not yet recognized Kosovo’s independence, Pristina has not been able to formally begin its journey towards membership.
But, Kosovo constantly expresses the will and readiness to become a member of NATO, following the path like other countries, starting from the Partnership for Peace to full membership.
“We have formal obstacles, but we have found some ways to help Kosovo gradually prepare for integration. “This is done through the individual engagement of some member countries, where NATO can not engage collectively,” a diplomat from a NATO country told Radio Free Europe.
This diplomat, as an example, mentioned the help that some countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Albania, Croatia and others, give to Kosovo to build its army.
The army has been a very sensitive topic, as NATO had not supported the decision to transform the Kosovo Security Force into an army, arguing that “such a transformation has not been done according to existing rules.”
In 2018, the Assembly of Kosovo approved the legal changes for the transformation of the KSF into the Armed Forces, a process that is expected to last ten years.
Kosovo has been invited as an observer state in the initiative of the Adriatic Charter. The US initiative was originally intended to help Albania, northern Macedonia and Croatia prepare for NATO membership, but Washington later offered the same assistance to Montenegro, which is also a NATO member. .
The Adriatic Charter also includes NATO members, such as Albania, Northern Macedonia, Croatia and Montenegro. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a member of this US initiative, while Kosovo, as an observer state, is often invited to joint meetings and exercises. Also, this initiative is open for Serbia, as a state in the capacity of an observer.
There has also been criticism of the European Union that “it has indirectly conditioned the countries of Eastern Europe to join NATO first and then the EU.” But the European bloc has denied the allegations.
“It is a fact that so far, all Eastern European countries have joined NATO and the EU in parallel, which is why the process has been called ‘Euro-Atlantic integration’. But, this has never been a condition. “Those countries themselves have thought that NATO offers security and stability and the EU added value as prosperity,” said an EU diplomat.
The diplomat also mentioned Serbia, which has the status of a candidate country for EU membership, but which has no aspirations for NATO membership.
Even the diplomats in Brussels have emphasized that “Serbia in the negotiations with the EU is ahead of Albania and Northern Macedonia, which are already members of NATO”.
Regardless of whether the Western Balkan countries are members of NATO or not, the alliance has said it is committed to the stability and prosperity of the Balkan states. At NATO headquarters they reiterated the position that it is up to the states to decide if they want to become members and if they have such aspirations and meet the criteria, the doors of the alliance will be open.REL
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
