When several countries in the Western Balkans enter into a military agreement, it is not viewed from the perspective of strengthening their defense, but rather against which states they were formed. This is also the case with the Declaration on Military Cooperation between Kosovo, Albania and Croatia, which was signed in Tirana on March 18, 2025, in which Serbia found a threat to its security and sovereignty. Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić, who signed this agreement together with his Albanian counterpart Pirro Vengu and Kosovo Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci, claims that there is nothing threatening about anyone in it, but that it is exclusively about cooperation between the three signatories.
This Declaration has four points, the first of which is related to the promotion of cooperation in the defense industry - in order to increase the readiness of military forces. The Declaration also talks about improving cooperation in the field of education and training of military personnel, in accordance with the training and exercise policy of NATO and the European Union. One of the points of the Declaration is the exchange of information and intelligence, and the exploration of possibilities for responding to a wide range of potential threats. It also states the harmonization of policies and positions in Euro-Atlantic security institutions, and a commitment to closer cooperation and coordination for the full integration of Kosovo into regional associations
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Croatia and Albania had created a new reality by signing the military agreement with Kosovo, adding: "They have opened an arms race in our region, it is a difficult situation for us, certainly not an easy one, but we have understood their message. We will preserve our country, deter them and always successfully defend against any potential aggressor, even such a powerful one," Vučić said. He also pointed out that by signing this agreement, Croatia and Albania violated the subregional arms control agreement from 1996, and expressed his belief that NATO was not informed about this.
"This is a violation of the so-called subregional agreement on the control of conventional arms from 1996, but we have seen from the reactions from Croatia and some other parts of the region that they are not too interested in it. I am almost certain that NATO was not even informed and that they were not even told which agreements were violated," Vučić said.
Belgrade did not wait long for a response to the military agreement between Croatia, Albania and Kosovo, and what was expected was decided - further cooperation with the Hungarians. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Bratislav Gašić, the defense ministers of Hungary and Serbia, signed a document in Belgrade on April 8, 2025, which concretizes the agreement on strategic cooperation between Hungary and Serbia in the field of defense from 2023. It was announced that in 2025, Budapest and Belgrade agreed on 79 defense activities, including joint training, helicopter and other exercises, cooperation in the sectors of defense industries, cybersecurity, peacekeeping operations, military education and medicine.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he believes that the new Belgrade-Budapest defense agreement will continue to move closer to creating a military alliance between Serbia and Hungary. “Hungary is always on the side of preserving peace, and Serbia is always its ally in this,” said Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he understood that Serbia was trying to find problems elsewhere, but that they were not in the memorandum on defense cooperation signed by Croatia, Kosovo, and Albania.
Objective analysts believe that these agreements are a win-win situation because when you cooperate in any sense, everyone finds their own reasons why it is beneficial. Memorandums of Understanding are not legally binding, so they are a typical interstate agreement, according to the rules of public international law, but that does not mean that they cannot be commented on and that some conclusions cannot be drawn from individual provisions.
Bonus video:
