The Special Envoy of the Secretary of State of the United States of America (USA) for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, warned that Russia is trying to divide the region and hinder its integration with the West, the Euraktiv portal reports today.
"We are concerned about Russian intentions in relation to the Western Balkans," Palmer told Radio Free Europe's Bulgarian service in an interview published yesterday, a day after his visit to Sofia.
"Russia prefers a Western Balkans that is fragmented, divided, suspicious, that has an element of chaos," Palmer said.
He pointed out that another challenge for the Balkans is the activity of Russian agents.
Palmer referred to the attempted coup in Montenegro in 2016, the attempted assassination of a Bulgarian arms dealer in a scenario similar to the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Great Britain, and cited "Russian efforts to undermine support for the Prespa Agreement between Skopje and Athens" as "another an example of malign activity by the Russian state".
The Prespa Agreement signed in 2018 ended the nearly three-decade long name dispute between Athens and Skopje, and paved the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and the EU.
Palmer expressed hope that the EU Council will decide to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania in March.
"We would like to see the door open. Both countries are meeting the requirements and we hope the European Council will recognize this by agreeing to open negotiations during their meeting in March," he said.
Last August, Palmer was appointed as the US Secretary of State's special envoy for the Western Balkans.
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