NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated in Brussels today that the alliance is not involved in new bilateral and trilateral military agreements in the Balkans and that members of the Western military alliance make decisions on these partnerships independently.
When asked by the Beta agency what implications the recent agreement between Croatia, Albania and Kosovo on defense cooperation, to which Serbia reacted sharply, has for regional stability and security, Rute said that the issue is important, but that he does not want to comment.
"Stability and the situation in the Western Balkans is a very important issue for us, and that is why NATO is present in both Kosovo and BiH. We also have five members in the Western Balkans and we cooperate very closely," Rutte said at a press conference ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the alliance's headquarters.
He added that "as Secretary General, I must refrain a little from commenting on every development anywhere in the world, including the Western Balkans."
"It is up to individual NATO members to make decisions about that. There are other agreements between allies, the Netherlands and Belgium work together on many issues. Of course, that is different from what you are talking about. You are raising an important topic, but I still think I should not comment," Rutte said.
Rutte previously did not want to comment on this week's signing of an agreement on cooperation between Serbia and Hungary in the field of defense, saying only that NATO "is not part of it."
Responding to questions from journalists, Rute said, among other things, that the security situation in Kosovo is a very important issue for NATO and that he discussed responsibility for the attacks in Banjska and on members of the KFOR mission in 2023 with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić both during a recent telephone conversation and during their meeting in Brussels on March 19.
The NATO Secretary General also answered questions about Bosnia and Herzegovina and reiterated his position that the alliance cannot accept a security vacuum in that country, which he also expressed during his visit to Sarajevo on March 10th.
"I call on the three-member Presidency of BiH to start governing the country. When I was in Sarajevo a few weeks ago, I clearly told them that we do not want any destabilization," said Rute.
Asked how he assessed the statement by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik that the entity police would not allow him to be arrested, Rute said that he "expects him to accept the verdict of the independent judiciary" of BiH and to "act accordingly."
On February 26, the Court of BiH found Dodik guilty of failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative of the International Community in BiH and sentenced him to one year in prison and a ban on holding the office of President of Republika Srpska for six years, from the date the verdict became final.
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