Albania joins in Russia bashing at NATO PA
Story Highlights
- While the assembly unanimously adopted a statement warning against potential threats from Russia, Albanian politicians called for the swift integration of the Western Balkans in Euro-Atlantic structures in order to steer the region away from alleged Russian influence
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TIRANA, May 30 – NATO ‘s Parliamentary Assembly, gathering for the first time ever in Tirana this week, called on alliance members to boost up collective defences to face an increasingly aggressive Russia.
The assembly adopted a declaration aimed at increasing conventional and nuclear deterrence measures as well as NATO preparedness in countering security threats posed by Russia.
The president of the assembly, U.S lawmaker Michael Turner, said that “dialogue solves conflicts, but it is not the right answer to aggression”.
“We need a strategy to ensure that Russia’s renewed aggressiveness comes at a price and that further aggression is deterred. In Warsaw, we must reaffirm that deterrence both conventional and nuclear,” said NATO PA chairman US Congressman Michael Turner referring to the alliance’s summit in July.
Turner added that Russia is testing new missiles in breach of international treaties and its navy is frequently harassing NATO vessels.
The perceived Russian threat became part of comments by Albanian politicians who urged the enlargement of Euro-Atlantic community as a barrier to Russian expansion in the region.
Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli highlighted the need for a fast integration of the Western Balkans in NATO and the EU, which she described as “under threat from Russian influences and radicalism”.
“Failure to do so would mean fragmentation of European unity and unfortunately many are waiting for this to happen. Regions can easily be affected by international instability and the Western Balkans is one of them,” said Kodheli.
While Russia has substantially increased military spending, NATO PA assembly agreed that defense budgets need to be boosted as currently only five out of 28 member states meet the target spending of 2% of GDP, a target which should be achieved by all member countries by 2020.
As the assembly hailed Montenegro’s inclusion into the alliance, Albania’s Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said that “further enlargement is important for the stability of the entire continent since it not only reduces security grey areas in the region, but also the influence of third parties”, alluding to Russian involvement in the region.
Prime Minister Edi Rama reiterated the same view by stating that Albania is a strong proponent of NATO enlargement in the Balkans to take in other former Yugoslav republics, including Kosovo and Macedonia, as a way of bolstering regional security.
Montenegro signed the accession protocol to join NATO on May 19 and is set to become the Alliance’s newest member once the protocol has been ratified by all member states.
Tackling terrorism was another topic high on the agenda of NATO PA spring session.
While acknowledging progress against the Islamic State after its recent setbacks in Syria and Iraq, deputies warned that the group, which has been developing chemical weapons, remains capable of launching similar attacks like those seen in Paris last year and Brussels in March.
Lawmakers urged alliance members to boost intelligence sharing and increase cooperation with Middle East and Gulf states to prevent the Islamic State from gaining a foothold in Libya.
“We can’t allow Daesh to create a new haven, with significant oil reserves, in Libyan territory,” said Bruno Tertrais, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.
An estimated 200 Europeans are believed to attempt joining Daesh in Libya each month.
According to lawmakers, regional tensions with Iran undermine the fight against the terror organization.
The assembly also backed the decision of NATO foreign ministers, taken on May 20, to extend the mission in Afghanistan beyond 2016 following increasing levels of insurgent violence there.
The session brought together in Tirana amid heightened security measures 260 parliamentarians from 28 NATO member countries as well as delegates from partner countries to discuss international security issues ahead of the alliance’s Warsaw summit in July.
Albania became a NATO member on April, 1 2009 after receiving an invitation to join the alliance at the Bucharest Summit the previous year.
