TIRANA, Aug. 3 – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told leaders of Western Balkan states this week that the United States will continue to stand by the countries of the region as they work together on a European future, whether that means NATO or EU membership, because each of these roads leads to a stronger Europe.
He also warned the Western Balkan states of what he said was the global menace of radical Islamic terrorism and the continued Russian efforts to seek to redraw international borders by force and to destabilize the region, undermine democracies and create divisiveness in the region and with the rest of Europe.
Pence delivered these remarks at a summit of leaders of the Adriatic Charter countries currently taking place in Montenegro. The Adriatic Charter was established by Albania, Croatia, and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as the United States to help countries that wanted to join NATO. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina officially joined in 2008, while Serbia has observer status.
“As you all know, Russia continues to seek to redraw international borders by force and, here in the Western Balkans, Russia has worked to destabilize the region, undermine democracies and divide you from each other and from the rest of Europe,” Pence told a summit attended by leaders of Western Balkans NATO members.
“I can assure you the United States of America rejects any attempt to use force, threats or intimidation in this region or beyond,” he said as quoted by VoA.
Pence underscored Washington’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic ties, a commitment many in Europe questioned after Trump lambasted NATO as “obsolete” and argued in favor of better relations with Russia.
“We truly believe the future of the Western Balkans is in the West,” he told reporters, “and we look forward to reaffirming the commitment of the United States to build the relationships that will strengthen the ties between the European community, the Western Balkans and the United States of America.”
Prime Minister Edi Rama published on Wednesday on his official Facebook page a picture taken from his meeting with the U.S. Vice President at the margins of the Adriatic Charter summit. In remarks over social media, Rama said that the bilateral meetings with the U.S. Vice President and with other leaders of Western Balkan countries put on display the shared political will of these countries to achieve progress together in defending the strategic interests of the region’s peoples. Rama also said to have shared with his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenković, the Albanian public’s high sensitivity toward the case of Ismail Morina, and the need to solve this case in the most reasonable way possible.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana provided information Wednesday on the visit to Albania of Representatives Devin Nunes and Rick Crawford, members of the US House of Representatives Select Permanent Committee on Intelligence. They met with a variety of leaders to discuss a range of issues, including NATO matters, regional security, defence and counterterrorism cooperation, and other bilateral affairs.
