Putin fueling regional tensions as Blinken arrives in Albania: 'bleak picture'

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tirana on Thursday to reinforce Albania's important role in US foreign policy amid the most turbulent time in the Balkans in decades.

“This is really a milestone that is going to focus on the future, the future of Albania, the future of the Western Balkans,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim said at an upcoming State Department briefing. Trip to Albania and Germany.

A senior diplomat with expert knowledge of the region told Fox News Digital that reliable sources allege that the likelihood of conflict in the Western Balkans this year is very high. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Alexander Vucic are targeting Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The diplomat claims that the US most likely knows this, which explains why military assets are being built up, and why military equipment is being sold to Kosovo.

Zelensky warns Russia wants to 'explode' the Balkans

Former defense intelligence analyst Rebekah Koffler said, "Ethnic tensions in the Balkans are at increasing risk of turning into real conflict. Russia and Serbia, neither of which have recognized Kosovo's independence, are trying to fuel instability in the region." "Appear to be involved." told Fox News Digital.

Blinken is meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama and will reaffirm the strength of the United States' relationship with Albania, a key partner for stability in the Western Balkans and a steadfast support of Ukraine's sovereignty in its war against Russia. Is an ally.

This has been a particularly rocky period for the Western Balkans, and many observers of the region believe the region is poised to incinerate once again.

The US established a forward operating headquarters in Albania in 2022 as a home base for operations in the Balkans and could help Albania and other allies in the region counter Russian influence and disinformation. Russia has been particularly active in Montenegro, where Moscow wanted to undermine the small country's efforts to join NATO and move closer to Europe.

“This could be the beginning of concerted efforts to curb Russian influence in Serbia and, as a result, in the Balkans, by sidelining weaker NATO allies and countering Russian-Serbian hybrid and disinformation campaigns in Bosnia and Kosovo,” the diplomat told Fox News Digital. "

Long-time enemies Serbia and Kosova closer to normalizing relations

Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the US and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that Prime Minister Rama's lack of influence in Kosovo, particularly with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, complicates matters and Vucic's opposition to a number of projects in the region. Ram's close association with him has tarnished it. His credibility made him an ineffective mediator in the eyes of Kosovo.

Rama is a co-leader of the "Open Balkans" initiative, a proposal that would facilitate the free flow of people and goods in the Balkans. Many in Albania and the Balkans are opposing the initiative out of fear that it is a Serbian move to displace Europe's common regional market and would threaten the Balkan countries' desire to join the EU.

"Secretary Blinken's visit, while ostensibly supportive, comes at a time when the State Department has long been supportive of the Open Balkans Initiative, which is a catalyst for regional stability," Nesho told Fox News Digital. The form is based on the Rama-Vucic partnership."

EU warns Serbia and Kosovo to maintain peace or face consequences

"At present, Vucic's leanings towards Russia and Rama's diminishing stature as a leader accused of corruption, who has lost the support of the Albanian people, paint a bleak picture," Nesho said.

Albania, once an authoritarian Marxist country with bitter relations with the US during the Cold War, is now one of the most pro-US countries. There is a large expatriate community in countries in Europe and in the United States. Albania is also an important NATO ally and key strategic partner when it comes to resolving the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia.

Some experts and observers in the region claim that the amount of attention Albania receives from President Biden and Western policymakers is too little for a country struggling to strengthen its democracy. The region has also overtaken Ukraine as it fights to hold off Russian forces and more recently in Israel's war against Hamas.

Blinken will also visit Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference as part of the US delegation led by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Requests to the Albanian government for comment were not returned by press time.