On the second day of the meeting of the Ministers of the countries part of the Alliance, they also discussed the NATO-EU cooperation. In the framework of this cooperation, Albania has contributed for three years to the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea, it is worth mentioning the presence of the Albanian Armed Forces in Mali and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this session, Minister Peleshi also focused on the growing role of Russia and China in this region. “These two countries are advancing their strategic objectives in our region, through the historical, cultural, economic ties, or through their influence in countries or parts of the region”.
Minister Peleshi did not miss mentioning the events of the recent weeks in Kosovo, for which he asked for greater attention from the side of the Alliance. “The recent events in the northern part of Kosovo are not and should not be treated as isolated. We are witnessing a disturbing model presented to us by the Serbian side, which continues to be equipped with modern weapons systems from Russia and China, keep training together and, as we witnessed recently, send military troops to the border with Kosovo, who were also blessed by the Russian ambassador accredited in Belgrade. In our view, this is a very disturbing message, to which the Alliance must pay attention. Albania, all of us in NATO, or in the EU, must be careful to 'calibrate' approaches and statements at best so that they do not remain unclear when the Serbian army approaches the border of Kosovo, which is in its right and should recognize the efforts to ensure order and security for all citizens. Kosovo is neither a quarter state nor a half state, but a state in the full sense of the word.", – emphasized Minister Peleshi.
During this Ministerial, Mr. Peleshi met the defense ministers of the countries contributing to the NATO mission in Latvia. The Ministers discussed the current and planned contributions, as well as any issues related to the progress of this commitment.
Albania is one of the countries contributing to the NATO Group Battalion in Latvia, which has military composition from countries such as Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain. So far our country has contributed to this mission with 1392 troops in total.
