LOCAL PRESS

Improvement of cooperation with Suriname in many areas (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Foreign Minister of Suriname Yldiz Deborah Pollack-Beighle assessed today after meeting in Belgrade that relations between the two countries are very good and based on mutual benefit, understanding and friendship. The two officials estimated that relations between the two countries are based on respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal political affairs of another state. At a joint press conference in Belgrade, Dacic said he highly appreciates what the highest officials in Suriname did to develop the bilateral relations of the two countries, and that he expects the President of Suriname to visit Serbia. Speaking about the cooperation agreement between the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and the Suriname Institute of Diplomacy, which was signed today, Dacic pointed out that this is a chance for training Serbian diplomats in Suriname and vice versa. It is important to foster economic cooperation and cooperation in the field of education, including military education, as well as military-medical education. We want to cooperate on the multilateral level, given that our policies are similar, he said. Dacic expressed his gratitude to Suriname, which withdrew the recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, adding that this was a courageous contribution to the possibility of reaching a compromise solution. Pollack-Beighle expressed a deep and sincere gratitude to the Serbian authorities for a pleasant and warm welcome, and for inviting her and her delegation to come on a working visit. Although we are geographically far away, Suriname and Serbia have very good relations and these relations are based on mutual benefit, mutual understanding and are also reinforced by the respect for territorial integrity and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country, she pointed out.

Dacic comments on strange case of Egypt’s Kosovo recognition (Tanjug/B92)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that Thursday’s visit of the Egyptian parliament speaker should not be linked to Egypt revoking its recognition of Kosovo. Moreover, he continued, the case of Egypt recognizing Kosovo is not entirely clear, as there is no written evidence of it. Dacic told a joint news conference with the foreign minister of Suriname, who is also visiting Belgrade, that the former Egyptian president during the final days of his rule gave an order to the country’s Foreign Ministry, after which a spokesman for the ministry said that Egypt had recognized Kosovo. “There has been no written decision,” Dacic said, and added that there is no information about the recognition on the website of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, either. “Pristina counts Egypt among those 116 countries that have recognized Kosovo, but Egypt has not established diplomatic relations with Kosovo, and is not voting in their favor in international institutions,” Dacic remarked.  He stressed that Egypt is also not working on establishing diplomatic relations with Kosovo. During the news conference, he thanked his counterpart from Suriname, Yldiz Deborah Pollack-Beighle, for her country being the first that had the courage to reexamine and revoke the recognition of Kosovo. Dacic’s comments come in the wake of media reports that Egypt could be the next country to withdraw its recognition of Kosovo.

Djuric: Whatever we get, it will be more than what we have now (RTS)

The talks in Brussels were difficult, but we need to be aware of the consequences of possibly not reaching an agreement – not just any but one that would satisfy the interests of Serbia, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told the morning news of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). He says that whatever we get in the negotiations it will be more than what we have now. These were no talks in any sense, says Djuric. “I agree they were one of the most difficult thus far. You see the statements and nervousness of Haradinaj and Thaci, threats with war and violence, insolent insisting on full recognition of independence,” Djuric says. He says we need to be aware of the fact that we are faced with the dilemma – whether we want agreement or not. “If there is not agreement, things wouldn’t stay as they are. We would return the country and the region to conflicts in the following three, four, five years. There would be no peace. We would be unable to ensure that children will not be killed again. That is why this kind of agreement is important. There is always difficult conditioning. Don’t think that we can continue with the economic recovery if there is no solution,” said Djuric. “President Vucic will not accept recognition. He poses and repeats the question every time: What can we get for Serbia, taking into account that we almost have nothing, 18 years there is no effective control, from the most banal matters to important. Who murdered Oliver Ivanovic? Our police cannot even view the cartridges, we need to engage in intelligence work. Yet, whatever we get it will be more than what we have today,” says Djuric. We are not fighting only for Serbian interests in Brussels, but also in talks with other officials – the Russians, Americans, French President Emanuel macron where public support for reaching a compromise was received in Paris. “We will knock on every door to try to gain support for our position,” said Djuric. Asked what will be the reaction to the invitation of the Bosniak National Council to Bexhet Pacoli to visit Novi Pazar as “the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Kosovo”, Djuric says: “We will react contrary to what they expect. They expect us to react in a nervous way, but we will react seriously and responsibly, we preserve the dignity of Serbs, nobody will rampage. We will react in a manner suitable for a state,” said Djuric.

Vulin: Significant contribution of Serbian Army to UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in Beirut that the contribution of our state and the Army of Serbia is very visible in the United Nations Peace Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), pointing out that our peacekeepers are characterized by humane and professional qualities. On the second day of his visit to UNIFIL, Vulin visited Sector East, bases 7-2 and 9-66, under the command of the Spanish battalion, in which the Serbian national contingent is deployed, and met with Commander of UNIFIL Major General Michael Beary. We are ready to improve cooperation with the United Nations and send a greater number of our peacekeepers where we deem necessary, the Minister said. Together with members of the Serbian delegation, which also included Lieutenant-General Milosav Simovic and Colonel Slobodan Stop, in base 7-2, he also met with Commander of Sector East Brigadier General Jose Luis Sanchez Martinez-Falero, who said that the Serbian national contingent is fully integrated into the multinational brigade of Sector East.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H CoM holds session (N1)

At its session held on Wednesday, B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) discussed migrant crisis in B&H and security situation in B&H in terms of increasing number of migrants arriving to B&H. Among other things, B&H CoM tasked the Operational HQ for Issue of Migrations to prepare decisions related to further strengthening of controls of B&H’s borders with Montenegro and Serbia. It was also concluded that migrants currently residing in parks in Una-Sana Canton (USC) should be transferred to tent settlement in Velika Kladusa (‘Agrokomerc’ building). Reporter reminded that B&H CoM also discussed the European Commission’s announcement reading that EUR six million will be allocated as assistance to B&H in resolving of migrant crisis. Reporter noted that B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic refused to address media. B&H Minister of Finance Vjekoslav Bevanda underlined that competent institutions are doing everything in their power in resolving of abovementioned issue. “We concluded that we should get back to the eight conclusions that we had at the start and to intensively work on mitigation of this situation that is worsening day by day,” said Bevanda. According to some information, around 4,500 migrants currently reside in territory of USC, including around 3,000 migrants in Bihac. Reporter reminded that authorities of Bosanski Petrovac Municipality rejected plan of USC authorities to establish the accommodation center for migrants in territory of this municipality. Following the session, Chairman of B&H CoM Denis Zvizdic left the building through the different doors from the ones where journalists were waiting to get statements.

Later during the day, the CoM issued a press release which reads that the CoM reached some important decisions, primarily when it comes to the crisis in the Una Sana Canton (USC). According to the press release, the Operational HQ for Issue of Migrations will prepare conclusions and certain decisions for the upcoming session, in terms of further strengthening of border towards Serbia and Montenegro. The press release also said that migrants from parks and streets in the USC should be temporarily transferred in a tent settlement in Agrokomerc, until solving of their accommodation. As of January 1 until July 5, B&H Service for Foreigners’ Affairs registered over 8,000 illegal migrants out of which around 700 filed a request for asylum. The Operational HQ for Migrations is supposed to hold a regular session in the building of B&H parliament in Sarajevo on Thursday. The reporter noted that the session will show whether Minister of Security Mektic will end his silence and address media, informing them about the CoM’s further moves related to solving of the migrant crisis.

USC authorities discuss solutions for migrant crisis, B&H CoM has no solution (TV1)

The Una-Sana Canton (USC) government convened in Bihac on Wednesday to discuss possible solutions to the migrant crisis in this area. USC Minister of Interior Anel Ramic told reporters that he is unsatisfied with the state-level institutions, adding that they keep talking about solutions to this problem, but no solution is being reached. “I primarily want the B&H Ministry of Security and the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) to take a more rigid stance that some kind of temporary accommodation should be found,” Ramic said. There are now 800 migrants in the building of the former Student Center which is in poor conditions. Secretary of the Red Cross in Bihac Selam Midzic noted that they are currently fixing the roof of this facility, adding that there will certainly be enough room to accommodate them. “We already have some plans to accommodate these people, so we will rapidly intervene,” Midzic said. He added that he understands the problems of international organizations and institutions at the state level, but it is very important to react more rapidly. “The Red Cross cannot be responsible for everything that is going to happen in this city,” Midzic concluded.

Coalition ‘Hrvatsko zajednistvo’ – 12 Croat political parties want to change 20-year-long policy by participating in elections together (TV1)

Coalition ‘Hrvatsko zajednistvo’ (Croat Unity), which is composed of 12 political parties, will jointly participate in the upcoming general elections. Representatives of the Coalition explained on Wednesday that the aim is to change the current situation in which Croats in B&H are poorly represented, as well as to offer a chance for changing the policy that has not solved either ethnic problems or problems of B&H over the past 20 years. They also stressed that HDZ 1990’s candidate for the Croat member of the B&H Presidency Diana Zelenika enjoys support of all partners. HDZ 1990 leader Ilija Cvitanovic underlined that Coalition ‘Hrvatsko zajednistvo’ will not behave in a way that could cause differences among people. “We are all equal here, regardless of our capacity. We are the people who trust each other and, from now on, we will be doing our best to make sure that legitimate candidate, Dr. Diana Zelenika is elected a legitimate Croat member of the Presidency,” Cvitanovic said. He added that they also want to make sure that the 12 parties in this coalition take over the leading role when it comes to legitimate representation of the Croat people in B&H.

Government of Montenegro: Friendship between Montenegro and US strong and permanent (CDM)

Friendship and alliance with US is strong and permanent. We build friendships and haven’t lost a single one, and we are able to courageously and defensively protect and defend our own national interests, the government of Montenegro stated after yesterday’s statement of the US president, Donald Trump, who said people in Montenegro are extremely strong but aggressive, which might lead to a Third World War. “Montenegro’s proud of its history, tradition and peaceful politics, which made it a stabilizing state of the region and the only one that didn’t wage war during Yugoslavia breakup. Our country embraced and protected 120,000 affected individuals and families,” the government noted. The government also emphasized that Montenegro was the first in Europe to resist the fascism, and today as a new NATO member state, and a candidate for the EU membership, it contributes to peace and stability, not only in Europe but worldwide, along with the US soldiers in Afghanistan. In today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small you are, but to what extent you cherish the values of freedom, solidarity and democracy,” concluded the Montenegrin government.

Parliament adopts NATO membership declaration (MIA)

Parliament at its Thursday’s continuation of the 53rd session unanimously adopted the Declaration on supporting Macedonia’s accession process for NATO membership. The Declaration was adopted by a vote of 76 in favor without any votes against or abstained.

SDSM’s MP Hari Lokvenec said that NATO admission directly brings security and stability, and also indirectly affects not military but economic benefits. “The experiences of the SEE countries related to NATO membership show that when a state joins the Alliance, which are worth mentioning and have additional effects that are reflected in the state, refer to economy related to the business movement and increasing of foreign investments,” Lokvenec said. VMRO-DPMNE’s MP Dragan Danev said that his party will support the Declaration and will strongly contribute on Macedonia’s way to full-fledged membership in NATO. NATO membership means a lot of work and obligations for all citizens in Macedonia, rule of law, independent judiciary, developed educational and healthcare system, he added.

Zaev: New leaders’ meeting to be held today, moves of opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski ‘irresponsible’ (MIA)

All of us who stayed at the leaders’ meeting are in favor of successful referendum, while the moves of (Hristijan) Mickoski, demonstrated on behalf of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, are unserious, irresponsible and insulting to all political parties and the citizens of Macedonia, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Wednesday. Thursday at 12:00h another leaders’ meeting in a smaller format is convened, at which Mickoski will be able to say whether he stands for Macedonia’s accession to the European Union, NATO and for citizens to decide on the future of their country, Zaev said. “If Mickoski favors Macedonia’s EU, NATO membership, he should have stayed with all leaders present at the meeting to make decisions on the country’s future. However, he decided to run away from this historically most important issue for Macedonia’s future,” Zaev said. The leaders of VMRO-DPMNE, DUI, two BESA wings, DOM, DPA, Alliance of Albanians, LDP, NSDP and SPM were invited to attend the meeting, aimed at ironing the differences between ruling, opposition parties over the preparations of the upcoming referendum on Skopje-Athens name deal. VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski has left the leaders’ meeting one hour after it began. Speaking to members of the media, he said he had expressed ‘revolt’ over the fact that officials of all parliamentary parties hadn’t been invited to attend. The leaders’ meeting is being attended by only those parties represented in Parliament by at least two deputies. Mickoski said he had called on PM Zoran Zaev in the coming days, until Monday at the latest, to organize another leaders’ meeting in its ‘traditional’ format – the leaders of the four largest parties in Macedonia, SDSM, DUI, VMRO-DPMNE and the largest opposition party of the Albanian bloc. VMRO-DPMNE, he stressed, remains firm to its positions. “VMRO-DPMNE expressed serious revolt and disapproval of the deviant conduct by the government and representatives of the ruling majority, who yesterday voted in favor of changing the Electoral Code without the support of the largest opposition party,” Mickoski told journalists.

Croatian President: Albania our friend in difficult times (ADN)

The President of the Republic, Ilir Meta received on Wednesday his Croatian counterpart, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who is on a two-day visit to Albania. After the meeting, the two Presidents hold a press conference, highlighting the centuries old friendship between Albania and Croatia. “Croatia and Albania have a very early friendship and this is proven by many important historical moments. I thank our Croatian friends, who have unconditionally supported us in the process of Albania’s EU integration,” said Meta. Meanwhile the Croatian president also highlighted Albanian-Croatian friendship in her speech and said that the discussion is about strengthening cooperation between the two countries. “Albania was the friend of Croatia when the friends were few. Our dialogue has been born since the first years of our independence and we discussed today to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. In 18,000 Albanians living in Croatia, 2,500 of them were volunteers in the war and some lost their lives and disappeared,” said the Croatian President.

We won’t forget, Albanians sacrificed lives for Croatia’ (ADN)

Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, held a speech in the Albanian Parliament on Thursday where she declared that Croatia will not forget how many Albanians sacrificed their lives for them during wartime.  She expressed her deepest gratitude to Albanians and added that Albania has been and will always be friend of Croatia. “I want to thank the Parliament for inviting me in this official visit. Both of our countries are connected by the Adriatic Sea, but they are also connected by something stronger. Albania has been our friend during wartime, in which many Albanians became part of Croatian forces and fought for its freedom. Albania remains among the most respected countries by Croats.  Albanians that live in Croatia will continue to strengthen the relations between the two countries,” declared Croatian President.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

America Doesn’t Need Another Weakling NATO Ally (The American Conservative, by Doug Bandow, 19 July 2018)

Macedonia is the latest nation invited into the alliance, but how does that enhance America’s (or Europe’s) security?

At last week’s NATO summit, President Donald Trump denounced the allies for taking advantage of American taxpayers. Then he approved their latest subsidies. He even agreed to invite a military weakling, Macedonia, to join NATO, which will add yet another nation to our military dole.

When George Washington warned Americans against forming a “passionate attachment” to other countries, he might have been thinking of the Balkans. Indeed, a couple decades later, John Quincy Adams criticized proposals to aid Greece against the Ottoman Empire, which then ruled that region. America “goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy,” he intoned. On into the 20th century, the Balkans were in turmoil. Germany’s “Iron Chancellor,” Otto von Bismarck, warned that “the great European War would come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” That’s exactly what happened in 1914. It took decades and two world wars for the Balkans to stabilize. But after the Cold War ended, Yugoslavia, which had emerged from Europe’s previous convulsions, broke apart. One of the smaller pieces was Macedonia. The battles among the Serbians, Croatians, and Bosnians were bloody and brutal. In contrast, Macedonia provided comic relief. The small, mountainous, landlocked nation of two million people won its independence without a fight in 1991, though Athens launched a verbal and economic war against Skopje over the latter’s use of the name “Macedonia.” Perhaps modern Greeks feared that a resurrected Alexander the Great would lead the newly freed Macedonian hordes south and conquer Greece. Skopje entered the United Nations under the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM. In June, after only 27 years, the two governments agreed that Macedonia/FYROM would be called the Republic of North Macedonia—though the decision must still be ratified by the Macedonian people in a referendum. More serious was the insurgency launched by ethnic Albanians who made up about a quarter of the nation’s population. The battle two decades ago over Kosovo inflamed ethnic relations in Macedonia, eventually resulting in a short-lived insurgency. Although the fighters disarmed, Skopje’s politics remained nationalist and difficult. Last year, a more liberal administration took over, but the country’s democratic institutions remain fragile. Indeed, Freedom House only rates the nation “partly free.” The group cites voter intimidation, political patronage networks, violent protests, and problems with judicial impartiality and due process. Particularly serious were the threats against press freedom, which led to a rating of “not free” in that area. While NATO’s newer members tend to score lower than “Old Europe,” as Donald Rumsfeld once referred to the original allies, Macedonia is a step further down. Only Turkey, an incipient dictatorship, is worse: it almost certainly would not be considered for membership today. None of this mattered last week, however. After suffering Trump’s many slings and arrows, alliance members approved an invitation for Skopje to join NATO. Macedonian lawmaker Artan Grubi called it “our dream coming true. We have been in the waiting hall for too long.” That’s because Macedonia had hoped for an invite back in 2008 at the Bucharest summit, but was blocked by Athens over the name dispute, and has wanted to join ever since. Macedonia’s Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska said, “With NATO membership, Macedonia becomes part of the most powerful alliance. That enhances both our security and economic prosperity.” Money and status are expected to follow. But how would this benefit the United States and other NATO members? James Ker-Lindsay at the London School of Economics made the astonishing claim that “opening the way for the country to join NATO would be a big win for the organization at a crucial time when concerns over Russian influence in the Western Balkans are growing in many capitals.” As Skopje goes, so goes Europe? Not likely. If Washington and Moscow are engaged in a new “great game,” it is not a battle for Macedonia. In fact, Macedonia is a security irrelevancy, destined to require American aid to create the pretense that its military is fit for the transatlantic alliance. Skopje spent just $112 million on its armed forces last year, ahead of only one NATO member, Montenegro. That was barely 1 percent of its GDP, putting Macedonia near the back of the NATO pack. With an 8,000-man military, one is tempted to ask, why bother? But then one could similarly pose that query to several other NATO members. Skopje’s military is roughly the same size as Albania’s, slightly bigger than Slovenia’s, and about four times the size of Montenegro’s. None will be of much use in a conflict with the only conceivable threat, Russia.

So why bring Macedonia into NATO?

Some American policymakers see alliance membership as a means to socialize nations like Macedonia, helping them move towards democracy. However, the European Union, which sets standards governing a range of domestic policies, has always been better suited to this task, and EU membership imposes no security obligations on Washington. With the name controversy tentatively resolved, Skopje could begin the EU accession process—if the Europeans are willing. That is properly their—not Washington’s—responsibility. In contrast, the transatlantic alliance should advance American and European security. Absorbing former members of the Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union, thereby pushing the alliance up to the Russian Federation’s border, proved to be a foolish move because it violated assurances made to Russian leaders. Despite being former KGB, Vladimir Putin never appeared to be ideologically antagonistic toward America. However, when he perceived Washington’s behavior as threatening—including dismembering Serbia, backing revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, and promising to include both nations in NATO—it encouraged him to respond violently. The Balkans are peripheral even to Europe and matter little to America’s defense. The states and peoples there tend to be more disruptive and less democratic than their neighbors, reflecting the region’s unstable history. (North) Macedonia’s 8,000 troops aren’t likely to be reborn as the Spartan 300 and hold off invading Russians. So why should America threaten war on Skopje’s behalf? Admitting new members is never costless. Aid will be necessary to improve their militaries. Moreover, newer members sometimes become the most demanding, like the Baltics and Poland, which insist that they are entitled to American bases and garrisons. Expansion also complicates alliance decision-making. No doubt, Washington wishes its European allies would do what they’re told: spend more, shut up, and deploy where America wants them. That doesn’t work out very well in practice, alas, as Trump has discovered in Europe (though nations with smaller militaries are more likely to acquiesce than nations with bigger ones). An organization of 30 members, which NATO will become if Macedonia is added, is a more complex and less agile creature than one of 16, the number that existed before NATO raced east. Continuing expansion also reinforces the message that NATO is hostile toward Russia. That’s the only country allies are joining to oppose, after all. Obviously, there are plenty of other reasons Moscow should distrust the United States, but reinforcing negative perceptions for no benefit at all is bad policy. Finally, expanding the alliance is nonsensical in light of the president’s criticisms of the Europeans. Hiking U.S. military spending, increasing manpower and materiel deployments in Europe, and adding new members all contradict his demand that the allies do more and signal that the president is not serious in his demands. That leaves the Europeans with little incentive to act, especially since most of their peoples perceive few if any security threats. Yet again President Trump has been exposed as a thoughtless blowhard. His rabid supporters have likely enjoyed his confrontational rhetoric, but he has done nothing to turn it into policy. The Europeans need only wait for his attacks to ebb and then they can proceed much the same as before. The status quo will continue to reign, impervious to change. Montenegro always resembled the Duchy of Grand Fenwick from the delightful novel The Mouse that Roared. Macedonia is the Duchy of North Grand Fenwick, a slightly larger neighboring state with similar features but additional problems. Neither is remotely relevant to American security. America doesn’t need yet another security black hole as an alliance partner.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire.