The latest report by the US National Intelligence Agency, already discussed in the US Senate, mentions that there might be conflicts this year in the Balkans. According to Sputnik, the Balkans has not been mentioned during the Senate debate, but it is in the report itself.

"The Western Balkans will, almost certainly, be at a certain risk of low-level violence and a possible open military conflict in 2019," the NSA report said. It added that Russia "will try to use ethnic tensions and high levels of corruption to prevent the countries of this region from moving towards the EU and NATO."

Commenting on the allegations from the report, analyst Aleksandar Pavic pointed out for Sputnik that what was written - and that is, the possibility of a military conflict - is a reality "for the simple reason that US officials are talking about it."

"There is good chance for this because America appears both as the arsonist and as the firefighter. If they keep insisting, pressure Serbia and the RS (Serb Republic) to join NATO and reach an agreement on Kosovo at all costs, of course, there is a greater chance of conflict. In other words, this depends largely on the behavior of the Americans, and then of the other Western powers who have military, media and financial supremacy on the ground here," Pavic pointed out.

The fact that out of the report's 42 pages, only two sentences are dedicated to the Balkans, Sputnik's interlocutor does not see as a lack of interest in the Balkans, on the contrary.

"In the report, inside Europe, only the Balkans, Turkey and the United Kingdom, because of Brexit, have been singled out. That would mean these are precisely the main neuralgic points, along with, of course, Russian and Chinese influence in Europe. That's not even something new. In August, (the now) outgoing American official in charge of Europe and Eurasia Wess Mitchell cited the Balkans, along with Ukraine and Georgia, as those places on the front line in the fight against Russian influence," Pavic noted, described as an expert on US politics.

Asked whether this means that additional pressure on Serbia and the RS should be expected, he had no dilemma: "Absolutely."