Moscow threat to Balkans peace, says Truss

West must stand up to Putin in region as well as in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary warns in visit to Sarajevo

‘We said never again would we allow such suffering in Europe – let’s show that we meant it’

‘We will do everything we can to drive out this malign influence and protect peace’

RUSSIAN meddling in the Balkans risks tipping the region back into war, the Foreign Secretary warned yesterday on a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Liz Truss accused Moscow of a “malign” influence in the countries that once made up Yugoslavia as she called on the West to stand up to Vladimir Putin in the Balkans, as well as Ukraine.

The Bosnian war raged from 1992 to 1995. Serbian forces laid siege to Sarajevo and committed genocide in Srebrenica before Nato intervened, helping to end the conflict.

Speaking in Sarajevo, Ms Truss said: “This country’s tragic history is a reminder of what happens when we fail to stand up to aggression. Things get worse, not better.

“Yet there are signs of Russian meddling here today, which risk plunging us back into those dark days.

“We were not bold enough to prevent terrible events such as the genocide at Srebrenica. This hesitancy only prolonged the fighting. Sarajevo suffered under siege for 1,425 days. We should have acted sooner.

“We said never again would we allow such suffering in Europe – let’s show that we meant it.” Ms Truss said Russia was undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ambitions to build deeper ties with the West via eventual Nato and EU membership through dirty tricks and disinformation.

She said: “Russia is already seeking to undermine reforms that are taking place in this country, and undermine your Euro-atlantic ambitions. They are fuelling secessionists, threatening Bosnia and Herzegovina’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“This cannot be tolerated. We will do everything we can to drive out this malign influence and protect peace, prosperity and stability in the region.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the midst of a political crisis, with Bosnian Serbs challenging state institutions in an effort to secede and join neighbouring Serbia. Moscow has close links to Serbia, which has refused to join international sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Ms Truss urged Bosnia and Herzegovina to impose sanctions on Russia.

Ms Truss promised the UK would protect peace in the country, which Putin sees as part of his sphere of influence. Britain would continue to train cadets at Sandhurst and boost Bosnia’s ability to counter security threats.

She announced a £80million package of Uk-backed investment in infrastructure and energy in the Balkans by 2025 and promised it would not come with the strings attached that Russia demands.

“Our support for Bosnia and Herzegovina – like our support for Ukraine – is about our belief in a simple principle: the right of people to decide their democratic future and to protect themselves,” she said.

Ms Truss vowed to support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to join Nato.

‹♦ Nato needs to increase troop levels on the Russian border and adopt a more aggressive posture to deter Putin, a top Estonian defence official told The Daily Telegraph. The Nato summit in Madrid at the end of June should be used to signal the alliance is shifting posture from “deterrence by punishment to deterrence by denial”, according to Kusti Salm, Estonia’s permanent secretary in the ministry of defence.

Tallinn would be prepared to host a Nato army headquarters to deter Russia, he said.