Balkans fate ‘in the West,’ says Pence
PODGORICA, Montenegro — Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that the future of Europe’s Balkan nations is in the West, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to the region as Russia works to assert its historical influence there.
Pence spoke in Montenegro, his third and final stop in a European trip that saw him voicing support for nations pressured by Russia and highlighting U.S. allegiance to its allies overseas. He is the highestranking American official to visit the small Adriatic state in 100 years.
“We truly believe the future of the Western Balkans is in the West,” Pence said in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital.
The Western Balkans refers to countries in the former Yugoslavia that aspire to or have already joined Western institutions, including the European Union and NATO. It also includes Albania.
Montenegro joined NATO in June, a move that angered Moscow. Russia had considered the country of 620,000 people, with an army of some 2,000 soldiers, its traditional Slavic ally.
Pence, who attended a summit of Balkan leaders Wednesday, praised Montenegro for standing up to Russian pressure. Its accession to NATO, Pence said, is “a sign of the strength of this country 10 years after independence.”
“I bring greetings from President Donald Trump, who sent me here as a visible sign of the alliance that we now enjoy through NATO,” the vice president said.
Russia is accused of masterminding an attempted coup in Montenegro in October to prevent it from joining NATO. Moscow has denied the allegations.
In his address to the Balkan leaders, on Wednesday, Pence called Russia an “unpredictable country” that wants to destabilize the region.
“As you well know, Russia continues to seek to redraw international borders by force and here in the Western Balkans, Russia has worked to destabilize the region, undermining your democracies and divide you from each other and from the rest of Europe,” he said.
“The Western Balkans have the right to decide your own future, and that is your right alone,” Pence said.
The Balkan states that are pro-West had feared Trump — who once called NATO an obsolete organization — would leave them to the Russian sphere of influence. Pence’s trip appeared intended to alleviate those fears.