NATO 2022 Bucharest: Europe must limit Russia's influence in Balkans, says head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani

Europe should increase its presence in the Western Balkans to limit Russia's influence, the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, said on Wednesday in Bucharest, ahead of the discussions on the second day of the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting.

"Stability in the Western Balkans is important for peace. We need to stop the Russians in the Western Balkans, we need an increased presence of Europe," he said, according to Reuters.

"We have to protect all the countries in the Western Balkans and close to Ukraine, because it is important at this moment to work together. Unity is important and it is a strong message for Russia," said Tajani, in the context in which the foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, NATO partners, were also invited to participate in the meeting in Bucharest.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is going through its worst political crisis since the end of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, with Bosnian Serbs challenging the state's institutions as part of their long-running secession drive, encouraged by at least tacit support from Russia. AGERPRES