Moscow is using ethnic tensions in the Western Balkans to provoke "instability and hinder the region's integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions," the US State Department said.
The warning came after retired US general Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme commander in Europe, recently said Russia, which has close ties to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, was using Belgrade as a puppet to sow discord in the region. .
Serbia, which has been a candidate for European Union membership since 2012, has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over its aggressive war against Ukraine, although it has voted in favor of several UN resolutions condemning Russian aggression.
Tensions have been rising in recent months in northern Kosovo, home to a sizable ethnic Serb minority, and Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The leader of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is also on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US and Britain have sanctioned him for his efforts to undermine the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in BiH.
Dodik's separatist politics have been one of the main obstacles to BiH's progress towards EU membership since it became a candidate for membership in 2022.
"It is clear that Russia does not support the same European future for the countries of the Western Balkans that they themselves have chosen and that the people of the region deserve. Russia seeks to take advantage of inter-ethnic tensions, create instability and hinder the region's integration into the Euro-Atlantic institutions," a State Department spokesperson told Radio Free Europe.
"We remain concerned about the risk of local tensions escalating into serious political conflicts that could push back countries in the region, for example in northern Kosovo and given threats of secession in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are working closely with all parties to minimize those risks," he added
In Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, tensions remain high after a terrorist attack in September 2023 in which an ethnic Albanian policeman died after clashing with masked commandos led by Kosovo Serb Milan Radojcic, a close associate of Serbian President Vucic.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Asia James O'Brien recently identified tensions in northern Kosovo and Republika Srpska's threats to secede as the main security risks in the Western Balkans.
"That's why the United States is working with the countries of the Western Balkans to strengthen regional cooperation and advance reforms that will reduce opportunities for malign Russian influence and bring lasting peace, stability, and prosperity to the region," the spokesman said.
"Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine underscores the urgency and importance of these priorities," he added. I BGNES