Brussels, 22 August 2024
NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Boris Ruge, held high-level consultations in Sarajevo, Pristina and Belgrade from 16 to 22 August 2024. Ambassador Ruge highlighted that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance for the Alliance and reiterated NATO Allies’ steadfast commitment to lasting security. He noted the continued, long-standing cooperation between NATO, the European Union and other international organisations to consolidate regional stability.
Ambassador Boris Ruge, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy with Major General Özkan Ulutaş, COMKFOR
During meetings with the Presidency and other senior officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konakovic and the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, Ruge affirmed that: “NATO has been engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 3 decades; we remain strongly committed to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and we will not allow any type of security vacuum to emerge.”
In Pristina, Ruge met with Ms. Vjosa Osmani and senior officials from the EU, OSCE, QUINT group (represented by France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States), and the NATO-led KFOR mission. Concerning the re-opening of the Austerlitz bridge over the Ibar river in Mitrovica, the Assistant Secretary General underlined NATO’s position that “decisions must be taken through dialogue and in a coordinated manner.” He also emphasised NATO’s full support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as the framework for resolving pending political issues.
In Belgrade, Ruge met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, and representatives of the international community. “We had good exchanges on the various aspects of NATO-Serbia partnership, which we hope to deepen, and on the Alliance’s efforts across the region,” he said. “We look to Serbia to help ensure full accountability for the violent acts perpetrated in Kosovo in May and September 2023 and to play a positive role, based on good neighbourly relations, with all states in the region,” he said.
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