The parallel that Belgrade seeks to draw between the NATO intervention in Kosovo and Serbia and the Russian aggression against Ukraine is unacceptable, said former foreign minister Ditmir Bushati

TIRANA - “I hope very much that this is a moment of strengthening the European identity, and to decide on what will be done with the Western Balkans, first, and what will be done with the partner countries in the East,” said former foreign minister Ditmir Bushati in an interview with A2 CNN.

Speaking about the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the consequences it could bring to Europe, especially in the Western Balkans, he said “this is a moment of truth for the EU, how seriously it is going to be a global actor”. If a global actor is not able to plough his land, in this case the Western Balkans, it will find impossible to be a weighty actor in the international arena, he added.

For ex-foreign minister, with the military actions against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin killed the neutrality of many countries in Europe. Here he also mentioned Serbia regarding its vote in favor of the UN resolution condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“Serbian politics is used to sitting in several chairs, but this is not that moment. To be honest, I am not surprised by Serbia’s move. We all know Switzerland, which is famous for its neutrality. There we have German pacifism as well. This situation changed in a week. Putin managed to kill the neutrality of these countries,” Bushati said.

He noted that the parallel that Belgrade seeks to draw between the NATO intervention in Kosovo and Serbia and Russian aggression against Ukraine is unacceptable.

“I read Serbia’s vote against sanctions on Russia, because of the friendship and traditional ties, but in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. What is unacceptable is the parallel that Serbia seeks to draw between this situation and the NATO intervention in Serbia and Kosovo in 1999,” said Bushati.

He rather compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine to Hitler's invasion of Poland.

“We have not experienced such a situation since World War II. It is a situation similar to the blow Hitler dealt to Poland. We are in a process that is shaping a new order, which is essentially conflicting. We have seen the signs since 2007, in the Munich speech of Vladimir Putin,” he emphasized.