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WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is turning his attention to Ukraine, NATO and the Western Balkans after weeks of intense focus on Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Now, amid signs that a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas due to expire on Monday may be extended, Blinken is departing for Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers meeting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a U.S.-Russia confrontation over Ukraine. The NATO meeting in Brussels will also address the situation in the Western Balkans where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence amid concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and regional stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries’ aspirations to join the European Union, O’Brien said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, ”, Jim O’Brien, O’Brien, Sergey Lavrov Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, NATO, eventual, “, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Russian, OSCE, Kosovo —, Serbia —, European Union, NATO's Locations: Ukraine, Western Balkans, Gaza, Israel, Brussels, Kosovo, Serbia, Russia, Europe, Skopje, North Macedonia, U.S, Balkans, Washington

Kosovo’s border with Serbia was “out of control," Rama said after an informal meeting of Western Balkan NATO members in North Macedonia. It gained independence with the help of a NATO military campaign, launched in 1999 to end a bloody Serb crackdown on an armed separatist movement. “But what we do see is an increase in tensions, especially in Kosovo,” Stoltenberg said. During a visit to Kosovo on Monday, Stoltenberg said that NATO was considering deploying additional peacekeeping troops there. In May, Serb demonstrators in northern Kosovo clashed with NATO peacekeeping troops.

Persons: Rama, Jens Stoltenberg, Wednesday's, ” Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Dimitar Kovačevski, Milojko, Zoran Milanović Organizations: Edi Rama, NATO, Western Balkan NATO, Kosovo —, Serbia —, European Union Locations: SKOPJE, North Macedonia, Albanian, Kosovo, Serbia, Serbian, Russia, Balkans, Ukraine, North Macedonia's, Skopje, Western Balkans, Belgrade, Banjska, Brussels, Montenegro

☆ A second war could easily erupt in Europe — while everyone's distracted by Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Violence erupted in northern Kosovo in September, and Belgrade responded with a military build-up on its border with its neighbor. Given the current political and security context, analysts say an outbreak of violence in northern Kosovo "should raise alarm bells." Open hostilityLong-simmering animosity between Serbia and Kosovo has broken into open hostility in northern Kosovo in recent months. Northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia, has an ethnic Serb majority whereas the country as a whole is around 93% ethnic Albanian. Mojsilovic stated that number of troops on the Kosovo border had been reduced to 4,500 from 8,350.

Persons: Milan Radoicic, Majda Ruge, Stringer, Milos Vucevic, Staff Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Aleksandar Vučić, Vučić, Ian Bremmer, Bremmer, Ruge, Aleksandar Vucic, Krusha, Armend Nimani, Slobodan Milošević, Serbian, Albin Kurti, Andrius, Tursa, Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic Organizations: Kosovo Police, Kosovo Serb, Milan, Anadolu Agency, Getty, European Council, Foreign Relations, Albanian, Kosovo, Afp, NATO, Serbian, Staff, Financial Times, EU, Eurasia Group, Yugoslavia, Yugoslav, Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, Federal, Nato, Kosovo Albanians Locations: Banjska, Jarinje, Serbia, Zvecan, Kosovo, Ukraine, Europe, Belgrade, destabilising Kosovo, Northern Kosovo, Serbian, Serbs, Yugoslavia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, Mitrovica, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Balkans, Kosovo Albanian, Krusha, Madhe, Albanian, Yugoslav, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Central, Eastern Europe, Stagovo

BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo held a long-awaited face-to-face meeting on Thursday in talks aimed aimed at improving their strained relations as calls mount for a change in the Western diplomatic approach toward them amid concern that their tensions could spiral out of control. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti are in Brussels for talks under the so-called Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process, supervised by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize the move.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, Kurti, Borrell, Angelo Michele Ristuccia, “, ”, aren't, Vladimir Putin, Kosovo — Organizations: Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO, KFOR, United Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Kosovo, Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina, Kosovo Albanians, Serbian, United States, Russia, Ukraine, West, Moscow, Balkans, Yugoslavia

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