“We don’t see any military threat from Russia, but we are closely monitoring what it is doing. We will remain present in the region and are ready to organize and reinforce quickly, as well as do everything to defend each of our allies,” said G.G. of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, after the meeting he had in the afternoon in Skopje with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski.

“I want to send a message to Russia, to continue to refrain from aggressive actions against its neighbors and to stop military actions against Ukraine” added G.G. of NATO.

Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO highly values ​​North Macedonia’s contribution to the Alliance.

“You contribute to the security and stability of the Western Balkans through our peacekeeping missions with KFOR in Kosovo. You are determined to reach 2% of GDP spent on defense by next year, while North Macedonia has strongly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine. We really value you, you are a valuable ally and we appreciate your contribution to the Alliance,” Stoltenberg said.

Jens Stoltenberg is touring the countries of the Western Balkans (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia) from Sunday evening.

Skopje is the last stop of this G.G.’s tour. of NATO, who will have a joint meeting tomorrow in the capital of North Macedonia with the leaders of the NATO member countries from the region. This meeting will be attended by the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski, the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, the President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic, the Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajic and the Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob.

The NATO chief’s visit to the region comes amid warnings from Ukraine that Russia intends to spark conflict between the Western Balkan states.