KOLEV: LITTLE NATO SEEKS TO CURB SERBIAN INFLUENCE

BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 15 /SRNA/ – Geopolitics professor Dragan Kolev told SRNA that no saber-rattling in the Balkans should be taken lightly and that nothing regarding the Zagreb–Priština–Tirana military alliance is happening without NATO’s knowledge, adding that the Serbian factor, which he described as a barrier to the Alliance’s interests in this part of the world, is once again under attack.

"That alliance is a little NATO within NATO. The essential intention is to draw self-proclaimed Kosovo into the Alliance, as they represent a young force that can be used as a proxy. They are building the Kosovo Security Force according to NATO standards," Kolev said. He stated that the so-called Kosovo security forces were formed under the direction of Croatia and Albania, both NATO member states, and that this is all "part of the anaconda strategy aimed at keeping the Serbs in this region under control." "The story is old; only the executors have been repackaged. The intention is to contain the Serbian factor in the Balkans and prevent the Serbs, as 'little Russians' in the region, from enabling Russia’s access to warm seas," Kolev believes. He pointed out that current developments should be placed in a historical context, examining the interests domestic and foreign actors have pursued in the region in the past. Kolev noted that frequent incursions by armed Albanians into central Serbia within the Ground Safety Zone serve as a trial balloon to test Serbia’s response, as does the implementation of laws by self-proclaimed Kosovo concerning foreigners and vehicles. He added that one should not overlook the amount of money invested in "Kosovo’s independence," how much continues to be invested, and who is involved. Kolev also pointed out that Croats persistently promote the myth of a "Greater Serbia," which he said lacks any historical foundation, in order to divert attention from their own aspiration for "a Croatia as large as it was during the Ustasha-era NDH."