Reflections of the conflict Russia-Ukraine on the position of NATO in the Balkans

Russian influence in the Western Balkans could rekindle conflicts that were never completely extinguished and restore instability in the Mediterranean. From Belgrade's support to Moscow to the question of Republika Srpska in Bosnia, a framework for the region. Still, Russia remains a dangerous actor in the Western Balkans and NATO should take it into consideration. It has a proven capacity and willingness to play the spoiler in regional reconciliation and integration processes. With Russia’s economic toolkit likely weakening over time, the war in Ukraine could incentivize Moscow to use its more destabilizing tools in the region with the goal of overtaxing the limited bandwidth of EU and U.S. decisionmakers.