Belgrade (Times Of Ocean)- In Sofia meeting, the four NATO members of the Western Balkans expressed support for Ukraine and condemned Russia.
In Sofia, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov hosted NATO’s Multilateral Business Union meeting in which the premiers of Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia participated.
Dimitar Kovacevski, the Macedonian Prime Minister, said the meeting sent a strong message of unity and solidarity with Ukraine.
He said its participants “remain firm in condemning the war in Ukraine as an illegal and illegitimate invasion of Russia.”
“We condemned Russia’s military aggression,” added Kovacevski, asserting that the war in Ukraine “created a new reality in all sectors,” including commodities and energy.
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said Russia’s actions harm regional security, making cooperation among countries more important.
“Russia is the greatest threat to our security,” said Ciuca. He added that the war had also increased the significance of NATO’s eastern flank.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic said the Balkans are no longer a powder keg waiting to explode.
“We remember the battle in Old Yugoslavia very well,” he said, underlining that the countries in the region would “never repeat” such a war.
They also discussed liquefied natural gas supplies from Turkiye and Greece, the alternative use of existing pipelines, and the construction of transport corridors in the region.
Bulgaria’s Petkov said that two main corridors were on the agenda. One of these, dubbed Corridor No. 8, would begin in Podgorica, Montenegro, and move on to Durres, Albania; Skopje, North Macedonia; Sofia; Dimitrovgrad, Serbia; and Varna, Bulgaria.
The second corridor would pass through Alexandroupolis in Greece, Burgas and Varna in Bulgaria, and Constanta in Romania. NATO