Kosovo ought to be admitted into NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Bronx lawmaker urged.
In a letter sent to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, Rep. Ritchie Torres asserted the small Balkan nation is a close and loyal US ally and should join the alliance as a way to counter Russian influence in the region.
“On Feb. 27, Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, called for a ‘accelerated
membership to NATO.’ Moreover, on March 3, the Kosovo Parliament passed a resolution calling on their government to start negotiations on NATO membership. We could not agree more with these actions,” Torres wrote.
“While Russia continues to behave as an irrational actor and Serbia strengthens its relationship with Russia, it is critical that we assist our ally Kosovo in joining NATO. With the rapidly evolving security situation in Europe, we must stand with our ally.”
Rep. Torres speaking in Washington, D.C. in Sept. 2021. Sipa USA
“On Feb. 27, Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, called for a ‘accelerated membership to NATO.'” Visar Kryeziu
A map shows the areas threatened by Russian incursion.
Putin and his allies have cited NATO expansion into former Soviet bloc nations as the precipitating cause of the Ukrainian invasion — adding Kosovo would be certain to inflame the Russian strongman even further.
NATO has spent decades working in Kosovo ever since the end of a bloody war between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. NATO membership, however, would likely be complicated as four members — Spain, Slovakia, Greece, and Romania — did not recognize the country’s 2008 declaration of independence.
