US envoy warns Russia seeks to divide Balkans

SOFIA: The US envoy for the Western Balkans warned on Tuesday that Russia is seeking to divide the region and hinder its integration with the West.

Washington frequently accuses Moscow of meddling in the region that sits on the outskirts of the European Union. "We are concerned about Russian intentions with respect to the Western Balkans," Matthew Palmer told Radio Free Europe´s Bulgarian service in an interview published Tuesday, a day after the veteran diplomat visited Sofia.

Russia "prefers a Western Balkans that is fractious, that is divided against itself, that is suspicious, that has an element of chaos," he said. Palmer was appointed last August as a special envoy tasked for helping the Western Balkans integrate with the West.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in October warned against the "malign" influence of Russian trolls during a brief tour through the Western Balkans. Palmer in the interview pointed at "Russian efforts to undercut support for the Prespa Agreement between Skopje and Athens as another example of malign activity on the part of the Russian state". The agreement signed in 2018 ended an almost three-decade name dispute between the two Balkan neighbours, opening the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and the EU. The EU accounts for more than 70 percent of overall direct investment in the Western Balkans, according to European Commission figures.