NATO seeks to ease war impact on Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova

At talks in Romania, the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met with their NATO counterparts to discuss ways that the world’s biggest security organisation might be able to help, as the war in Ukraine exposes them to political, energy and territorial uncertainty.

NATO turned its attention on November 30 to three countries shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova — as the military alliance struggles to extend its security umbrella across Europe.

At talks in Romania, the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met with their NATO counterparts to discuss ways that the world’s biggest security organisation might be able to help, as the war in Ukraine exposes them to political, energy and territorial uncertainty.

While the cause of the problems facing Bosnia, Georgia, and Moldova is clear, their needs and the way that NATO might be able to help them are not. No straightforward proposals about what might be done were offered by NATO Ministers as they arrived at the Palace of the Parliament in the capital Bucharest.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the meeting is aimed at ensuring “more safety and security on the European continent,” and “is a signal ... on how important it is to create stability not only for NATO countries itself, but also beyond.”

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told reporters that it was important not to let a “gray zone be here, to be taken over by other forces.”

Bosnia has long been wracked by political instability, but protests rocked the Bosnian Serb half of the ethnically divided country last month after some voters alleged that a pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader rigged an election in the Serb entity, Republika Srpska.

Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic said her country, where a government is in the process of being formed following the elections, “is very concerned about the future.”