TIRANA -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 28 urged unity among the Western Balkan countries as he sought the continuation of military and financial aid to Kyiv at a summit of Western Balkans countries at which he also warned of the dangers they face if Russia is not stopped.
Zelenskiy sought to build solidarity between the countries of the region and Ukraine, saying all of them deserve to be members of the European Union and NATO. He also expressed interest in increasing cooperation with weapons suppliers in the Balkan countries as Ukrainian troops face a shortage of ammunition on the battlefield.
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"We are interested in co-production with you and all our partners," Zelenskiy said, speaking in his opening remarks to the summit in Tirana attended by delegations from Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Moldova, and Romania.
"There are about 500 defense companies operating in Ukraine; each of them adds strength but it is not enough to win," he said, proposing the establishment of a Ukrainian-Balkans defense forum in Kyiv or in a Balkan capital to nurture arms cooperation.
There are significant arms industries in parts of the Balkans, especially Serbia and Croatia, a legacy of former federal Yugoslavia.
Ukraine made similar arrangements last year with British and U.S. weapons companies, which are the main suppliers of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. But in recent weeks its troops have been forced to withdraw from some of their defensive positions in the east as a critical bill containing $61 billion in U.S. military aid remains blocked in the House of Representatives.
Zelenskiy said at a joint news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama that unity among the Western Balkan nations is important because Russia will do everything to destabilize the situation.
"Russia will not stop. Russia draws conclusions from the mistakes it has made on the territory of Ukraine and will destabilize even further if it’s provided with opportunities to survive in this aggression against us -- to politically survive -- and then it will use other tactics," he added.
"It will try to exert influence on the countries where it can immediately get success -- the Baltics, Moldova, and the Balkan states -- everywhere where [the] Soviet Union was present."
Zelenskiy also demanded quicker delivery of weapons, saying that the more Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Ukraine's shortcomings, "the more he can think he can challenge Europe and the West."
Rama admitted that there is a clear danger for the Balkans, adding that what is happening in Ukraine "can be repeated in different ways." Rama called on the Western Balkan states to continue aid to Ukraine, and warned against it being delayed by internal politics.
"Ukraine deserves to be supported and helped with all the necessary means to resist and ensure that any peace that comes out of this war will be a just peace based, first of all, on Zelenskiy's 10-point plan, which we support and want all states to discuss," said Rama.
Rama also said that Zelenskiy's presence in Tirana was an indication that Putin, despite the military power of his country, has failed to "suppress the will of Ukrainians to live in a free, independent, and democratic state [and] has failed to keep the truth quiet."
The summit participants later on February 28 adopted a 12-point statement in which they said that Russian military aggression against Ukraine remains the biggest threat to European security, is in flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter, and is a crime against the Ukrainian people.
Participating states pledged to continue supporting Ukraine and condemned Russia's efforts to hold Russian presidential elections in the parts of Ukraine it has occupied.
The leaders also reaffirmed efforts to further advance the integration of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia into the European Union, and they said they "fully support Ukraine's right to choose its own security arrangements” and backed its desire to join NATO.
But the statement did not mention sanctions against Russia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said this was at the request of Serbia, a traditional ally of Russia that has not joined the EU's sanctions regime against Moscow.
"There is no talk of sanctions. There is no mention of malicious Russian influence," Vucic told reporters.