PRISTINA, Kosovo

Former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Monday described the ongoing fight between Russia and Ukraine as a "catastrophic" war that affected European citizens the most.

"I do not expect that Russia will be able to achieve all its goals in this war, but at the same time it is likely that the West will also not be able to achieve all its goals,” Mesic told Anadolu Agency.

He said he did not expect the war in Ukraine would violate the security of the Balkans.

Mesic rejected speculations that a war might spread to other regions, saying: "It is impossible for the war in Ukraine to spread to another region, especially the Balkans."

"There are those who are dissatisfied with the results of the war that took place in the territories of the former Yugoslavia and want the borders to be changed again. These are the heads of the Republika Srpska (one of the two federal entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina),” Mesic said.


“These people think that the borders can change today, but the borders have not changed even after the death of 100,000 people. Who would think of changing the borders of the Balkans again? It's absolutely impossible," he said.

EU's enlargement to Western Balkans

When asked whether North Macedonia and Albania would get a date from the EU for accession talks, Mesic said: "The European integration process needs to be accelerated."

Mesic underlined that ongoing conflict in Ukraine may help accelerate the entry of the entire Western Balkan region into the EU.

Integration of the regional countries to the EU will also contribute to the bloc’s own security, he added.

Speaking on Türkiye's sphere of influence on the Balkans, Mesic said: “Türkiye is a serious power in the region. The Turkish army is the strongest one in the NATO pact.”

Mesic urged Balkan countries to be in communication with Türkiye to develop cooperation in the field of economy.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.