The Balkans are the easternmost of Europe’s three great southern peninsulas – the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, and the Balkan Peninsula. The countries usually considered to be part of the Balkans are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia (portions of Greece and Turkey are also within the Balkan Peninsula).

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As the United States develops a smart strategy for the U.S./Balkans relationship, something that we have never really had, we need to – as always – keep a close eye on Vladimir Putin. Putin constantly and continually exploits the region’s vulnerabilities to try to destabilize these countries and gain a stronger foothold, as he tries to keep them far away from the influence of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). His goal it to insert himself into the economic and political bloodstream of the Balkans, destroying their democracies and making them completely dependent on Russia. Although Putin has worked hard to cultivate close ties with Serbia and other Slavic allies in the Balkans, his brutal invasion of Ukraine has led some Balkan governments to distance themselves from Moscow.

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The United States should seize on this opportunity to commit to the region and encourage Balkan nations to more deeply integrate with Western institutions and NATO to further erode Putin’s influence. This is important. We must look no further than when Putin tried to disrupt Montenegro’s and North Macedonia’s entries into NATO – which didn’t work in the end. To the other Balkan nations, forget Putin and his shady ways. We’ve got your back!