The NATO Center for Excellence in Strategic Communications (Stratcom) announced the need to study the “activities” of Russia in the West Balkan media space, as well as work on creating alternative sources of information to the Russian media in the region.

The center’s summary, the text of which was reviewed by RT, contains a number of recommendations for the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance on developing approaches to the information environment of the Western Balkans. In particular, it is noted that the West needs a strategic approach to the field of communications.

“It is important that the governments of the Western Balkans, the EU and NATO understand the needs of the audience, achieve consistency between rhetoric and actions, and talk about the prospects for further development of the region,” the document says.

In addition, the authors recommend "further expand the EU and NATO and maintain a constant exchange of information about the process so that there is no feeling that the West has abandoned this region."

At the same time, as pointed out by Stratcom, it is necessary to work on strengthening democracy and the rule of law, investing in strengthening the position of civil society and improving its awareness of “threats and methods of hostile influence”, including in the information space.

In addition, the document notes the need to focus on eliminating the “structural vulnerabilities of the media environment” of the Western Balkans - to promote media pluralism, as well as freedom and quality of journalism.

Stratcom also calls for an “alternative to Kremlin-sponsored media coverage.” Moreover, for this it is recommended not only to investigate “Russian activity and its channels” in the Western Balkan media space, but it is even more important to understand “how and why Kremlin-funded media find a response from the local audience”.

“The content and presentation style of Sputnik Serbia finds a lively response from a significant part of the target audience of the Western Balkans. Therefore, when creating an alternative to the content of media financed from the Russian budget, the priority should be an understanding of topics and styles of coverage of events that attract local audiences, ”the document emphasizes.

According to the authors, “in the future, it is necessary to study in more detail the role of local actors who cooperate with the Kremlin and its supporters in order to get a better idea of ​​the levers of Russian influence in the Western Balkans.”

“An attempt to create a sterile information space”

Director of the Institute for Contemporary State Development Dmitry Solonnikov, in a conversation with RT, noted that such theses on the part of NATO structures are extremely commonplace, since each country is engaged in promoting its culture and interests in the international arena, but it is precisely Russia's actions that traditionally cause dissatisfaction of Western states.

“As a geopolitical player, the country uses various opportunities to express its interests: the Russian language, Russian media, and participation in various conferences - all this is Russia's promotion in the international space. In the same way that Chinese culture, European and American culture are advancing. It is the same everywhere, ”the expert emphasized.

Russia is seen by NATO “as one of its geopolitical enemies,” Solonnikov noted.

“The statements of the West are an attempt to replace Russian influence with their own, to limit the capabilities of the Russian media in order to promote their own sources of information,” the expert emphasized.

The Balkan region has historically been largely oriented towards Russia - these are the roots and the current cultural, trade and economic cooperation between our countries. However, this situation does not suit the North Atlantic Alliance, which seeks to protect the Balkans from alternative sources of information. Such an opinion in a conversation with RT was expressed by the Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University Nikita Danyuk.

“They want to form a kind of information cocoon around the Balkans, inside of which alternative information will not come, including about NATO’s military plans and intentions. This is an attempt to create a sterile information space. Exactly in the same scenario, a number of countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, and Croatia joined NATO at one time, ”the expert emphasized.

According to him, various structures of the alliance are actively disseminating information in the Balkan states about the advantages of joining the “civilized Western world” and about the dangers of “Russian influence”.

“We see how this happened with Montenegro, we hear more and more often that Bosnia and Herzegovina can replenish the North Atlantic Alliance. We see that even in Serbia, one of the victims of NATO aggression, they are actively working with public opinion, including with youth, ”he concluded.

Maximize “leverage over the West”

The recommendations of the NATO Center for Excellence in Strategic Communications are based on four reports published earlier under the Russian Footprint in the Western Balkans Information Project.

The purpose of the initiative is to identify the “tools of influence” of Russia in the Western Balkans, as well as the “vulnerability” of states that are supposedly amenable to “hostile influence”.

According to a report authored by Dimitar Bechev, a researcher at the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council *, Russian actions are allegedly aimed at undermining the positions of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union in the region.

“Southeastern Europe is not included in the zone, which Russia considers to be its privileged sphere of geopolitical interests. However, Russia sees an opportunity in the Western Balkans to shake the positions of the EU and NATO, using the weaknesses of the countries of this region. In this regard, the Balkans remain the vulnerable periphery of Europe, where Russia can deploy a foothold, find supporters and ultimately maximize its leverage over the West, ”the document says.

According to Bechev, the tools of Russian influence can be divided into three categories: coercion, co-optation and subversive activity.

The second summary report, authored by Global Focus Center analyst Rufin Zamfir, talks about structural vulnerabilities in Western Balkans that could be exploited by "hostile entities." Thus, according to the study, the country most at risk is Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which the political, economic and social situation is difficult, and Northern Macedonia and Albania are the most resistant to external influences.

According to another analysis by Tikhomira Doncheva, “pro-Russian rhetoric and misinformation manages to influence the audience in the Western Balkans because of the structural vulnerability of the Western Balkan media space: these are poorly developed media laws, controlled freedom of the press, and the plight of news departments.” At the same time, "Sputnik Serbia publishes high-quality free articles, filling the information vacuum."

In addition, the document contains excerpts from a study by the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, which indicates that Sputnik Serbia "is considered one of the main channels of Russian influence in the media space of the Western Balkans." At the same time, the authors assure that the publication allegedly tries to indicate that the region is divided into “pro-Western and provost side”, creates a feeling of alarm and instability, and also exposes the EU and NATO in a disadvantageous light.

  • Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
  • RIA News
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As previously noted by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, the attacks of several Western countries on the international agency Sputnik are explained by its high efficiency and the fact that it finds the optimal path to its audience.

"The main complaints against Sputnik that I hear from foreign colleagues and journalists ..." they spread misinformation. " In response, I say: "Prepare a selection of examples of such misinformation." So: for all this time we have not been sent a single Sputnik news, which could be equated with misinformation, ”Zakharova emphasized.

Moscow has also repeatedly denied claims that Russia is "interfering in internal political processes in the Western Balkans."

In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed to ongoing attempts to turn the Balkans into a "bridgehead against Russia."

According to him, after the end of the Cold War, Western countries rejected the offer of Russia to work together to create an architecture of equal and indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic.

“Instead, they chose a dead end path for expanding the geopolitical space under their control, creating new dividing lines on the European continent,” Lavrov said.

* “Atlantic Council of the United States” - an organization whose activity is deemed undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation by decision of the Attorney General's Office of July 25, 2019.