The German Foreign Minister has laid her itinerary in the Balkans through those countries that are furthest away from the EU on their path to reform or that can easily be diverted from this path by Russian attempts to influence them.

Attempts to encourage and stabilize this region have been a constant concern of former Chancellor Angela Merkel;

At her first public appearance in Sarajevo, Baerbock says that she, too, wanted to make the Balkans a strategic focus of her foreign policy efforts from the start, but then the Russian aggression against Ukraine dominated almost the entire attention.

Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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But now Baerbock's visit to Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo and Serbia also has something to do with Russia's aggression.

Her Bosnian colleague Bisera Turkovic says that Putin always uses the same "scenario" that was used in her country decades ago in order to destabilize a community and gain influence through disagreements between different populations.

And while in Bosnia-Hercegovina it is primarily the Bosnian Serbs who act as blockers of state functions, Kosovo has to do with the ongoing hostile climate between the Kosovar Albanian majority and the Serbian Kosovar minority.

In Sarajevo, Baerbock tried to set new images against the familiar faces of the mutual political blockade, as represented by the traditional party leaders there.

With the young mayor Benjamina Karic, who does not identify herself with one of the three ethnic nations (Muslim Bosnians, Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs), she met two other mayors of a younger generation on a walk through the old town: Drasko Stanivukovic from Serbian Banja Luka and Mario Kordic from Mostar, Bosnia.

Baerbock promises easier visa issuance

In Pristina, Baerbock praised "the really strong reform course" of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who has been in power for a year, who campaigns against corruption and for democratization and the rule of law.

However, there was also a warning in her remark that "we remain convinced that all ethnic groups will have a future in this state".

Kurti also addressed the destabilizing Russian influence in the region: Moscow is also waging a “hybrid war” in the Western Balkans – it even maintains a base in Nis, Serbia, which is labeled as a “humanitarian center”.

His government is not afraid, "but we are keeping our eyes open with concern".

Putin used to mention Kosovo once a month, now he does it every week.

It is also true that there is dissatisfaction with the European Union, for example because of the visa liberalization that has been promised for a long time but has still not been implemented.

But the criticism was "neither cynical nor bitter".

And the criticism doesn't mean that "we just think about alternatives for a moment".

The German minister announced the prospect of easing the issue of visas "very very soon".

She also highlighted the only recently made possible recognition of Kosovan driver's licenses in the EU and explained that this may sound like a trifle, but is nevertheless an "important simplification in people's everyday life".

And Baerbock countered doubts as to whether Europe would really intensify its efforts to integrate the region with the answer, "That's why I'm here today, live and in color".