The pro-Western president of Montenegro, who has defied Russia to steer his small country into NATO, has warned that the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union is crucial for the bloc to protect itself from growing Russian and Chinese political and economic influence in the region. This is what President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic told Associated Press.

According to him, Britain’s chaotic divorce from the EU and other crises in the bloc seem to have diminished the union’s enthusiasm to accept new members, but that Europe must not hand over the strategic region to other global players. “But the question is not whether Russia, China or a third country have their interests in the Balkans. The question is why Europe is handing over that region to anyone else,” Djukanovic said. “I believe this is primarily Europe’s interest,” he stated.

After joining NATO in 2017, Montenegro is the next in line to join the EU, with 2025 slated as the earliest possible date for entry. Serbia too could join by 2025, while Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia have not yet reached that level of pre-entry negotiations.