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US diplomat warns that US will reduce influence in the Western Balkans...
US diplomat Philip Reeker has warned of a US withdrawal from the Balkans. He said that Washington will no longer have the influence in the region that it has had for the past 30 years.
The statements were made at the "Pupin Initiative" forum in Belgrade.
" It must be understood that this is a transition point and that the US will not be directly engaged as in the last 30 years ," said the former US assistant secretary of state, reports "Danas".
"Thirty years ago, after Dayton, the Balkans dominated the news and were a key part of American foreign policy," Reeker said, but noted that "the region considers itself much more important than it actually is."
Reeker said the region is a playground "for other powers to try to spread influence."
Meanwhile, George Friedman, founder and president of the organization "Geopolitical Future," said that the US is not responsible for the entire world.
" They're not leaving it, they're retreating ," Friedman said.
He also believes that if US President Donald Trump had not initiated a review of relations with China and Europe, any other US president would have done the same, "perhaps better." Friedman says Trump is trying to reduce US exposure in the world and recalls the previous practice that if something happened in Asia or Africa, America had to be there.
" The world has changed, as have you, and it is capable of solving its problems without our presence. We are not responsible for the whole world, you are responsible for your country, Germans for Germany, we for ourselves ," Friedman said.
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