Germany promises to help get North Macedonia 'out of the rain'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her North Macedonian counterpart, Bujar Osmani speak to reporters in Skopje, North Macedonia March 23,2023.REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

Progress towards European Union membership is the only way to counter Russian influence in the Western Balkan region, North Macedonia's foreign minister said after talks on Thursday with his German counterpart, who promised support.

All six Western Balkan states - Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - are at different stages of the EU accession process as they recover from the wars of the 1990s.