Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker visited RFE/RL’s Prague headquarters on October 31. Reeker met with RFE/RL President Jamie Fly and numerous directors representing RFE/RL’s language services.
During an interview with RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, Reeker criticized "certain leaders" in the European Union for holding what he called a "19th-century view" of the Western Balkans, after the EU failed to begin membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia.
He also accused Russia of "keeping a hot war going" in eastern Ukraine, and described Russia's activities there as an occupation. He said that Russia has "undertaken obligations through the Minsk process to find a way forward" on ending the 5 1/2-year conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists.