NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that the alliance will do whatever is necessary to maintain stability in the Western Balkans and will therefore discuss the possibility of permanently increasing the military presence in the region, to keep tensions under control.
He made these comments at a press conference on the eve of the meeting of Foreign Ministers of NATO member countries in Brussels, in which the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will also participate. The meeting will focus on Russian aggression in Ukraine and the situation in the Western Balkans.
NATO deployed additional troops to Kosovo after an armed clash between Kosovo police and a group of armed Serbs in the north of the country on September 24, an incident described as the worst since Kosovo declared its independence in February of 2008.
“Now we are considering whether this increase should be more long-term, whether there is a need for new capacities, but so far we have taken important steps by increasing the number of our troops. We also call on both Pristina and Belgrade to engage in good faith in the talks mediated by the European Union, and we believe that the proposal for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities can be an important step forward to take this dialogue in a more constructive direction. , said Secretary Stoltenberg.
Reuters news agency released footage of a platoon of British soldiers walking down a muddy road in northern Kosovo to check if anything illegal is entering the country from Serbia, following the attack two months ago.
“Currently we are in the north of Kosovo in the center of Gate One, which is an authorized border crossing point with Serbia. We are currently here on a routine patrol which consists of understanding the patterns of life and providing information on any illegal or suspicious activity which is then fed back to KFOR and above to assist them in their decision making. theirs,” said British gunnery officer Joss Gaddie.
British soldiers are patrolling in 18-hour shifts to ensure that no weapons or armed individuals enter Kosovo.
The leaders of Kosovo today expressed their commitment to the membership of the Kosovo Security Force in NATO, stressing that this would ensure lasting peace in the region. They made these comments during a ceremony marking the Day of this force, which has been transformed into the Kosovo Army.
“The Government of the Republic of Kosovo in less than three years has more than doubled the budget for the Ministry of Defense, almost tripled the investments in armaments and more than quadrupled the training and education of our officers and soldiers abroad. Specifically, in less than 32 months, we have sent 3459 soldiers and officers abroad”, said the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.
“Today, the Security Force is a force that has been trained on the basis of the highest NATO standards, which contributes not only to peace and security in the region but also beyond, serving together with the American forces, the forces of the Kingdom of United and other allied armies in different countries of the world in peacekeeping missions, thus proving that it is ready to join other allied armies in the most powerful alliance in the history of mankind, in the NATO alliance,” he said. the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.
The attack on Kosovo police has added to concerns that Russia may be trying to destabilize the Western Balkans to divert attention from its aggression in Ukraine. Under the pressure of developments on the ground, Western diplomacy has been trying to speed up the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, asking Pristina to establish the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, while Belgrade has de facto recognition of Kosovo.