Kosovo PM: We want NATO to increase its military presence

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told the German newspaper Welt that increasing the number of NATO troops and military equipment in Kosovo will improve security and peace in his country and throughout the Western Balkans.

Noting that Kosovo is currently increasing its defense spending and the number of soldiers, Kurti said, “Increasing the number of soldiers in the NATO KFOR Peacekeeping Force will support our efforts in the defense field.”

Kurti pointed out that the creation of barricades in 4 regions in northern Kosovo, the presence of masked faces here and people wearing emblems of Wagner mercenaries and “Night Wolves” (motor club) on their uniforms, and the concentration of soldiers Serbs along the Kosovo border indicate the need for more NATO soldiers.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SINCE DECEMBER 10

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated following the arrest of former Serbian policeman Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Reacting to Pantic’s arrest, Kosovar Serbs have stood guard at barricades they have erected at border crossings since 10 December.

Following the call of the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, on the night of December 29, after Pantic’s detention decision was converted to house arrest, the removal of the barricades in northern Kosovo began.

The European Union (EU), NATO and the US called for the reduction of tension in northern Kosovo and the removal of the barricades; Serbia has requested NATO’s Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) to deploy the Serbian army and police in northern Kosovo.

Serbia considers Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, as its territory.
Serbia and Kosovo, which clash periodically, are trying to find a common path for the normalization of relations and eventually for the two countries to get to know each other, within the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process started in 2011 under the mediation of the EU . (AA)