In the border conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called for a larger presence of NATO troops in his country. “A significant increase in NATO soldiers and military equipment in our country would improve security and peace in Kosovo and in the entire Western Balkans region,” Kurti told Welt.
Kurti also announced that Kosovo is increasing defense spending and the number of its soldiers and reservists. “An increase in the number of soldiers in the NATO peacekeeping force KFOR would support our defense efforts,” the head of government affirmed.
The KFOR mission has been responsible for security and stability in Kosovo since 1999. According to the Bundestag mandate, up to 400 German soldiers can continue to take part in the mission in Kosovo. Currently there are only around 70 in use. According to NATO, Kfor currently has a total of almost 3,800 task forces from 28 countries.
The border conflict between Serbia and Kosovo has escalated in recent weeks. The situation only eased somewhat on Thursday. According to Kurti, the street barricades that had been erected on the Serbian side of the border involved men wearing badges from the Russian mercenary group Wagner and the nationalist Russian motorcycle club Night Wolves.
This makes “the need for additional NATO troops just as clear as the accumulation of Serbian troops and artillery along the Kosovar border,” said the Kosovar head of government.
Kosovo, with its predominantly Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered by Belgrade to be a breakaway southern Serbian territory. Belgrade is encouraging the Serb minority in northern Kosovo in their attempts to defy the authority of the Pristina government. Russia, on the other hand, is considered a close ally of Serbia and recently pledged its support to Belgrade again in the conflict. (AFP)
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