NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Pristina on 20 November that talks are underway on the possibility of permanently increasing the alliance’s military contingent in Kosovo.
Stoltenberg expressed concern over incidents in September that left a Kosovo police officer and three Serbian attackers dead. He said the purpose of such a move was to prevent the risk of a new violent conflict in Kosovo or in the region as a whole. Stoltenberg stated during the news conference in Pristina:
We are now reviewing whether we should have a more permanent increase to ensure that this doesn’t spiral out of control and creates a new violent conflict in Kosovo or the wider region.
Stoltenberg emphasised Nato’s commitment to take all necessary measures to address security concerns. As part of his Balkan tour, Stoltenberg arrived in Pristina from Sarajevo and he is expected in Skopje and Belgrade on 21-22 November during this regional trip. Stoltenberg wrote on X network:
Good talks with President Vjosa Osmani and PM Albin Kurti on the security situation in Kosovo and the region. Nato will continue do what’s necessary to maintain a safe & secure environment for all communities.
In response, Osmani expressed the urgent need for Kosovo to join NATO, starting with the Partnership for Peace Programme (PfP). Such membership, she said, is a crucial step towards achieving lasting and sustainable peace and security not only in Kosovo itself, but also in the wider region and beyond.
In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, but it is not recognised as a separate country by Belgrade, which also blocks efforts by its former province to join international organisations.
Some 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo do not recognise Pristina’s institutions and consider Belgrade their capital. They often clash with Kosovo police and international peacekeepers, but September’s clashes were the most serious in recent years.
NATO’s KFOR peacekeeping mission, active since 1999, includes more than 4,500 troops from 27 countries.
