NATO chief: Stability in Kosovo in the interests of all Alliance members

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that stability in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia is in everyone’s interest and that he sees no reason to believe that there could be dramatic changes in America’s commitment to the Western military alliance.

He made these comments while in Bratislava, Slovakia, when he was asked in a debate with a student whether he thought a resumption of the conflict in Kosovo was possible, as there were rumors that the new US policy could lead to a troop withdrawal.

“To be very clear, as far as I understand the American system, it is fully committed to NATO and its current commitments. But let’s see what happens. There may be policy changes or minor adjustments at any time. The Slovaks, the Dutch and others are doing this. However, I have no reason to believe that there will be dramatic decisions. “And in general, in the Western Balkans, we have to make sure that we keep an eye on this region, because stability in Kosovo, stability in Bosnia and stability in Serbia are in all our interests,” Rutte replied.

NATO has had a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo since the end of the war. Over 4,600 soldiers from 28 countries worldwide are currently stationed in Kosovo as part of KFOR. Most of them come from Italy, followed by the United States of America, Hungary and Turkey.

Due to increasing tensions in the north, which is predominantly Serbian, NATO has increased its presence in Kosovo in 2023.

KFOR is the third security force in Kosovo after the Kosovo Police and the European Union Rule of Law Mission, EULEX. Among other things, this mission is responsible for securing the border between Kosovo and Serbia.

In Slovakia, the leader of the Western military alliance also spoke about the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, which took place on February 9.

“We recently had elections in Kosovo. The final result is not yet known, but it is clear that Kosovo’s current largest ruling party may need a coalition. Let’s see how that develops. “The formation of coalitions is part of the normal democratic process,” said the NATO chief.

According to preliminary results, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje movement received 40.80 percent of the vote, followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with 22.03 percent of the vote, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 17.63 percent of the vote, the coalition of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Social Democratic Initiative received 7.46 percent of the vote and the Serbian List received 4.61 percent of the vote.

Based on these results, no party can form the new government. This would require 61 votes in the 120-seat assembly.

At the end of the voting process, the NATO chief declared that the Alliance would cooperate with whoever would lead Kosovo in the future.

During the event in Slovakia, Rutte also spoke about NATO’s concerns about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Of course we know that there are some issues where we have to be very careful in Bosnia and relations in the region. So we are trying to maintain stability step by step. This is important because the region has a long history of instability. “Fortunately, there has been lasting stability in this part of Europe, in the Western Balkans, for many years and we have to maintain that,” said Rutte.

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