The Geopost: Zakharova with disinformation about the Kosovo Security Force (KSF)

Russia’s state news agency “Tass” published a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on January 17, in which she said that the United States of America is arming the “illegal security structures” of Pristina with the sale of anti-tank missiles “Javelin”, writes The Geopost.

https://tass.com/politics/1733335

Zakharova made these false claims public on January 17, after the US State Department announced that the US had agreed to sell “Javelin” anti-tank missiles to Kosovo.

And this was soon published by the Serbian-language medium “Kosovo Online”.

https://www.kosovo-online.com/vesti/politika/zaharova-osudila-isporuku-dzavelina-kosovu-povecan-rizik-od-destabilizacije-balkana

What did Zakharova say?

“The creation of parallel security structures, which Pristina and its patrons, including the United States, call the army, is meant to serve a very different purpose – the nationalist ambitions of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti … And now Washington wants to give more serious weapons to the radicals in Kosovo, which the United States of America believes should help strengthen their so-called independence.”

Analysis:

Zakharova repeatedly makes statements against Kosovo’s statehood  that are in line with Belgrade, especially when they refer to the aid that the United States provides to a democratic state like Kosovo.

However, after verification, it turns out that the facts are different and that Zakharova’s statement is disinformation.

On October 18, 2018, the Assembly of Kosovo approved in principle the three draft laws proposed by the government to transform the Kosovo Security Forces into a regular army. https://gzk.rks-gov.net/ActDocumentDetail.aspx?ActID=18375

That day, Kosovo’s parliament, with 106 votes in favor and 1 abstention out of 120 deputies that the assembly has, passed three laws that change the mandate of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) in the Kosovo Army, but without the name being changed.

The commander of the NATO Joint Force in Naples, James Foggo, said afterwards: “The transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces is a sovereign decision of a democratic state like Kosovo.”

https://www.evropaelire.org/a/29652776.html

Since 2008, the Kosovo army is being consolidated and this process is planned to last for 10 years.

/G.Venhari The Geopost