NATO-led peacekeepers should exert more influence in Kosovo to prevent further unrest after recent clashes between protesters and security forces left dozens injured, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.
(Bloomberg) — NATO-led peacekeepers should exert more influence in Kosovo to prevent further unrest after recent clashes between protesters and security forces left dozens injured, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.
“The only institution that works toward preserving peace and security in Kosovo is KFOR,” Vucic told reporters in Brussels late Wednesday after talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, referring to the force. “‘I asked for a more significant KFOR role in easing the tensions.”
KFOR has already added around 500 soldiers to boost its Balkan mission to more than 4,500 after the violence, in which local Serbs defied the ethnic-Albanian authorities attempt to install mayors in four northern municipalities in May. Dozens of protesters, NATO troops and police were injured.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has maintained its presence in Kosovo since a 1998-1999 war between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, which ended when a NATO bombing campaign drove Serbian troops across the border.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008, which Serbia doesn’t recognize. European Union-facilitated negotiations have made little progress in more than a decade of mediation between the wartime foes. Both Serbia and Kosovo need to mend ties to qualify for possible membership in the bloc.
“We strongly believe that the only path forward is to engage in the EU-facilitated dialog,” Stoltenberg said before meeting Vucic. “Serbia is a long-standing partner of NATO, and we trust that you will engage in this dialog in a constructive way.”
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