Published January 22,2024
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NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), the alliance-led peacekeeping mission, is prepared to reply to any risk, mentioned its Turkish commander on Monday.
“KFOR continues to do its best to provide an impartial, safe, and secure environment for the benefit of all people living in Kosovo,” Maj. Gen. Özkan Ulutaş instructed Anadolu.
Türkiye took command of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) final October, with Ulutaş formally taking cost at a ceremony within the capital Pristina.
According to Ulutaş, the individuals of Kosovo need to stay in everlasting peace and safety.
“KFOR has been providing a safe and secure environment for all communities in Kosovo for some 25 years. We will continue this in 2024. We will continue our efforts to prevent tensions from escalating and I’d like to assure you that we are ready to respond to any threat,” he mentioned.
“As (NATO) Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg stated, stability depends on all parties choosing diplomacy over conflict. We will continue to support the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue by providing the necessary safe environment for diplomatic efforts to progress. Lasting peace and stability for all people living in Kosovo. That’s the only way,” mentioned Ulutaş.
Ulutaş reiterated that KFOR will proceed its mission in Kosovo so long as wanted.
He mentioned that KFOR boosted its presence and patrols final September after a conflict broke out within the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, close to the Serbian border, when a bunch of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two vehicles.
Northern Kosovo has a big ethnic Serb inhabitants and borders Serbia, which has by no means acknowledged Kosovo.
“KFOR deployed hundreds of additional personnel to the country following the rising tension. We quadrupled reinforcement in the north of the country and tripled the number of patrols, including the border region,” mentioned Ulutaş.
TÜRKİYE’S 1ST COMMAND OF PEACEKEEPING FORCE
KFOR began its obligation in Kosovo on June 12, 1999, following a UN Security Council choice to make sure safety and stability.
The mission has greater than 4,500 worldwide navy personnel from 27 nations, together with 21 NATO members and 6 non-NATO accomplice nations.
Türkiye took command of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) on Oct. 9, the primary time it has accomplished so.
Among 27 NATO member nations and companions, Türkiye has the second-largest contingent in KFOR, contributing at the least 780 of its roughly 4,500 troopers.
Ulutaş, the twenty eighth commander of KFOR, will serve till this Oct. 10.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and was acknowledged by many nations, together with Türkiye. But Belgrade has by no means acknowledged Kosovo and claims it’s nonetheless a part of Serbia.
Source: www.anews.com.tr