Kfor: Serbia’s Request to Return Security Forces to Kosovo Being Examined

Kosovo Kfor (BETAPHOTO/SASA DJORDJEVIC)

The NATO-led international peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) confirmed on Dec. 16 that it had received a request from the Government of Serbia to send military and police forces to Kosovo, and that it was reviewing it.”

“We have received a letter from Serbia, and we are currently evaluating it. KFOR remains extremely cautious and fully capable of fulfilling its U.N. mandate,” the mission said in a response to Radio Free Europe (RFE).

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said that the Army of Serbia had requested that KFOR allow the return of up to 1,000 members of the Serbian army and police to Kosovo. As said earlier, the NATO Military Committee is supposed to decide on the request and would recommend a response by the Kosovo Force to the Serbian request.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said during a visit to the region, where he had separate talks in Belgrade and Pristina, that the U.S. was categorically opposed to Belgrade’s request, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said a few days ago that her country would not support it either. A decision like this requires a consensus of all NATO states.