Osmani: Defender 2023 Exercise Demonstration of Military Readiness for Potential Aggressors

NATO military exercises (BETAPHOTO/NORTH MACEDONIA GOVERNMENT/MO)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on May 21 that the Defender Europe 2023 international exercise, being hosted by Kosovo, was the symbol of a collective resolution to maintain peace and stability in the world and posed a demonstration of readiness to confront potential aggressors.

At the opening of the exercise, organized by NATO, Osmani said there was a very sensitive security environment where challenges and threats were becoming increasingly complex, and that cooperation with allies in defense was necessary and a matter of survival. She added that the exercise showed that a country's might laid not just in its weapons, but in alliances and connections.

Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti said Defender Europe 2023 was the largest-scale military training to ever happen in Kosovo. He added that this was proof of Kosovo's will to bolster its defense system, but also of its indomitable commitment to become part of the joint defense system of states that endorse democratic values.

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier said the purpose of the exercise was to show that the U.S. military was ready and willing to deploy munitions and troops and support its allies in deflecting danger. In this exercise, over 9,000 U.S. military personnel joined almost 17,000 military personnel from dozens of other countries. This model of collective defense is the opposite of what others use. We are empowering and strengthening our allies across the region, Hovenier said.