The Chief of the Army of Serbia, meeting with the commander of KFOR for security in Kosovo

2024-10-02 17:45:27, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Chief of the Army of Serbia, meeting with the commander of KFOR for security

The commander of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, Ozkan Utulash, met on Wednesday with the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Serbia, Milan Mojsillovic, in Belgrade, to discuss the security situation in Kosovo, the army said. Serbian.

The Ministry of Defense of Serbia said in a communique that Mojsillovic said in the meeting with Ulutashin that the security situation in Kosovo "is still unstable and sensitive, which is mainly contributed by the unilateral and provocative movements" of Kosovo.

Mojsilloviqi claimed, without giving evidence, that the decisions of the Kosovar authorities "ultimately aim at changing the ethnic structure" in the north of Kosovo.

Serbia is angered by the decisions of the last few months by the Kosovar authorities to close the parallel Serbian institutions in the north of Kosovo inhabited by a Serbian majority.

The Kosovar authorities describe them as illegal and unconstitutional, while Belgrade has condemned them as "criminal acts" and attempts "to persecute the Serbs" of Kosovo.

The international community has criticized Kosovo for "unilateral and uncoordinated" actions in the north of the country.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense emphasized that during the meeting between Mojsillovic and Ulutash, the extent of cooperation between the Serbian Army and KFOR during Ulutash's mandate at the head of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo was also discussed.

Mojsillovic thanked General Utulash for "correct and professional cooperation and professional involvement" in his duties as KFOR commander, the announcement states.

Ulutas will complete his one-year commitment in that position next week.

The new commander of KFOR will be Enrico Barduani, an Italian major general, who on October 11 will assume the duty of the first man of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

Last week, KFOR and the Serbian Army conducted a synchronized patrol on both sides of the border between Kosovo and Serbia, near the municipality of Podujeva.

Serbia, which does not recognize Kosovo's independence, calls the border with Kosovo an administrative line.

The Land Security Zone between Kosovo and Serbia is 5 kilometers long and is defined in the Kumanovo Technical Agreement.

Otherwise, KFOR is the third security responder in Kosovo, after the Kosovo Police which is the first and after the EU rule of law mission, EULEX.

The NATO mission in Kosovo is also responsible for the security of Kosovo's borders with Serbia. Meanwhile, the rest of the border line is supervised by the Kosovo Police./ REL