NATO willing to modify Kosovo military deal

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that NATO is ready to discuss Serbia’s idea of removing the ground security zone (GSZ) that runs along the administrative Kosovo border and 25 kilometers inside Serbia.

“If Serbia makes such a proposal, I am ready to discuss it,” Scheffer is quoted as saying.

Scheffer also said that NATO is ready to talk about the no flight zone.

Scheffer said that the cooperation between EULEX and UN’s KFOR is good and that each has its own responsibility.

“KFOR has a support of all citizens in Kosovo, the majority and the minority, and I think that the cooperation between Serbia and KFOR is good as well so that the cooperation between EULEX and KFOR is going well,” Scheffer was quoted as saying.

Scheffer said that the situation in Kosovo is sensitive and complicated and the events there must be solved step by step.

At the end of November in 2008, the then chief General of the Serb military, Zdavko Ponos, suggested that changes to the military agreement that ended NATOs war on Serbia in 1999 should be modified to reflect the reality.

Serbia says that the removal of the GSZ is needed in order to combat crime and traffic that is flowing out of Kosovo.

“The biggest would be a political meaning because with that NATO, after many years of correct dealings with Serbian Army, would finally demonstrated that it accepts Serbia as a partner,” said Zoran Dragisic from the Belgrade University for Security.

Dragisic said that the GSZ revision would be a diplomatic victory for Serbia.

“Every flight inside the zone requires approval of KFOR. That is rather undignified,” says Dragisic.

Scheffer also said that NATO understands Serbia’s opposition to the formation of a Kosovo Albanian separatist military that will be comprised of former terrorists.

Scheffer was quoted as saying that “it is far better to have the security under professional forces under democratic control” rather then to have the security under control of the group such as the Kosovo Security Corps.

Scheffer called on Serbs to join the Kosovo military.

However, Serb National Council (SNC) leader for Kosovska Mitrovica Nebojsa Jovic said that the formation of Kosovo security forces is the first test EULEX has failed, as the mission was bound to status neutrality and respect of UNSCR 1244 and for that it obtained Belgrade’s authorization for arrival in Kosovo.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said that the formation of the Kosovo security forces to be unacceptable for Serbia but did not specify what is he going to do about it.

“We will insist all the time in international forums and with NATO that these forces be disbanded, since they do not contribute to the security of Kosovo,” Tadic said.

“I would never accept something of the kind, but will do all to discourage anyone who might wish to make such conditions,” Tadic concluded.

January 20, 2009
SERBIANNA

Tags: NATO

This news story was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under NATO. You can follow any responses to this news story through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.