KFOR stays committed to Kosovo

Pristi­na — NATO’s Mil­i­tary Com­mit­tee (MC), led by Gen­er­al Knud Bar­tels, paid a vis­it today to its mis­sion in Koso­vo (KFOR). Major Gen­er­al Erhard Drews, KFOR Com­man­der, pro­vid­ed the Alliance’s high­est Mil­i­tary Author­i­ty with an update on the lat­est secu­ri­ty devel­op­ments in the coun­try, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the North, and the activ­i­ties con­duct­ed by KFOR in syn­er­gy with the oth­er key play­ers in the region. 

Gen­er­al Knud Bar­tels address­es media. Source: NATO

The MC also met with Mr. Agim Çeku, Min­is­ter for the Koso­vo Secu­ri­ty Force, and Mr. Slo­bo­dan Petro­vic, Deputy Prime Min­is­ter. Mr. Bout de Marn­hac, Head of the EU’s Rule of Law Mis­sion (EULEX), also took part in the visit. 

Gen­er­al Bar­tels, meet­ing rep­re­sen­ta­tives from the media, expressed on behalf of the MC deep appre­ci­a­tion for the work done by KFOR dur­ing recent demonstrations:“Use of vio­lence is not a way for­ward. The only way for­ward is dialogue.” 

Con­clud­ing the vis­it, he empha­sized the need for fur­ther coop­er­a­tion between all actors in the coun­try, and urged the dif­fer­ent par­ties involved to act in a respon­si­ble man­ner. He not­ed that, in gen­er­al, the sit­u­a­tion in Koso­vo had improved since last year, although some secu­ri­ty mat­ters remain. He empha­sised that use of arms could nev­er be a sub­sti­tute for dia­logue and that KFOR is thor­ough­ly com­mit­ted to enforce the UN man­date to ensure a safe and secure envi­ron­ment and free­dom of movement. 

Source:
Allied Com­mand Oper­a­tions
NATO