Serbian official complains against possible forming of Kosovo army

A senior Serbian government official on Thursday complained at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly here against the possible forming of a Kosovo army.

Marko Djuric, director of Serbia's government office for Kosovo and Metohija, also said the government was against the reduction of international peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, which it deemed a path to instability.

Addressing the NATO seminar at Serbia's parliament, Djuric warned that creating a military formation out of Albanians in Kosovo, as well as decreasing international peacekeeping forces would not be in the best interests of peace and stability in the region, as well as to Serbs living in Kosovo.

The international troops of KFOR entered Kosovo in 1999 as peacekeeping force led by NATO, with a mandate by the United Nations to maintain security in the province. At the moment NATO forces in Kosovo have around 5,000 soldiers from 31 countries.

Serbia, which is not a member of NATO, participated in the Rose-Roth program aimed at including parliamentarians of Central and Eastern Europe in discussion over topics such as the control of armed forces, and development of parliamentary oversight of defense and the military.

The assembly took place from March 31 to April 2 at Serbia's parliament building in Belgrade, under the overarching topic "Serbia, Western Balkans and the Euro-Atlantic community."

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008, which is not recognized by Serbia. The formation of a Kosovo Armed Forces was officially announced in November 2014 by Atifete Jahjaga, the president of the unilaterally proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. Endit