Minister of Defense of Kosovo: NATO should treat Serbia's movements near the border seriously

The Minister of Defense of Kosovo, Ejup Macedonci, asked NATO to treat seriously the deployment of Serbian military troops near the border with Kosovo, reports Rel.

During a meeting with the head of the division for operations at the General Staff of the Western military alliance, Ariella Viehe, Macedonia said that the deployment of Serbian troops around the border with Kosovo "constitutes a constant threat to the stability of the Western Balkans".

Macedonci also said that Kosovo is committed to continuing the cooperation of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, adding that the state's objective is NATO membership.

Since tensions have increased between Kosovo and Serbia, following an armed attack by a group of Serbs on the Kosovo police in Banjska in Zve?ani last September, officials in Pristina have several times accused Serbia of deploying military troops near the border with Kosovo.

March of this year was the last time that Kosovo claimed that Serbia had sent military units near the border, but these claims made by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, were rejected by the Serbian authorities.

Kosovo and Serbia share a border line that is about 400 kilometers long.

Since the events in Banjska, KFOR has increased its military presence in Kosovo and now has around 4,700 soldiers.
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, with which it says it cooperates closely.