
“ For Serbia, the time of accountability has come: Its relations with NATO will not advance without first clarifying the 2023 incidents in northern Kosovo .”
This message was brought directly to Belgrade and then to Pristina by the Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Partnership, Kevin Hamilton.
"The deepening of the partnership with Serbia remains on hold. These incidents, as well as the attacks on KFOR personnel, were completely unacceptable. I was in Belgrade before coming to Pristina and my message to the Serbian authorities is that NATO expects accountability and that those who carried out and organized those attacks must be brought to justice," declared Kevin Hamilton, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Partnerships.
In Banjska, Zvečan, armed groups of Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in September 2023, killing a sergeant and wounding two others. Just four months earlier, on May 29 of the same year, over 90 KFOR members were wounded and injured during Serb protests in the north. These events, as the senior NATO official made clear, must be held accountable.
"The Alliance wants a transparent and positive relationship with Belgrade, but not at any cost," he said, explaining that this is not a symbolic punishment, but a freezing of concrete steps, such as blocking the movement towards an individually tailored partnership, a closer cooperation format that NATO offers to partner countries.
Hamilton also warned of hybrid disinformation campaigns that are aimed at destabilizing the region, citing Russia as a key actor.
“This is part of the Russian playbook to foment discontent and division in the Western Balkans,” he said, calling for vigilance.