Stoltenberg: NATO is considering the permanent increase of troops in Kosovo and the region

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday in Pristina that the alliance is considering a permanent increase in its military presence in the Western Balkans to keep tensions under control.

NATO deployed 1,000 additional troops to Kosovo after September 24, when a member of the Kosovo police was killed in a village in the north of the country during an attack by an armed group of Serbs.

Secretary Stoltenberg said this was the largest troop increase in recent years and shows how seriously the alliance takes the September 24 violence.

"Now we are considering whether we should have a permanent extension to make sure that this does not get out of hand and create any violence in Kosovo, or in the wider region," Secretary Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with the president of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani.

He said that those responsible for the September 24 attack must face justice, as well as the perpetrators of the attacks on KFOR members on May 29 in the north of Kosovo. This message, he said, will also be broadcast during his visit to Belgrade on Tuesday.

Kosovo has blamed Serbia for the attack on September 24, which was carried out by Milan Radoicic, former vice president of Lista Serbe, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo. However, Belgrade denies any connection with the attack.

The Secretary General of NATO emphasized that the parties should choose diplomacy instead of violence.

"NATO strongly supports the dialogue facilitated by the European Union between Pristina and Belgrade, and both sides must engage in good faith. I welcome the recent proposals for the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, which would be an essential step towards the normalization of relations and towards long-term and stable peace in the region", he said.

Mr. Stoltenberg's visit comes at a time of heightened Western concern about Russian influence in the region. The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation and Kosovo's membership in NATO as the only way to ensure peace and stability, while underlining that it is in Russia's interest to open a new war front with the West.

"Of course, he wants to open this front in parts of Europe that are not yet part of NATO, so this makes our country's membership in NATO even more imperative in order to prevent such attacks or even such malignant influence in our region, which is actually part of the European continent. Of course, there are concerns that such attacks may be repeated, all the information coming from our security institutions proves that Serbia, through these illegal, paramilitary, terrorist structures, continues to create new organizations, so it is imperative that the cooperation between us and NATO - to always be full coordination, always increasing coordination", said President Osmani.

On the eve of Secretary Stoltenberg's visit, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that Russia aims to ignite a crisis in the yard of the European Union to distract NATO, and Serbia to fulfill its territorial ambitions towards its neighbors.

"Secretary Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Kosovo shows NATO's firm commitment to our security. With the European Union officially revealing Russia's intention to provoke a new conflict in the Western Balkans, the surest path to lasting peace is for Kosovo to be granted EU candidate status and NATO integration," he wrote. Prime Minister Kurti on the X network, known until recently as Twitter.

Serbia is a candidate country for integration into the European Union, but maintains close ties with Moscow and has refused to join the sanctions against it because of its aggression in Ukraine. It enjoys Moscow's support in its opposition to Kosovo's independence.

Last month, the leaders of major European countries asked Pristina to give more autonomy to Kosovo Serbs, while Belgrade to recognize its de facto independence, as part of an agreement to normalize relations between them.