News: Kosovo, NATO announces gradual reduction of KFOR mission

NATO has announced that it will gradually reduce the presence of its KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo over the next year, in response to improved security conditions in the country. The Alliance specified that the process will be gradual, coordinated with troop rotation cycles, and based on developments on the ground.

The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alexus G. Grynkewich, stressed that NATO remains fully committed to ensuring security and stability in Kosovo, adding that the strengthening of local institutions’ capabilities has helped create more favourable conditions for a downsizing of the international force.

However, NATO also clarified that any adjustments would be reversible if the situation requires it. The KFOR mission has been deployed in Kosovo since 1999, following the conflict of the 1990s and the agreements that ended it. The issue has also been discussed in recent diplomatic meetings between NATO and regional leaders, in a context of continuing political fragility in relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Italian_Carabinieri_KFOR_Conting...