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The Ministers of Defense of the NATO member countries have expressed concern about the increase in tensions in Kosovo and have invited Kosovo and Serbia to resolve their disagreements through dialogue and political means.
This message was given on Thursday at NATO headquarters after the meeting of the Defense Ministers of the Western military alliance.
On September 24, the Kosovo police were attacked by an armed group of Serbs, who killed Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. During the clashes, authorities said three attackers were also killed.
Kosovo describes this attack as terrorist and blames Serbia for it. Belgrade denies having a hand in the events that took place in the village of Banjské in Zveçan, a municipality in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.
Because of this attack, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, announced the increase in the number of members of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, but also the increase in patrols in the north.
He said that Kosovo was one of the key topics in the meeting of Defense Ministers.
" This was one of the main topics and issues that were discussed today by the ministers. It has been a difficult and tense situation and we have followed it very carefully. We have increased our presence, especially in the north ," said Stoltenberg.
The head of NATO said that Kosovo and Serbia should return to the dialogue mediated by the European Union, adding that the alliance coordinates actions on the ground with the bloc.
"The main message is that Pristina, but also Belgrade, should refrain from actions that could further escalate the situation and increase tensions, refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and engage in dialogue facilitated by the EU," said Stoltenberg .
" One of the important messages today was that NATO and the EU work together. NATO's military presence, an increased military presence, supports the EU's diplomatic and political efforts. We also had the EU in today's meeting and it is good to see that we can cooperate on difficult issues such as Kosovo and the Western Balkans ", he added.
After the meeting of the Ministers of Defense, Stoltenberg also said that the alliance will continue to implement the mandate in Kosovo impartially, as provided for in the mandate it has from the United Nations.
In order to push forward the EU dialogue and the Agreement towards normalization - which was reached earlier in the year - representatives of the EU, the United States, Germany, France and Italy will visit Kosovo and Serbia next week./ REL
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