“NATO against forming of Kosovo army”

Source: Tanjug

PRIŠTINA -- NATO does not agree with the idea of Kosovo getting its own army, Priština-based Albanian language daily Koha Ditore writes.

According to the daily, the main obstacle to the forming of the Kosovo army are four NATO member states that have not recognized Kosovo's independence.
“Kosovo can decide to turn the Security Force into Kosovo Army but NATO would not like such a step at all. The future status of the Kosovo Security Force is unclear and it remains a topic for debates within NATO,” a source told the daily.

A high-ranking NATO official said that the alliance was looking for a way out from the current situation since KFOR troops could not remain in Kosovo forever.

However, according to the source, a planned transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into Kosovo is not possible, regardless of statements of top Kosovo officials.

The Koha Ditore’s source says that NATO believed that the Kosovo institutions would not risk transforming the Kosovo Security Force into the army without NATO’s consent.

Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz has stated that Kosovo should have its own army.

“Kosovo is an independent and sovereign state and it should have the same rights, no more and no less, as other countries in the region. Just like all other countries that have courts and other institutions like an army, Kosovo should be entitled to its army as well,” he said after a meeting with Kosovo Security Force Minister Agim Ceku.