NATO expands KFOR's mission

13/06/2008

NATO defence ministers agreed on Thursday to expand KFOR's mandate to include training of Kosovo's new army.

(Euobserver - 13/06/08; AP, Reuters, AFP, DPA, Deutsche Welle, BBC - 12/06/08)

"We have agreed today to implement NATO's new tasks in Kosovo. With this decision NATO will be able to assist Kosovo in building the necessary democratic security institutions," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said. [Getty Images]

A decision by NATO defence ministers Thursday (June 12th) cleared the way for KFOR to begin training Kosovo's new army shortly after the newly independent state's constitution enters into force Sunday.

"NATO will supervise the standing down of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) and supervise and support the standup and training of a civilian-controlled Kosovo Security Force (KSF)," the DPA quoted NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as saying in Brussels.

The move, he also noted, will allow the Alliance to support Kosovo's efforts in building the necessary democratic security institutions.

As Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17th, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci reaffirmed Pristina's commitment to former UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's settlement proposal.

The plan envisioned, inter alia, the dissolution of the KPC and the establishment of the KSF as a multiethnic, lightly armed force numbering up to 2,500 members. It was still unclear, however, if representatives of the Kosovo Serb minority were prepared to join the force, according to NATO spokesman James Appathurai. Backed by Serbia and Russia, the community remains strongly opposed to Kosovo's independence.

Initially, the KSF would focus on crisis management, civil protection and mine clearing, de Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday.

NATO's aim is to have a 1,200-strong force fully operational by the end of this year, the AP reported, citing unnamed diplomats.

But Spain's 636 troops in Kosovo will not take part in NATO's efforts to train the KSF, while Romania and Slovakia likely will decide on the issue at a later date. The three countries do not recognise Kosovo's independence and insist that their participation in the training mission would imply de facto recognition.

Under Thursday's agreement, a special fund will be established for the KSF project outside NATO's general budget. While Spain will keep its contingent in the 16,000-strong KFOR, it will not contribute any funding for the mission.

Turkey, however, blocked a proposed change to KFOR's operational plan concerning co-operation between the NATO-led force and EULEX, arguing this could mean sharing sensitive military information with Cyprus, which is a member of the EU but not of the 26-nation Alliance.

Observers believed this could spell difficulties for the international efforts in Kosovo.

De Hoop Scheffer did not appear to share those concerns, however. "We know where we are in the relationship between UNMIK and KFOR, and the EULEX mission will have a relationship with UNMIK," he said. "No KFOR commander would stand idly if there was an emergency and people were in harm's way: that must be crystal clear."