NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Thursday 14 February that the Alliance will review its cooperation with Kosovo following Kosovo's announcement to transform its security forces (KSF) into a real army in the spring.
The "discussion is ongoing and we plan to take decisions on the way forward later this spring", he announced at the end of the Defence Ministers' meeting in Brussels.
While the KFOR mission, which has more than 3,500 troops and is subject to Security Council Resolution 1244, will remain "unchanged", NATO is currently reviewing its level of engagement with KSF. According to Mr Stoltenberg, the review covers both the level and nature of cooperation.
The Secretary General also called on the Kosovar authorities to respect the commitments made in 2013 to ensure that the KSF would not go north without the consent of the KFOR Commander. "There is a clear agreement that dates back to 2013 and we expect it to continue", he insisted.
Mr Stoltenberg also once again denounced the 100% taxes on products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as did the EU and the United States. According to him, "imposing high tariffs is of no use. This makes the whole dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina even more complicated and is a step in the wrong direction". (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)