Kosovo should sign a new cooperation protocol with NATO to extend full sovereignty to the north, says the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meliza Haradinaj. According to her, only in this form is the complete invalidation of the letter in which Kosovo promised not to send the KSF to the north without the prior consent of KFOR.

In 2013, the then Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, in an exchange of letters with NATO, assured that the KSF will not be deployed in the north inhabited by a majority of Serbs, without agreement with the NATO mission in Kosovo.

The former chief diplomat, Meliza Haradinaj, says that the presence of the KSF in the north has become necessary after the terrorist attacks there.

A year after the attack in Banjska i Zveçani, Kosovo also faced a large explosion in the Ibër-Lepenci water channel, which the authorities said was criminal and orchestrated by criminal gangs supported by Belgrade.

Haradinaj says that through the new cooperation protocol with NATO, the KSF would be able to go to the north first for emergency management and then through the military role.

However, she underlines that legally, with the adoption of the Law on the KSF in 2018, the letter of exchange has become 'null' as the law states that the KSF has a mandate in the entire territory of Kosovo.

Despite this, former minister Haradinaj says that it is worrying if the institutions of Kosovo have made an official request to KFOR to allow the KSF in the north, after the terrorist attack on the canals of Ibër-Lepenci where the critical infrastructure of Kosovo was damaged.  

According to her, this would be a big mistake and denial of the Law on KSF.

A few days ago it was reported that the institutions of Kosovo have asked KFOR for authorization to send the KSF to the north, after the terrorist attack in Ibër-Lepenc, but that the commander of KFOR has not given such consent based on its safety ratings.

Speaking about the terrorist attack on the Ibër-Lepenci channel, Haradinaj says that the goal was to damage the critical infrastructure of Kosovo, through Russian methods.

She asks the institutions in Kosovo to use the findings from this attack, to use them for diplomatic action and for Kosovo to benefit in the international arena.  

"The attack on the Ibër-Lepenci canals was definitely a terrorist attack, and it definitely came from Serbia. It was the continuation of the attack in Banjska in September last year. Therefore it should be as such and amplified as such. I made a public appeal through the institute that I am leading now, to use this opportunity even though the damage has been repaired, in diplomatic action. Kosovo should use it as best as possible in favor of itself. Not to focus on whether Serbia is sanctioned and to prove that Serbia has been behind, in fact everyone knows that Serbia has been behind. We in the north have security institutions that are also from the allied countries, so I do not doubt that the investigations and findings that were presented by our institutions have undoubtedly involved the allied countries as well. Therefore, these findings should be used and used in diplomatic action, to raise the voice as much as possible so that Kosovo benefits... The immediate reaction of QUNIT was positive for me. Not hesitating to call it a terrorist act, unlike Banjska when it took several days to categorize the act, and they never even called it an act of aggression", she adds.

In addition, it considers it necessary to operationalize the border points in the north, as foreseen in the agreement on the joint management of the border (IMB).

Despite the terrorist attack in Ibër-Lepenc, former minister Haradinaj says that Prime Minister Albin Kurti did well to attend the informal dinner of the region's leaders in Brussels, even though the Serbian president, Aleksandar, was at that table. Vuçiq.

The water channel of Ibër-Lepenc in the village of Varage, municipality of Zubin Potok, was damaged on the evening of November 29 after a large explosion. It is about 15 kilograms of explosives, according to Kosovo authorities.

From Ibër-Lepenc, water is supplied from Lake Ujman to several cities in Kosovo, as well as the Energy Corporation of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed Serbia and said that the attack was aimed at damaging the infrastructure "perhaps the most important one we have".

After the November 29 attack, Kosovo authorities conducted several operations where they found an arsenal of weapons, uniforms and military equipment.

Another terrorist attack happened in September last year in Banjska i Zveçani. There, Serbian terrorists attacked the Kosovo Police and Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed.