Acting Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci said that they will respect the commitment of the country's authorities, made in 2023, not to deploy the KSF in the north without prior coordination with KFOR, but stressed that they do not agree with these restrictions. Maqedonci said on Wednesday that they have received confirmation that American troops will be present in Kosovo through KFOR, and according to him, they are even discussing with the US about a military presence beyond this mandate.

Kosovo authorities, led by the then Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi, had pledged not to send soldiers to the north – a part inhabited by a Serb majority – without the prior consent of KFOR.

Maqedonci said on Wednesday at a press conference after the government meeting that he has never reneged on this agreement.

"A letter I wrote to the KFOR commander has often been misinterpreted. I have never made a rebuttal. The Minister of Defense does not make a rebuttal of a letter that was made as a commitment by a prime minister to the NATO Secretary General. We have said that we will respect that commitment, despite our disagreement with the restrictions on the KSF's operations in the north, without prior coordination with KFOR. We will continue to respect this commitment by coordinating in advance with KFOR before sending troops to the north.", He stressed.

At a conference held in Pristina on Tuesday, the NATO chief was asked if they had changed their approach regarding the transformation of the KSF into an army, to which he said: The mandate is for the KSF to have what it needs to be effective in its humanitarian role here in Kosovo. This is the mandate that NATO has to help the KSF become better, to be a strong humanitarian force.

Regarding yesterday's statements by the NATO chief, Maqedonci said that Kosovo became an army through legal changes in 2018 and as such is recognized by states bilaterally.

Maqedonci said that they are continuing to discuss whether NATO as an institution will recognize the new mandate of the KSF in the near future.

"We will continue to discuss with our NATO partners that NATO as an institution in the near future recognizes the new mandate of the KSF. It is worth noting that within the Ministry of Defense and the KSF, NATO has a special mission that it carries out through a team called NATO Liaison and Advisors.", He stressed.

The Kosovo government approved on Wednesday the initiative to conclude a framework agreement for cooperation in the field of defense with the United States of America.

Maqedonci said that the agreement with the US will enable the KSF to have a fleet of helicopters.

Speaking about American military support for Kosovo, he said that he has received confirmation that it will continue to be present in Kosovo.

"We continue to have confirmation that the US military will be present within KFOR. In addition, we are interested and are discussing a US military presence outside the mandate of KFOR, that is, in a bilateral aspect, being part of joint activities in the KSF. We are discussing the US military presence in two directions. One is related to their own decision-making to continue to be part of KFOR and the second is through bilateral cooperation for the US to have a presence in Kosovo both in terms of training but also the use of our spaces for joint strategic purposes.", He stressed.

Maqedonci He also spoke about the construction of an ammunition factory in Kosovo, saying that the plan is to build it in the western part of the country, outside the range of the danger that could come from Serbia.

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/Kosovapress/