TIRANA, Dec. 14 – On Friday, Kosovo’s parliament passed three laws with a majority of votes: one for the establishment of the ministry of defense, the Kosovo Security Force and the law on service in this force, paving the way for the process of establishing its army.
The Kosovo Security Force, which will keep the same name, is expected to have 5,000 active troops and 3,000 reserves, lightly armed.
US Ambassador to Kosovo Phillip S. Kosnett said the vote represents a historic milestone for Kosovo.
“As the Assembly acts today, let’s remember that a country’s security depends on the quality of its security relationships – and peaceful, mutually beneficial relations with its neighbors – as much as on the strength and professionalism of its armed forces,” Kosnett wrote on twitter.
The US Embassy to Pristina also stated that “the United States reaffirms their support for the gradual transition of the Kosovo Security Force into force with a territorial defense mandate, as per Kosovo’s sovereign right.”
Further on, Kosnett highlighted how important it is, now more than ever, for the Kosovo government to engage with minority and coordinate with NATO allies to accomplish the ten-year transition process of its security forces.
While the US and the United Kingdom supported Friday’s vote, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed regret for Kosovo’s parliamentary decision “despite the concerns expressed by NATO.”
“I regret that the decision to initiate a change of the Kosovo Security Force mandate was made despite the concerns expressed by NATO. All sides must ensure that today’s decision will not further increase tensions in the region,” the twitter announcement read.
Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for European Union Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini, said the EU, like NATO, shares the opinion that “the KSF should only be changed through an inclusive and gradual process in accordance with Kosovo Constitution.”
On the other hand, the vote prompted anger from Belgrade, which fears the real goal of a Kosovo army is to take over Serb-majority Northern Kosovo and expel the Serbs from there.
Local media reported that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic moved near the border with Kosovo to follow developments, while Pristina has assured Kosovo Serbs that its army will not act against any citizen and that any other claim is “deliberate Serbian propaganda.”
Shortly after the vote, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said that “the Kosovo Army is the honor, security and well-being of the Republic of Kosovo. After two decades of hard work, we are finally closing down the state-building process.”
Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said that the Kosovo army will be partnering with the Serbian army, securing Serbian citizens that Kosovo’s army belongs to everyone.
Kosovo authorities claim the establishment of the army will be a process that will last ten years and will not replace NATO forces, which continue to have about 1,000 troops in Kosovo, some of which are Americans.
NATO settled in Kosovo in 1999 at the end of its airstrike to end the atrocities of Serbian forces in Kosovo. Nine years after the intervention, in February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence with the support of the United States and the main European Union countries.
Serbia continues to oppose its independence but is involved in a process of normalizing relations with Kosovo as a condition for European integrations. However, normalization talks stalled again in the face of a new crisis that took over after Kosovo’s decision to set a 100 percent fee on all Serbian imports as a response to the allegedly aggressive campaign of Serbia against Kosovo’s statehood.
