Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced Sunday that NATO has rejected Belgrade’s request to deploy the Serbian Army and Police in Kosovo to, according to Serbian authorities, protect the civilian population from the persecution it is being subjected to by the Kosovar authorities.
The Serbian government submitted this request last December 15, during the height of the crisis between Pristina and Belgrade, at a time when the Kosovo Serb population had risen up in barricades to protest against arrests of members of this community.
President Vucic confirmed at a press conference on Sunday the receipt of the response from the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR. In a carefully worded reply, it has explained to us that it does not see the need for Serbian security forces to be deployed in Kosovo,» he said.
For Vucic, who already declared his skepticism at the time of submitting the request, this is a refusal that «everyone knew and expected» even though he reiterated the validity of the request, as it is covered by UN resolution 1244, as he said in his appearance, as reported by the Serbian public broadcaster RTS.
The barricades were eventually removed last week in a respite from bilateral tensions, which have nevertheless reignited in recent hours after an individual shot and wounded two young Kosovo Serb men in southern Kosovo on Friday night. The incident, authorities have confirmed, allegedly involved a Kosovar security officer.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
