Serbia has asked NATO security force KFOR for permission to deploy its own security forces to Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday night on state television channel RTS that he was aware that KFOR would not approve this request. However, sending Serb troops “would reduce ethnic tensions” in Kosovo. The application must be submitted later this evening.
Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo
Serbia categorically refuses to recognize the independence of the former Yugoslav province of Kosovo, declared in 2008. Austria currently supplies between 400 and 500 troops under KFOR.
It is virtually impossible for KFOR to agree to the Serbian request. In principle, KFOR can authorize several hundred Serb security forces in Kosovo – but only for some activities, such as protecting religious sites or joint border surveillance. General security tasks, for example in Serbian settlement areas, are excluded.
On Thursday, Kosovo submitted an application to join the European Union – above all a symbolic act, because five EU countries also do not accept Kosovo as an independent state. Formally, the country only has a “prospect for EU membership”.