Clark: While KFOR is here, invest in economic development, not in military

Clark during a press conference on the 15th anniversary of TRI Kosovo, has declared that he wants Kosovo to become part of the European Union, but that he said it would be good for students to stay and work here.

Former Commander NATO for Europe at the time of shelling against Serbian criminal forces, said it believes the state should have enough army to ensure security.

“We still have KFOR here to ensure Kosovo's security. So, I think the people who served in the KLA 20 years ago, who formed the police have a wonderful connection, it's a wonderful thing. But if I were in Kosovo, and I could count on protecting KFOR and NATO, I would see as more reasonable that the government's resources would go towards peaceful and economic development in the country than for these costs to military forces. So I believe that the fundamental and military order is that you need as many soldiers as you need to secure the country, but no more than that, because ultimately all these military expenses differ from economic development and security. The best way to ensure the future of independent and democratic Kosovo is through economic development. So I would encourage the people of Kosovo to benefit me for security and economic conditions, to keep some of these young people here, to give them employment opportunities, to invest in young people, to invest in infrastructure and as long as they keep it. NATO here for protection, allow it to deal with this thing to do their work”, he said.

General Clark has declared that the time will come when KFOR leaves, but that now is not the time, according to him.

“I think time for KFOR to leave will come. But my personal view is that this is not the time for KFOR to leave. What I want to see is an agreement reached between Serbia and Kosovo, that they normalise relations, let Kosovo have its seat in the United Nations and, ultimately, together with Serbia, both become EU members. There is no reason why the two countries cannot be good neighbours”, he said.

Clark has also talked about talks between Kosovo and Serbia, where he indicated dialogue should lead to normalisation of relations between the two countries.

It's a very difficult connection. When we were in peace talks and were trying to solve Bosnia's problem in 1995, we were aware that there were problems in Kosovo. President George H. Bush in 1992 had issued the so-called “Christmas warning”, which meant that if Milosevic were to cause violence in Kosovo, then strong action would be taken. And that meant to me that there would be bombings by the US or NATO in 1992. So we were aware that there was a problem. During the talks, Milosevic insisted that he would not discuss Kosovo, since, according to him, it was an internal issue, and should not be discussed as such. So we saw this and tragedy here. So with this story of course, it will take many years to overcome this... we must somehow overcome these memories and build relations between neighbors. So, there is a dialogue that should happen between Kosovo and Serbia. This dialogue should lead to normalisation of relations. I encourage Kosovo and Serbia to participate actively and effectively in doing so”, he said.

While, he has said that one of the challenges facing the Government and Kosovo leaders is creating a business environment.