8 hours agoCostnet, the next ambassador: Kosovo must have Armed Forces, has US support
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Like any sovereign state, Kosovo has the right to have its own armed forces, and for that, the United States of America will work with Kosovo authorities in establishing defence forces, Philip Costet, the candidate for the upcoming US ambassador to Kosovo, has said. Costett was appointed by the president of [...]
Costett has been appointed by the president of the United States of America as the next ambassador to Kosovo. He appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, answering various questions from several senators. Besides, he has also talked about the issue of transforming the Kosovo Security Force into Armed Forces. He has said that Kosovo, like any other state, has the right to have its own army.
The “will work in order for Kosovo to have self-defense skills. Like any other country, Kosovo has its sovereign right to build its armed forces for its own protection. The United States supports the transition of the Kosovo Security Force to an interactive NATO military, with a limited defence mandate of”, he has said.
Kosovo must stay in close co-operation with us and continue its expansion and speak to Kosovo Serbs as well, to ensure a successful transition. If I am confirmed as ambassador, I will work with NATO and Kosovo allies to create the Kosovo Armed Forces to be able, inclusive and a force affecting the stability of the region”, Costnet has declared.
Deputy Minister of the Kosovo Security Force Burim Ramadani, speaking of Radio Free Europe, has said the Government of Kosovo is working to transform KSF into the army with communities in Kosovo, with regional countries, NATO, KFOR and partner states, separately.
“We have achieved uncompetitive results in relation to communities living in Kosovo, we have built regular co-operation with regional states, and co-operation agreements with 13 countries in the world. The KSF is a credit institution, representative and ready”.
Our efforts for constitutional changes will never stop, because this would enable change of name and maximum political support, while our approach to the KSF transition is not ad-hoc approach. We have a 10-year transition plan, which is done in the substance through legal changes, while constitutional changes efforts will be continued”, Ramandani has said.
According to him, transforming KSF into military does not mean replacing NATO's mission in Kosovo, KFOR.
KFOR will not be replaced, but will deepen the partnership between KSF and KFOR. Rather, it means even deeper partnership between KSF and KFOR. We are pleased with the co-operation we have with partner states, separately, as well as with KFOR, with NATO and with the communities in Kosovo, and we believe that this is the way, which we will follow further”, has stressed Ramadan.
Meanwhile, while presenting to the Foreign Relations Senate Committee, Costnet has also been asked about speculation about the possibility of support from the United States for the idea of exchanging territories.
Our position has not changed. We support the EU-brokered dialogue between the two countries. We think it is critical that both countries advance to overcome old tensions”, Costett has said.
However, NATO officials and international partners have indicated the position that transforming the Kosovo Security Force into Armed Force should be done through constitutional changes, which so far have been rejected by Serb political representatives in the Kosovo Assembly.
Kosovo authorities have consistently declared that the Kosovo Armed Forces, in the future, will be a factor of stability within Kosovo and for the region, while Serbia's authorities see these forces as dangerous for peace and as a factor of instability in the region.
