Chief NATO: Tax removed, dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, only way forward

Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is the only way to move forward, Secretary General said NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

“We support all efforts to resume the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue because this is the only way to achieve a long-term conflict solution in the region”, the chief said NATO, at a media conference through a video connection organised by NATO headquarters in Brussels.

He called on Kosovo authorities “for content when it comes to tensions we see in Kosovo” and stressed that NATO also has its role in the process of normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

The secretary general did not directly answer the question of whether NATO has information or indications of a possible withdrawal of American troops from Kosovo.

But, he said NATO remains committed to the KFOR mission in Kosovo, which has a clear mandate from the United Nations to maintain a safe environment for all people living in Kosovo.

“NATO remains fully functional even in circumstances created by the spread of the coronary, as is the case with KFOR mission”, Stoltenberg said.

The Kosovo government in November 2018 had imposed a 100 per cent tax on imports from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since then, political dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade has ceased, as Serbia is refusing to return to the negotiating table without taxing.