Rutte: NATO expects Belgrade to determine responsibility for Banjska attack

Secretary - General NATO, Mark Rutte, reiterated that the alliance expects responsibility from authorities in Belgrade for events in Kosovo, including the attack on Banjska and attacks on KFOR soldiers during tensions in the spring of 2023.

I have a personal relationship with [Serbia's] president Aleksandar Vuciq. We've known each other for years. But, of course, we expect him to determine the responsibility for what happened several years ago, and that is on two issues. For both of them, it has promised the full definition of responsibility”, Rutte said.

A member of the Kosovo Police Special Unit is seen behind the door of a car damaged by bullets as he guards an area around Banjska Monastery in Banjska, northern Kosovo, on September 27, 2023.

These statements were made during the address to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), where it also confirmed support for dialogue on normalising reports between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.

Rutte also stressed that NATO is committed to the security situation in the Western Balkans, stressing that the Western military alliance will not allow the creation of a security vacuum in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the REL report.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have been growing in recent years and the worst incident was recorded September 2023 in Banjska in Zvecan, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing a sergeant. Three Serb assailants were killed in exchange for the subsequent fire.

Politicians from Kosovo and businessman Milan Radojic claimed responsibility for the attack, and since then he is in Serbia, where he has not been prosecuted until now.

This armed incident preceded protests in northern Kosovo held in May the same year. More than 90 members of NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR had suffered injuries several of them serious injuries following the clash with Serb protesters in Zvecan.

Violence in Zvecan erupted after local Serbs rejected the entry of new Albanian mayors into Zvecan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok municipality in northern Kosovo, inhabited by Serb majority after local elections held earlier that year, which were boycotted by local Serbs.

For events in Zvecan, dozens of people have been arrested and charged, and some have been sentenced to prison after deals with the prosecution on guilty pleas. NATO has demanded that those responsible for both cases face justice.

During the AFET discussion, the topic was also the agreement Rutte reached last week with US President Donald Trump, with whom, reportedly, it has enabled the American president to give up the threat of imposing additional tariffs on several European countries and taking control of Greenland.

Before European lawmakers, Rutte presented two directions of action when it comes to the security of Greenland and the Arctic: NATO's collective efforts to strengthen military and economic protection against Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic, as well as bilateral talks between Denmark, Greenland and the United States.

Secretary - General NATO said the American president is right about the Arctic issue. He said it was collective protection, for according to him, sea routes are opening up.

“Kina and Russia are becoming more active. We must confront this problem”, Rutte said.

He confirmed the US president's full devotion to NATO and sent a message to European allies that “alone can dream of” that they can defend themselves without the United States.

Last week, Trump said he arrived with Rutten compliance with the framework of the Greenland Agreement. Before that, during a speech at the Economic Forum in Davos, the American leader said he wanted immediate talks to buy Greenland.

He has ruled out the possibility of using force to take this island. Trump has argued Greenland needs it for national security./Periscopi/