NATO’s Fitzgerald says Kosovo institutions will decide on KSF

NATO Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples Admiral Mark Fitzgerald said Thursday (February 18th) that NATO does not determine the future status of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF).

“It is up to us to build the KSF. What local institutions do further with the forces, that is up to them only,” Fitzgerald said after a meeting with KFOR Commander Markus Bentler in Pristina. Fitzgerald noted that downsizing KFOR troops to 10,000 soldiers is a result of the progress made in Kosovo. He stressed that KFOR is ready to respond to any threat to stability. He also confirmed NATO’s support for a strategy to dismantle Belgrade-backed parallel structures, saying they represent a security threat.