NATO and Serbia strive to strengthen co-operation in Kosovo

NATO and Serbia strive to strengthen co-operation in Kosovo

In hopes of smoothing the relations between Pristina and Belgrade in carrying out the Brussels agreement, KFOR and Serbian Army officials are discussing co-operation.

KFOR Commander Major General Salvatore Farina (right) and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic meet in Kosovo in January. [KFOR]

In order to contribute to the stabilisation of the relationship between Pristina and Belgrade, KFOR officials and Serbian Army leaders are working together to facilitate co-operation.

KFOR Commander Major-General Salvatore Farina and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic have met twice this year, while other meetings have included Serbian Defence Minister Nebojsa Rodic and NATO Allied Joint Force Command Admiral Bruce Clingan.

The meetings are conducted in line with the military technical agreement, known as the Kumanovo Treaty.

The agreement, signed on June 9th 1999, in Kumanovo, Macedonia, created the conditions for the end of the bombing campaign, the deployment of international peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and a timed withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from the then-province.

"In tactical terms, KFOR units and Serbian Armed Forces troops keep synchronised patrolling alongside the administrative boundary line and the ground safety zone as usual. The longstanding partnership in this specific context, regulated by the military technical agreement, allow both military forces to work together in a fruitful manner on a daily basis," KFOR said in a statement to SETimes.

"The outcome can have a positive impact on the global confidence-building in the region," KFOR said.

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