Paramilitary organizations

Less than a month after the Dutch contribution to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) came to an end, Germany says its military presence in the self-proclaimed republic will wrap up before the end of next year. Only a limited number of officers will stay on to train the future "Kosovo Army."

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has asked the Assembly president not to put a draft law on establishing the army of Kosovo on the agenda.

Hashim Thaçi on Thursday gave up on his plans for a rapid transformation of the nation's defence force into an army, ceding to strong opposition from Western allies.

A letter Hashim Thaci sent this week to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg "most likely won't influence the position of the alliance."

The letter concerns the planned transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) into an army.

KFOR commander Giovanni Fungo says the NATO troops in Kosovo "remain committed to preserving security and fulfilling their mission."

Fungo made the remark during his visit to the Serb enclave of Gorazdevac, near the town of Pec.

He also said that KFOR recognizes the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) "only within its current mandate."

Kosovo's president Hashim Thaci said on Friday he would resign and force a parliamentary election if lawmakers do not approve changes that would effectively create a national army under a plan opposed by the country's ethnic Serb minority and its NATO and U.S. allies.

The European Union fully shares the stand of NATO and the US about the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into armed forces.

Namely, the EU holds that this could can only be accomplished through constitutional changes.

Hashim Thaci says Kosovo does not have international support, "particularly of the US," to change legislation and give the KSF the competences of an army.

This has been reported by Koha Ditore, an Albanian language newspaper published in Pristina.

Norway's Foreign Minister Borge Brende on Thursday reacted to Pristina's plans to turn the Kosovo Security Force into an army.

"I urge Kosovo authorities to refrain from transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an armed force without a constitutional change and an inclusive political process," Brende said in a statement.

The transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army - an initiative launched by Hashim Thaci - "does not have international support."

Albanian language daily Koha Ditore is reporting this a day after Thaci, who serves as Kosovo president, and Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli presented a draft bill on transforming the KSF into "the Armed Forces of Kosovo."