Why is it important for NATO to hold military maneuvers in Kosovo and for the KSF to participate in them?

The military exercise "Defender Europe 23", which is led by American and NATO forces, takes place from May 21 to June 2 in the wider area of Europe, but the main news in our region is that part of the maneuvers are also taking place in Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo. The fact that 1,300 members of the Kosovo Security Forces are participating in the exercise speaks of NATO's ever-closer ties with Kosovo. Why is it important for the largest military alliance to hold such military maneuvers on the territory of Kosovo, despite the fact that in this way it goes beyond the scope of UN Resolution 1244?

The interlocutors of Kosovo Online assess that Kosovo is strategically important for NATO, but also that Pristina uses the military maneuvers, which are carried out as part of a military exercise, as a "golden opportunity" to prove itself as the greatest friend of the US in the Balkans.

Retired General and former Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Ljubisa Dikovic, tells Kosovo Online that Kosovo is a strategically important territory for NATO forces, and that is why it is important for them to hold joint maneuvers with the KSF.

"If we go back and remember what happened in Kosovo and Metohija, from the aggression in 1999 onwards, we saw that international forces moved in. The Bondsteel base was built and I don't think NATO will leave that base for a long time. for a number of years. Even if we analyze who formed the so-called Kosovo Security Forces, who equipped and trained them, it is clear that NATO did it," Dikovic says.

He added that all this showed that the KSF is a creation of NATO and emphasized that the maneuvers in Kosovo with the KSF were being held in order to achieve interoperability.

"It is important that interoperability is achieved and that the Kosovo Security Forces, which have all the characteristics and features of the army in terms of form and organization, can participate worldwide in this modern colonialism, in missions and the like," the former Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces said.

He added that it had to be remembered that the area of Kosovo was strategically important for NATO, that is, for the US.

"There are several reasons for that, firstly the geostrategic position, the very configuration of Kosovo's territory, the proximity of South-Eastern Europe, the transfer of actions to the Pacific, the operational depth in case of some threats from the East, and the like. This can definitely be brought under the strategic interest of NATO," the retired general says.

He adds that Kosovo's independence has been worked on for 30 years.

"It was carried out by disrespecting the agreement, not adhering to what was agreed upon. Only what is done is in the interest of the great powers. It is their interest and their zone of influence, it is important for them that they are strategically located in that area. Those exercises are given by NATO" the wind at their back", they confirm their statehood in this way. For all NATO member countries, except for the five that did not recognize the independence of Kosovo, Kosovo is an independent state, they behave and relate to it that way," Dikovic points out.

He emphasizes that Serbia still has a fight and that great progress has been made recently.

 "Everything is good until it is acknowledged, when it is acknowledged then everything is over. You need to work, and you should not give up, it is difficult to change world public opinion, but you need to be persistent and speak the truth and only the truth regarding the area of Kosovo and Metohija Just as we could not assume that the SFRY would disintegrate like that, time passed, so it happened, and so is the case with Kosovo. The time comes for everything, just be patient and don't admit it. It hurts a lot, but we have to be persistent and we make friends out of enemies," Dikovic concluded.

Military analyst Aleksandar Radic believes that there are two essential elements when it comes to holding maneuvers of NATO forces in Kosovo.

 "One element is that they recognize the KSF, i.e. Kosovo, and for them, cooperation with that organization is something that goes without saying. Another important element is that these are exercises that are now taking place in the whole of Europe and are not focused only on Kosovo and us. The front pages of some media and in our country, which only recognize the activities of NATO with KSF, is a spin in which something stands out from the context of the facts. America looks at things in a different focus, they look at things globally and the basis of their activities this year in the area of the region is to check the readiness of the forces that are being sent from the US as reinforcements," Radic says for Kosovo Online.

He adds that NATO has organized a series of exercises at the bilateral or multilateral levels as part of one large exercise. The maneuvers are taking place in Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Romania.

"It is a much broader context, and if we say that it only has to do with us, then it is our selfish story - us and the rest of the world. It is not quite like that. What is important for us is that KSF recognized it as an opportunity to build a reference for themselves. They could have participated in those exercises in a smaller format, with the format of a platoon, or a company. As far as the Americans are concerned, this would be a completely acceptable move. However, they use it as an opportunity to assert themselves, to engage everything that they can hire," Radic believes.

He adds that KSF will use all its skills and knowledge to show its commitment to America.

"It's something we've recognized for a long time, the effort of the Kosovo authorities to identify with the Americans as much as possible. We had it through a series of moves and now we have it on the military front as well," Radic said.

He adds that organizing the exercises has something to do with Russia and the war in Ukraine, but not with our president.

"This exercise, which is ongoing, was planned two years ago because every two years they check the engagement of forces from the US that are transferred to Europe with military equipment and weapons or part of those forces and weapons that are located in bases in Europe. the exercise was announced long before the start of the war in Ukraine. In the meantime, circumstances have led to the fact that the exercise took a different form and that it represents an open message to the Russians about the readiness of the Americans to cover

specifically what we are interested in, the southern flank of NATO. The exercise is not in Kosovo and Metohija, its center of gravity is in the Danube Delta. The Americans are transferring their brigade, which was scattered among battalions in Greece, Albania, Kosovo and Metohija, and North Macedonia," Radic said.

He adds that the end of the exercise will be in Romania, where everyone will come together and show "something that is retaliation against Russia".

 "In Pristina, they recognized this as a golden opportunity to show that they are the greatest friends of the Americans," Radic concludes.