Hogard: In NATO's interest to take control of northern Kosovo

It is the interest of NATO, that KFOR assumes security control over northern Kosovo," Jacques Hogard, a retired French colonel believes.

In an interview with Kosovo Online, Hogard also suggests that France should consider sending additional troops to Kosovo, and regarding the fact that Great Britain has already sent an additional contingent of 200 soldiers, he says, "nothing has changed."

"NATO is the armed hand of US interests, and Great Britain is a loyal vassal of its former American colony," Hogard believes.

You were at the helm of the French special forces when British forces attempted to enter the north from Pristina in 1999. You once said that you had given your men an order to fire if the British didn't stop. If, by any chance, British forces had entered the French sector in the north, would we have a similar situation as today?

That is an important question. Circumstances may have changed, but I think I would take the same stance as I did back then.

Should France offer additional troops to KFOR, given the trust that was built between the Serbs and the French soldiers at that time?

It would be an excellent initiative, but I doubt the current French Government will take such a step.

Paris has appointed a new special adviser for the Western Balkans - Renc Troccaz, who once worked in the cabinet of former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Do you know him, and what do you think of his appointment?

I don't know him, but when I hear Kouchner's name, who was involved in so many scandals, I am definitely concerned.

You recently returned from Armenia. What is the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh?

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is dramatic. After the ruthless blitzkrieg carried out by Azerbaijani barbaric soldiers, with a procession of destruction, killings, and rapes... Out of 120,000 Armenian inhabitants, more than 100,000 have already left their country.

Is a similar scenario threatening the Serbs in Kosovo?

Of course, there are clear analogies between the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh and Kosovo. But in Nagorno-Karabakh, force is today without dispute on the side of Azerbaijan. In Kosovo, everything is more complicated: we see it through the strong reactions of NATO and the US to the engagement of the Serbian Army in recent days. Who is really interested in provoking a conflict in Kosovo tomorrow?