Anusic: Croatia will increase the number of troops in KFOR, it is important to maintain political oversight of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia

Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic said at the NATO summit in Ankara that Zagreb plans to increase the number of Croatian troops in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. He also stated that, regarding the Western Balkans, it is extremely important to maintain NATO forces in the region and, as he put it, political oversight of developments, particularly with regard to the Republic of Srpska and Serbia.

"As far as I know, part of the troops will be withdrawn from the KFOR mission in Kosovo. Some of the troops will be redeployed to other missions. Croatia is considering and proposing an increase in the number of its personnel in KFOR to 200, and we plan to do that. Everything will be much clearer after tomorrow's conclusion of the summit and the specific decisions that are adopted. The information has not yet been officially confirmed, but the direction is toward reducing the number of KFOR personnel from around 5,000 to approximately 3,500 troops who will be responsible for maintaining peace and stability in Kosovo. Croatia intends to increase the number of its personnel in that mission, that is our intention," Anusic said.

He also said that he would meet with the Albanian defense minister in Ankara.

"I will, of course, meet with the Albanian defense minister, who will be here. We will talk tomorrow. Every time I speak on behalf of the Croatian government, whether at NATO ministerial meetings or meetings of EU defense ministers, I always emphasize the importance of stability and security in Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans, regardless of the terminology used for that part of Europe. In any case, I always stress the danger that the situation could easily spill over into open conflict and instability in the region, which is why it is extremely important to maintain NATO forces there and political oversight of everything happening there, especially in the Republic of Srpska and Serbia," the Croatian defense minister said.

Asked whether he would discuss the alliance between Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo with his Albanian counterpart, he said there is coordination on that issue.

"My colleague, the Albanian defense minister, and I remain, of course, in coordination. We are not in daily contact, but we meet on a monthly basis and exchange information on all important issues," Anusic said.