KFOR Commander denied Kurti: We have no evidence of Wagner's presence in Kosovo

KFOR Commander Angelo Michele Ristuccia said that the mission had no evidence of the presence of the private Russian military group Wagner in Kosovo, nor that Russia could attack Kosovo through its Serbia "satellite", as it was emphasized by Kosovo officials led by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Danas reported.

"For now, we don't have any evidence of that. I'll be more precise, all the events in the area that happened in the past few months, weeks, are more related to internal dynamics than external influences," Ristucha said for KoSSev.

He assesses the current situation in Kosovo as sensitive and volatile but still peaceful and significantly better than in December.

"We can say that the situation is much better now than it was in December. However, many issues worry us, such as, for example, the dangerous vacuum that has been created in the North after Kosovo Serbs resigned from the institutions," Ristuccia believes.

That vacuum is very dangerous, especially from a security point of view, the KFOR commander said.

He repeated that the Kosovo Security Force could not come to the north of Kosovo without his approval and that they had never made such a request so far.

At the same time, Ristuccia pointed out that special police forces did not need a permit to stay in the north, recalling the agreement in Brussels.

"Serbia has signed and clearly defined the Kosovo Police as the only one responsible for law enforcement and police tasks. Regardless of the types of police, how the police are organized, whatever they are – ROSU units, special units – they are in charge of fighting crime and organized criminal groups. There are no restrictions for the Kosovo Police when it comes to the implementation of such tasks throughout Kosovo," Ristuccia explained.

When asked if it is okay for KFOR to build bases for the Kosovo Police special units in the north of Kosovo, Ristuccia said that he understood when the Kosovo authorities expressed concern about the issue of organized criminal groups in a situation where the police officers had left the service, but that for something like that to happen, cooperation with the population was needed, which was missing due to a lack of trust.

"Someone has to take care of crime, considering the interest of the citizens. So, the real problem lies in the acceptance of the Kosovo Police among the citizens, especially in this situation. And again, we return to the fact that the key problem lies in mistrust," he said.

The KFOR commander denies allegations in the north that police bases are starting up to be "military barracks".

"These are Kosovo Police bases - not military bases. We have clear evidence that only Kosovo police officers are deployed there. That is clear. These are not military bases, for sure," Ristuccia added.

Dialogue is the only means to resolve open issues, the KFOR commander concluded.