Maqedonci: UN Security Council Resolution 1244 no longer has the same relevance

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense Ejup Maqedonci stated that UN Security Council Resolution 1244 no longer has the same relevance after a long period of time, particularly, as he said, “after independence and major changes in all aspects of the Republic of Kosovo,” RTK reported.

However, Maqedonci recalled that any change to this document can be made only through the consensus of all members of the UN Security Council.

“However, its amendment can only be carried out with the consensus of all members of the Security Council, where there are countries which, in addition to not recognizing the Republic of Kosovo, are also opposed to its independence and support Serbia. Nevertheless, during this time we have tried to find areas where we can cooperate, within the limitations that KFOR has in relation to Kosovo and our institutions. Among other things, we also conduct joint exercises with KFOR,” Maqedonci told RTK.

Speaking about Kosovo’s defense industry, he expressed hope that Kosovo would begin producing ammunition by the end of the year.

“Last year we signed a contract for an ammunition factory; construction of the plant will begin this year, while the machines for ammunition production are already being manufactured in Turkey. Based on the contract, we hope that by the end of this year we will begin producing the first ammunition in the Republic of Kosovo. We are cooperating with our American and German partners, as well as other countries, in order to start co-production with the Republic of Kosovo. In that regard, the government has designated an area of 133 hectares in Djakovica for the defense industry, where we plan to build a complex that should become operational by the end of this year,” Maqedonci said.

He announced that the Draft Law on the Defense Industry will soon be presented at one of the sessions of the Kosovo government.

He added that two working groups were involved in drafting the law—one from the Ministry of Industry and the other from the Ministry of Defense.

“At a meeting with Minister Kusari-Lila, we agreed to initiate this process. The draft has now been forwarded to the Ministry of Defense and we will present it to the Government of Kosovo so that it can then proceed to parliament for adoption,” Maqedonci said.

Speaking about the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and cooperation with communities, Maqedonci stated that “all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo are citizens whom the KSF has the obligation to serve and protect.”

“We are open and have always been open to all communities. Naturally, KFOR has certain limitations regarding its mission in relation to recognizing certain institutions, including the Kosovo Security Force and the Ministry of Defense with the mandate established after 2018. Therefore, there are limits to how deeply it can cooperate with us, but we respect those limitations, given that KFOR is a NATO mission present here on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244,” Maqedonci said.