Munsch on NATO's response to potential new unilateral actions by Pristina: Many diplomatic activities are underway to address these issues

There are many diplomatic activities going on to resolve these issues, and these are political-level items. Should it come to violence, then there is the Kosovo police, then EULEX, and finally, KFOR, to maintain a safe and secure environment, Admiral Stuart Munsch said in response to Kosovo Online's question on how NATO would react to new unilateral actions if they were to happen, such as if the Kosovo government decided to close universities and hospitals within the Serbian system in northern Kosovo.

Regarding the main bridge on the Ibar River, Munsch noted that NATO maintains a permanent presence to secure it.

"It is open to pedestrians, but not to vehicle traffic. Dialogue is always welcome, and thoughts of opening it, but it should be within the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, which is where the dialogue at the political level should be happening. The bridge is really a political issue and not so much a military issue. We are securing to ensure a safe and secure environment in Kosovo."

Admiral Munsch also expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with the Serbian Armed Forces.

"Yes, we have good cooperation there, and a regular dialogue to understand their operations and their intent, and they have been transparent and open about that. We have confidence in those communications," Munsch said.

When asked whether Kosovo could join NATO and when that might happen, the admiral reiterated that the accession process to NATO requires the approval of every current member state and that it is up to those countries what a timeline would be.

"There are a handful of nations that do not recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign nation, so that would have to be resolved before there would be a vote to admit Kosovo," Munsch said, and he gave a similar response when asked whether Kosovo could join the Partnership for Peace.

"That would be up to the Nations again, up in Brussels, how they would want to approach that."

Admiral Munsch also spoke about operational reserve forces that could be deployed in Kosovo if needed.

"These forces are under my authority. They have already been deployed due to the violence that occurred last year in May and September. Level up from that is the strategic reserve force, which is under the authority of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the NATO military commander, and they can be deployed anywhere within NATO territory. My operational reserve force is only for here, in Kosovo. The newest among these reserve forces is the Allied Reserve Force, which was created in July, and this is its first deployment. This force works directly for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and it can be deployed anywhere where needed. So, we have layers of reserve forces according to the severity of the circumstance that we can deploy. The strategic reserve force has been deployed many times before, but this is the first time for the Allied Reserve Force, created in July," Munsch explained, adding that if necessary, both the strategic and allied reserve forces could be deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the operational reserve force is exclusively for supporting KFOR.

The admiral also emphasized that NATO has a direct operational role here and is in close and transparent communication with all security forces in the region's governments and fully understands the circumstances.

"We work continuously to resolve differences and prevent tensions from arising. There is concern that heated political rhetoric could inspire some non-governmental forces to commit violence, such as what happened last year in May and September," Munsch said, responding to whether there could be conflicts like those in northern Kosovo, noting that the lack of cooperation in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina poses an ongoing risk.

When asked whether similar events to those in Banjska could occur again, the NATO Admiral stated:

"For security here in Kosovo, the Kosovo Police are the first responder, followed by EULEX, and then KFOR as the third responder. All three organizations work very closely together to understand the circumstances and be prepared. The events that happened in May and September fall into the category of law enforcement, so the Kosovo Police have primary responsibility there. KFOR participates in joint patrols with the Kosovo Police, and KFOR also does patrols on its own, to make sure they have an awareness of the activity in the north. As I mentioned earlier, there is close and transparent communication with the armed forces of other countries in the region to make sure we all understand each other's intentions and capabilities," he said, emphasizing that, as we've seen elsewhere in the world, a small group of people can create atrocities, so the risk is never completely gone.

At the end of the conversation with reporters, Admiral Munsch was asked whether he believes KFOR will still be present in Kosovo 25 years from now, given that it has already been there for 25 years. He replied that it is very hard to know.

"It is very hard to know, looking into the future. But NATO is committed, and KFOR is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities," Admiral Munsch concluded.