Ristuccia: The situation is apparently calm but still very unstable and tense

KFOR commander Angelo Michele Ristuccia told the Italian agency AGI that the situation in Kosovo was currently very complex, tense, and unstable. These days, as he stated, it was apparently calm but still very unstable. At the same time, he said that it was necessary for both sides to calm tensions immediately, in order to find a solution only with politics and diplomacy.

Ristuccia stated that the need to increase the presence of NATO forces at this moment was the result of a prudent decision of a political nature, obviously supported by a military assessment.

"To enable us to better face the challenges of this moment. Whatever we do is in the interest of all the people living in Kosovo. The only way to de-escalate depends on the political will of both sides. Militarily, our job is to create space for negotiators with both sides and for everyone involved in the peace process to return to dialogue and promote peaceful solutions. At this moment there is no other solution. Because the only way to solve the situation is a political decision, which is based on the will of both sides to normalize the situation, but above all to calm tensions," he underlined.

All people, as he stated, regardless of religion, ethnicity, origin, or culture, should not worsen the situation further.

"I think that 99.9 percent of the people here in Kosovo want to live in peace. And I think that it is in the interest of both sides to resolve the situation. That is why I again call on both sides to avoid any unnecessary rhetoric and to deal with these challenges at the negotiating table, which is the only way to resolve the situation. It benefits no one. Of course, when there is tension, those interested in creating chaos will take advantage of any situation. But we are here to avoid that and we are all fully committed to preventing the situation from escalating. That's why there is a strong diplomatic effort because 99 percent of the problem is political. There is a strong diplomatic effort by the entire international community, including the European Union, the US, all the countries that contribute to KFOR, all NATO countries to stabilize the situation through dialogue," Ristuccia reminded.

He also said that "no one can choose their neighbors, but they must find the best solution to live in peace with their neighbors".

"It is a political issue, a political problem. Finally, it is natural that in Europe we do not need other crises than the really difficult one that the world is facing. So, regardless of what happened in Ukraine, a stable Kosovo and a stable Balkan area are in the interest of everyone in Europe, especially at this time," Ristuccia concluded.

He pointed out that thanks to the professionalism of people from all over KFOR, who had prepared most appropriately and who had applied the rules of engagement most correctly, the massacre on May 29 had been avoided.

"The reason why the situation did not escalate (on May 29) was the fact that we were very well prepared. Our soldiers behaved very, very professionally. And I want to express my full support to our wounded and their families. We rescued 15 members of the Kosovo Police, we prevented the two sides from clashing, otherwise, we would have had to deal with a completely different kind of problem," Ristuccia said.

KFOR, the AGI agency reminds, after the latest clashes that have fueled tensions in Kosovo again, and led to the wounding of 14 Italian soldiers, is preparing to increase its presence after years of progressive reduction in the number of its forces.

"We intend to face any circumstances and that's why we got additional forces. We don't react, we act. We are organized, trained, and equipped to face all the challenges related to the execution of our tasks. That is why, thanks to the readiness of our soldiers, we managed on May 29 to prevent further escalation of the situation and to mourn the dead on the ground. I emphasize that most people demonstrated peacefully. This cowardly act of violence against our army was perpetrated by a small number of violent troublemakers who used all means to inflict damage and attack tools to the limit,” he said.