Starovic: We want to believe that the new KFOR Commander will carry out the mission's mandate

Major General of the Turkish Army, Ozkan Ulutas, will assume command of KFOR on October 10th. In this regard, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Serbia, Nemanja Starovic, says for Kosovo Online that Serbia wants to believe that he is a professional who, as has been the case so far, will carry out the basic mandate of the KFOR mission, which is to ensure a stable and secure environment for all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija, especially for the Serbs who are currently the most endangered.

Starovic also adds that the cooperation between the Serbian Army and KFOR has been good and substantial over the last 24 years.

"We want to believe that this will continue during the next year under the command of General Ulutaş," Starovic said.

He points out that in the Balkan context, Turkey undoubtedly represents a great power, or rather, a regional superpower.

"We are aware of this, and Serbia maintains very good, substantive, and constructive relations with Turkey, whether in their political or economic dimensions. This, of course, does not mean that we have not raised our voice against everything we disagree with, especially concerning the accelerated supply of the so-called Kosovo Security Forces from Turkey. We consider this not only contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 but also a move that contributes to the militarization of the problem, and we believe that is the last thing we need when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija. Of course, the Serbian Army has prepared adequate responses to such actions, but we simply do not believe that it is the right path to take. Considering that we expect the visit of the Turkish Minister of Defense to Belgrade in a little over two weeks, we believe that this will be an opportunity to clarify all these issues with the Turkish side in an open and honest dialogue," Starovic says.