Sutanovac: Militarization of Kosovo is not good news, neither for Belgrade nor for the surrounding countries

Since the formation of the Kosovo Security Forces, it has been clear that the authorities in Kosovo intend for these forces to be the core of the future Kosovo army, former Minister of Defense and founder of the Council for Strategic Policies, Dragan Sutanovac, says.

"I remind you that the decision to form the Kosovo army was made by the parliament back in 2018, but at that time, NATO officials criticized and practically slowed down that decision," Sutanovac says.

He adds that with recent acquisitions of weapons and military equipment, including Turkish drones, and especially the intention to equip the Kosovo Security Forces with anti-tank missiles, Kosovo will, against all agreements, practically have an army that represents a new security challenge in the region.

"Militarization of Kosovo is not good news for both Belgrade and the surrounding countries, especially for North Macedonia, which has already faced armed uprisings aimed at the secession of part of the territory and the formation of a 'Greater Albania,' which is the basis of the political actions of both extremists and Kurti," Sutanovac believes.

Undoubtedly, he further emphasizes, this is not encouraging news. Instead of investing funds in the criminal police and building an environment for the functioning of a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo, such developments lead to further tension.

"I believe that the move by the US administration will cause dissatisfaction, but I remind you that Serbia was recently approved to purchase armored combat vehicles, so this decision represents a balanced approach to both Pristina and Belgrade," Sutanovac concludes.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced after a meeting with US Ambassador Christopher Hill that the US had approved Pristina to buy "Javelin" missiles.

Ambassador Hill, on this occasion, reportedly informed President Vucic about the US decision to accept Pristina's request to purchase "Javelin" anti-tank missiles.

As Ambassador Hill stated, the State Department will forward this request from Pristina to the US Congress, thus initiating the official procedure, according to the statement.

However, President Vucic stated that this information was a great disappointment for Serbia but that Serbia, together with the US, would work to preserve Serbian-American relations.