US Embassy: The formation of the Kosovo Gendarmerie must be in line with preserving peace

The United States Embassy in Pristina announced that the US expects the plan of the caretaker Government of Kosovo to form a gendarmerie to be in line with its obligations to preserve peace and security, as reported by Reporteri.

As the spokesperson for the US Embassy in Pristina told Radio Free Europe, the US is monitoring the latest announcements regarding the proposal to create the Kosovo Gendarmerie.

Although details about the exact role of the gendarmerie are still unknown, the director of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies, Mentor Vrajolli, stated that such forces could take over “responsibilities for protecting the border with Serbia, which is currently under KFOR’s mandate.”

He believes that Kosovo should prepare for possible changes in KFOR’s role, although he believes the mission will remain present for years, even an entire decade.

Vrajolli recalled that there is an agreement between Kosovo and KFOR under which the KSF, which are in the process of transforming into an army, cannot go to the north without NATO’s consent. According to him, the gendarmerie could “fill that security space.”

“While there is a gentleman’s agreement between KFOR and Kosovo that the KSF should not be present in the north, the gendarmerie would create a new structure that is not part of that agreement,” Vrajolli said.

According to analysts in a Kosovo Online analysis, the ultimate target of the caretaker Government of Kosovo, which announced the formation of the Kosovo Gendarmerie, remains the north.