Vucevic: Possible US withdrawal from KFOR could complicate security conditions in Kosovo

Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, stated today that a potential withdrawal of the US from KFOR in Kosovo could complicate the security conditions on the territory, RTV reports.

Vucevic, speaking in Sarajevo and responding to journalists' questions about reports from German media that the US will withdraw from the Bondsteel base in Kosovo and what that would mean for Pristina, said that whether the US leaves KFOR depends on the decision of President Donald Trump and his administration and emphasized that Serbia will monitor the situation.

"This could complicate the security conditions in Kosovo and Metohija. And all this geopolitical situation, both regarding Ukraine and NATO partner relations, everything is intersecting," Vucevic said after a meeting with Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia.

He emphasized that under the Kumanovo Agreement, KFOR is responsible for the security of all citizens in Kosovo, particularly the Serbian community, and stressed that it is absolutely unacceptable for the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) to replace KFOR in Serbian areas.

"This is very dangerous for us, and whether America will redistribute its armed forces in Europe, we don’t know. We will monitor and assess what this means in terms of security for the Republic of Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Vucevic said.

He added that it is necessary to see who will form the government in Pristina after the February 9 elections, noting that, judging by recent statements, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti hopes to stay in a technical mandate for the next six months as he does not have a majority.

Vucevic emphasized that attempts by Pristina to steal one mandate from the Serb List continue and that, as he put it, the fake Serbian party "For Freedom, Justice, and Survival," led by Nenad Rasic, is suddenly receiving votes from purely Albanian areas.

He said that there are attempts by all means to take the tenth mandate from the Serb List and give it to Rasic, adding that this is necessary for the Albanians because, as he explained, if they have one Serbian mandate under control, they do not need the consent of the Serb List for the election of a Serbian minister in the government in Pristina.

"One minister must be from the Serbian community, and for that, representatives of the Serbian people in the parliament in Pristina must agree, and it is enough for just one Serbian member of parliament to agree," Vucevic pointed out.