NATO rejects Serbia request to deploy troops in Kosovo

The NATO mission in Kosovo rejected a request by Serbia to deploy its troops into Kosovo amidst tensions between the two nations in recent months. The request follows recent clashes between local Serbs and Kosovan authorities.

The alliance’s mission in Kosovo rejected a request by Belgrade to dispatch up to 1,000 Serb police and army personnel in Kovoso following the recent clashes between Serbs and Kosovan authorities.

The request was in accordance with a United Nations Security Council resolution that Serbia may deploy troops, if approved by the NATO mission in Kosovo, to areas such as border crossings, Orthodox Christian religious sites, and places where Serbs make up most of the population.

Serb President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the decision by KFOR, saying the response was unsurprising as the West backs Kosovo’s independence, which Belgrade refuses to recognize. Half the local Serbs that live in northern Kosovo have also refused to recognize Pristina’s authority and consider Belgrade as the capital. Other local Serbs in other parts of Kosovo have recognized Pristina and participated in political life.

Serbia has relied on Russia and China in its attempt to reclaim Kosovo. Belgrade has also backed the Serbs, that refuse to recognize Pristina’s authority.

Serbia and Kosovo have been told that they must normalize relations if they want to advance their membership in the European Union. US officials are set to visit the region to help push forward the deadlocked talks.

Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Turkey’s demands are too much but expressed optimism that Ankara would approve Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance. Sweden and Finland made a joint application to become members of NATO as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the bids of the two Nordic countries ran into opposition from Turkey, citing security concerns.

“Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say they want things that we cannot do or do not want to give them,” Kristersson told a security conference on Sunday.

Turkey is one of the holdouts in the ratification of Sweden and Finland’s membership in the NATO alliance.