Russia and Spain oppose Kfor’s training of Kosovo “army”
Russia and Spain are opposing the extension of the mandate of Kfor to training a future Kosovo “security force”, Serbian Army Chief of Staff Zdravko Ponos said after meeting his counterparts in Brussels.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, May 16, 2008
"We spoke on the issue of Kfor's mandate and we agreed", general Ponos said after meeting Russian general Yurij Baluyevski and Spanish general Felix Roldano, in an answer to the question on how Moscow and Madrid perceived the announced declarations by Pristina to form a new security structures after the entry in force of a new constitution on June 15.
"Declarations do not change matters substantially. The responsibility of the Serbian Army and Kfor is to have the security situation under control", the Serbian Chief of Staff said.
Ponos said it was an "excellent idea" for the NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to travel to New York next Thursday for a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Kfor's mandate.
"New York is the right address for talks on these issues", the general said.
NATO adopted in early May an Initiating directive on the planning for changing the mandate of Kfor, with the intention of training a future Kosovo "security force".
