KFOR Commander, Major General Ozkan Ulutash, held a meeting with the ambassadors of the QUINT countries, as well as with representatives of Turkey and the European Union in Kosovo.
During the meeting, Major General Ulutash presented his assessment of the security situation in the region and reiterated "KFOR's commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all citizens of Kosovo."
"In this context, the KFOR Commander appreciated the long-standing contribution of all participants in support of the KFOR mission," the KFOR statement said.
And on Friday, the day 27 years ago NATO entered Kosovo, launching the KFOR mission, it was announced that it plans to reduce the number of soldiers in this mission. NATO's commander for Europe, American General Alexus Grynkewich, announced that there will be an "optimization" of NATO's presence in Kosovo as a result of the continuous improvement of the security situation in recent times and the assumption of more responsibilities by local security institutions.
"NATO and KFOR are fully committed to security in Kosovo. It is precisely thanks to this commitment that the security situation in Kosovo has improved as security organizations in Kosovo have increased their capacities. Existing conditions create opportunities for optimizing the size and presence of KFOR further," said this NATO commander.
According to the latest data from April, the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo has 4657 personnel from 31 countries, not all of which are NATO members. The largest number of soldiers is from Italy, with 907, followed by 590 from the United States, 408 from Hungary, 382 from Turkey and 308 from Germany.
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KFOR Commander meets with diplomatic representatives on security
NATO headquarters in Brussels have repeatedly said that NATO in Kosovo will always have the appropriate number of soldiers that the situation requires in order to be able to implement its mandate.
NATO was deployed to Kosovo on June 12, 1999, following an air campaign against Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces, and this intervention, along with the Kosovo Liberation Army's ground war, marked the end of the war and the liberation of Kosovo.
