VS to break off contact with KFOR

Lieutenant-General Zdravko Ponos has condemned NATO defense ministers’ decision to delegate “further assignments” to KFOR. Ponos cited this as his reason for canceling his meeting yesterday with KFOR Chief Xavier de Marnhac. VS to break off contact with KFOR He told Tanjug that the decision was bad for two reasons, the first of which was “because it involves KFOR exceeding the mandate assigned to it by Resolution 1244, which stipulates KFOR’s neutral status.” “The second reason is that NATO has in fact taken a step that compromises the thus far excellent cooperation between the Serbian Army (VS) and KFOR,” the lieutenant-general explained. He said that he “understands the need for everything connected to security in Kosovo to be under strict international control, and not be delegated to the local authorities, but, nevertheless, KFOR’s participation in building the institutions of an independent Kosovo closes the door to partnership cooperation between the VS and KFOR.” Ponos reiterated that he had “drawn attention to this during his recent visit to NATO headquarters and during his conversation with the Alliance’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.” “I said that the possibility of KFOR undertaking such an engagement was unacceptable to us, as it would be outwith its UN mandate, and in some respects, the formation of the so-called Kosovo security forces represents implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan that Serbia has rejected,” the lieutenant-general pointed out. He stressed that his “first reaction to the news from Brussels was to cancel my planned meeting with the KFOR chief that was due to take place in Nis.” Zdravko Ponos (FoNet, archive)

VS to break off contact with KFOR

He told Tanjug that the decision was bad for two reasons, the first of which was “because it involves KFOR exceeding the mandate assigned to it by Resolution 1244, which stipulates KFOR’s neutral status.”

“The second reason is that NATO has in fact taken a step that compromises the thus far excellent cooperation between the Serbian Army (VS) and KFOR,” the lieutenant-general explained.

He said that he “understands the need for everything connected to security in Kosovo to be under strict international control, and not be delegated to the local authorities, but, nevertheless, KFOR’s participation in building the institutions of an independent Kosovo closes the door to partnership cooperation between the VS and KFOR.”

Ponoš reiterated that he had “drawn attention to this during his recent visit to NATO headquarters and during his conversation with the Alliance’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.”

“I said that the possibility of KFOR undertaking such an engagement was unacceptable to us, as it would be outwith its UN mandate, and in some respects, the formation of the so-called Kosovo security forces represents implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan that Serbia has rejected,” the lieutenant-general pointed out.

He stressed that his “first reaction to the news from Brussels was to cancel my planned meeting with the KFOR chief that was due to take place in Niš.”