NATO peacekeeping forces Kosovo prepared to intervene if stability between Serbia and Kosovo is threatened, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said today after talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić over Belgrade-Pristina tensions.

“Despite the improvement in the situation in the region, all parties – especially the officials of Belgrade and Pristina – have an obligation to prevent further escalation,” Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with the President of Serbia in Brussels.

“I call on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid violence. NATO continues to closely monitor the situation in the region. The KFOR peacekeeping force remains committed to the UN mission. If stability is threatened, KFOR is ready to intervene,” Stoltenberg stressed.

For his part, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić assessed that tomorrow’s talks with Kosovo’s prime minister will be difficult, as the parties disagree on almost everything. However, he stressed that peace and stability are vital.

“Tomorrow (Thursday) we will have difficult negotiations. We hardly agree on anything,” Vučić said before meeting with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti. “We have our own history… It is not something easy and not simple. But we want to further strengthen our cooperation… and we want to avoid any possibility of escalation or conflict,” the President of Serbia stressed.

Source: RES-IPE