NATO denies speculation on troop cuts in Kosovo
NATO Secretary General denied that the alliance will cut its troops in Kosovo (KFOR), saying there is no such a plan.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, March 05, 2009
"There is no plan and no decision for any reductions to KFOR," said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer through his spokesman James Appathurai. "Those who are speculating on any reductions to KFOR, including those in uniform, do not speak for NATO on this issue," said the NATO chief. "Any changes to KFOR will only be made on the basis of a political decision by all allies. Such a decision will only be taken if all allies are assured that a possible reduction of KFOR will not jeopardize the safety and security of Kosovo. And that time has not come," said de Hoop Scheffer. The NATO chief was obviously responding to remarks by KFOR commander Italian General Giuseppe Emilio Gay and British diplomats in Pristina that KFOR troop numbers will be cut this year. "We are in the phase of reducing our troops and this will happen in every corner of Kosovo," Gay told reporters on Tuesday in Pristina. "Our current force of 167 personnel will be drawn down to a small number of posts between the end of March 2009 and 1 September 2009," said a statement from the British embassy in Pristina. |
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