Serbian Army chief: Biggest threat from Kosovo
The unilaterally declared independence by Kosovo poses the biggest threat to Serbia, Chief Of General Staff of the Serbian Army Lt. Gen. Miloje Miletic says.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, May 19, 2010
"The territory of Kosovo is a stronghold of organized crime and it is currently the biggest security challenge for Serbia," Miletic told Belgrade's Vecernje Novosti daily.
When asked whether he expects a new wave of violence in Kosovo after a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he replied that a "violent threat is an already tried and used method of Kosovo Albanians use to impose pressure on the international community".
"If the court decision is not in keeping with their interests, which I sincerely hope it won't be, destabilization and violence are possible. I have received assurances by the KFOR commander that their troops will prevent any such event," said Miletic.
Underscoring that "according to the experience so far, any instability in Kosovo directly jeopardizes security in the region as a whole, particularly in the south region of central Serbia", he said, adding that the Serbian Army "is ready to respond to such a scenario and has enough capacity to secure peace in the area".
Miletic also said that there was need to hold high-level meetings with KFOR and those meetings will become more frequent in the future.
