Rutte and NATO ambassadors expected to visit Kosovo

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to visit Kosovo on March 11 for the first time since taking office, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has learned from diplomatic sources.

A day earlier, the NATO chief will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina. Meanwhile, during the visit to Kosovo, Rutte is expected to be accompanied by the ambassadors of NATO member countries that are members of the North Atlantic Council.

NATO has not yet officially announced such a visit.

Rutte himself had announced that he would visit Kosovo during March in a debate he had earlier held in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Rutte also had a telephone conversation with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Monday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said a few days ago that stability in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia is in everyone's interest and that he sees no reason to believe that there could be any dramatic change in terms of American commitment to NATO.

He said this during his stay in Bratislava, Slovakia, when asked in a debate by students whether he sees a possibility of a resumption of the conflict in Kosovo, as there are rumors that the new American policy could lead to a military withdrawal.

"Let me be perfectly clear. From what I understand from the American system, they are fully committed to NATO and the current commitments. But let's see what happens. We can always have policy changes or small adaptations that can happen. The Slovaks, the Dutch and others are doing that. But I have no reason to believe that there will be dramatic decisions. And, in general, in the Western Balkans, we have to make sure that we keep this region in focus, because stability in Kosovo, stability in Bosnia and stability in Serbia is in the interest of all of us," he replied.

After the elections in Kosovo, Rutte also called for the continuation of the democratic process, part of which is the formation of coalitions.

The NATO delegation, led by Secretary General Rutte, will also visit the KFOR mission, which is led by NATO.

There are currently around 4700 soldiers in this mission. Of these, Italy has the largest contingent with 1250 members, as it also has the command, while the United States of America has around 600 members in this mission.

This visit by the NATO chief is expected to take place at a time of tense relations between Europe and the US, following steps taken by the administration.
American with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

The United States pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to Washington's call for a deal that would end the fighting in Ukraine, while European leaders sought a stronger role in that goal.

Trump said his patience is running out and criticized Zelensky's resistance
towards the prospect of a quick ceasefire, without concrete guarantees of
security, which Kiev seeks from the United States.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have said they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine to help keep the peace, if a deal is signed to end the war that began in 2022. /REL