By: Nebojsa Malic

The same countries that cheered when Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union broke up and insisted on ‘independent Kosovo’ now say Catalonia’s declaration of independence is unacceptable. But they wrote the rules the Catalans are now following.

On Friday, the Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain. Madrid has refused to recognize the declaration. Anything can happen next, from a negotiated settlement of some kind to a civil war.

Unnamed NATO official said to Novosti daily that NATO is concerned over Pristina’s proposal to transform Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) into armed forces without constitutional amendments. Such unilateral steps are not helpful, Novosti daily reported today.

The official also said, the NATO Secretary General passed this message to the Kosovo authorities directly. He also called upon Kosovo authorities to remain in close contact with Belgrade and that NATO position on the armed forces has not changed.

Chairman of NATO's Military Committee Petr Pavel says there are reasons for concern over Russia-Belarus military maneuvers Zapad (West) 2017.

According to him, the exercise "could be seen" a "serious preparations for big war," Serbian media reported

In addition, Pavel also said that NATO was "not competing with Russia for the Western Balkans".

He told AP on Saturday that NATO was "increasing efforts to reestablish the military-to-military communications with Russia to avoid any unintended consequences of potential incidents during the exercise.”

America and its NATO allies are preparing for a fierce anti-Russian media offensive in our country, writes the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti.

The paper said it learned that a portion of the USD 250 million that the US Congress has allocated to the Countering Russian Influence Fund for fiscal years 2017 and 2018, will soon arrive in Serbia.

Lawyer Jovanka Savić tries to invoke the responsibility of the British part of KFOR, for not providing security to citizens in the period when NATO entered Kosovo. She also questions the responsibility of UNMIK and EULEX for inertia in investigating crimes against civilians, RTS reports.

Radio Free Europe (RSE) reported that the first joint military drill with NATO member-states is planned to be held in Serbia in October 2018.

According to the media this exercise would represent a political move forward in Serbia's cooperation with NATO.

RSE also said that after 20 military drills where Serbia took part mainly as an observer under the Partnership for Peace program, the REGEX18 exercise will be held in its territory for the first time.

The U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said that his country want to see Kosovo part of NATO. Kosovo will very soon join NATO. He said the U.S. will be engaged in eliminating all obstacles for Kosovo becoming full-fledged member of the Adriatic Charter and NATO. “The U.S. continues to support dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia for normalization of relations and good neighbourhood”, Pence said in Podgorica where he is attending the U.S.-Adriatic Charter summit.

At this point, Serbia could only accept Kosovo's independence, which would allow it to join NATO and the UN. That's why it should perhaps wait, analysts have told Sputnik.

Dialogue and discussion about the solution of the Kosovo and Metohija issue is needed. The only question is the approach to this problem. The state can only gain from the passing of time, analysts say.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations, General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, and KFOR Commander, Major General Giovanni Fungo, met in Pristina today Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Thaci thanked NATO officials for support in maintaining peace in Kosovo and stressed that the Alliance’s role in Kosovo has been crucial not only for security and stability in the region but also for cooperation between all communities. He said NATO’s role was “irreplaceable” and that Kosovo would always be grateful for it.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations, General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, is expected to visit the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) tomorrow and meet Commander Rrahman Rama.

Yesterday, the U.S. General met in Belgrade Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and expressed NATO’s concern over the idea of transforming KSF into a Kosovo army without constitutional changes.