The government of Kosovo has issued a press release saying that it will review the draft law on Kosovo Security Force (KSF) transformation as soon as it receives it from the Assembly and make sure it is in line with the Constitution of Kosovo. The press release states that the draft law was proposed by President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, but that Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, was informed on the initiative on 5 March before Thaci announced it during a visit to KSF barracks.

It has been confirmed in a telephone conversation between the Serbian PM and the NATO chief that the military alliance opposes the formation of a Kosovo army.

Serbia's state broadcaster RTS reported this late on Wednesday.

Jens Stoltenberg also told Aleksandar Vucic that NATO had officially warned Pristina that the organization is opposed to the formation of an army in Kosovo, something announced in recent days by Kosovo President Hashim Thaci.

NATO and the United States warned Wednesday they could scale back cooperation with Kosovo's security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly-armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he told Kosovo's leaders by telephone "that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful." He warned that if Kosovo goes ahead as planned "NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building."

The United States said Wednesday that it was "concerned" by Kosovo's plans to convert its security force into a regular army without a constitutional amendment — a move sure to infuriate Serbia.

"We support the gradual transparent transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into a multiethnic force in line with NATO standards," a statement from the embassy in Pristina said.

http://www.voanews.com/a/nato-us-warn-kosovo-against-move-to-form-army/3755434.html

Kosovar President Hashim Thaci says there is "no turning back" from his plan to transform the Balkan country's lightly armed security force into a national army, brushing off strongly voiced concern from NATO and the United States.

The security force "will be transformed into a Kosovo army," Thaci told RFE/RL on March 8, seeming to dismiss warnings from the U.S. Embassy and the Western military alliance against making the change without amending the constitution.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg conveyed a few moments ago serious concerns of NATO Allies about proposed transformation of Kosovo Security Force into an armed force.

The news website quotes NATO officials as saying that NATO will support the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) within its current mandate. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told Kallxo: “as the NATO Secretary General said during his recent visit to Pristina, NATO supports the development of the Kosovo Security Force within its current mandate”. Lungescu added that NATO does not decide on the structure, mandate or mission of the KSF. “This is an internal matter for Kosovo’s institutions and in line with their constitutional rights ...

Former head of the Bulgarian national intelligence service, Kircho Kirov, thinks that Serbia is becoming "a regional military factor."

Beta agency reported this on Thursday, citing Kirov as saying that his country, as a NATO member, "has problems with its rearmament, while Serbia is receiving modern Russian combat equipment for free."

TIRANA: Albania and Croatia have asked NATO to revise plans for its peace-keeping mission in Kosovo, arguing that nationalist rhetoric by Serb politicians threatens to destabilise the region scarred by the 1990s wars.

Relations between Serbia and its former province Kosovo came under renewed strain since Belgrade sent a train painted with the slogan "Kosovo is Serbia" to the border and Kosovo police said it would stop it from entering its territory.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Branimir Stojanovic, said he will ask NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenerg for NATO and KFOR to do everything in their power to make sure that there are no incidents in the northern part of Kosovo. “I will discuss with him the situation on the ground. NATO and KFOR must do their job and make sure that nothing will happen to us. We will present our concerns to him,” Stojanovic told Radio Television of Serbia. “I hope the international community will do everything to prevent incidents because no one wants chaos”.