Following Croatia, Slovenia and Albania, which have become fully flagged members of NATO, Montenegro will soon find itself there. NATO will, as was announced yesterday by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, continue to be focused on Western Balkans since this region is important for NATO. In Washington however, work on further expansion of influence of NATO in this region. Thus, the US Congress, two days ago, adopted the amendment which calls on the US administration to accept Kosovo in the Partnership for Peace Program.

On the 66th anniversary of the European Union, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said he pledges to secure Kosovo’s membership of the European Union and NATO. In a Facebook post, Mustafa said Kosovo needs to prove it has the will and power to put the law above anyone else. “We need to prove our determination in combating and uprooting corruption and organized crime and to implement standards of democracy,” he said. Mustafa said the coalition government he leads is willing to take the lead in this path.

President Thaçi said that the North Atlantic Alliance remains the key to stability in Kosovo and in the region, adding that KFOR is the most trusted institution among the people of Kosovo.
He said that Kosovo expects to establish a political dialogue with NATO and to enter into contractual relations with the alliance. “Kosovo Security Force has carried out the necessary reforms and is ready to be transformed into an army, a multiethnic force. The armed forces will be ready to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme”, he added.

Kurt Walker, former United States Ambassador to NATO, said today that Kosovo’s first step in its bid for NATO membership is to secure international recognitions. “Recognitions are the first step. I don’t think Spain or other countries, but Spain in particular, will recognize Kosovo if Serbia does not do this,” he said. Walker, who now heads the John McCain Institute in the U.S., told The New Bugajski Hour that “if Serbia does not recognize Kosovo, I think the latter will remain outside NATO for a certain period of time”.

The news site reports that the Kosovo Assembly began its session today by marking the 17th anniversary of the NATO air raids against Serbian targets and in defense of Kosovo Albanians in 1999. Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli and Isa Mustafa delivered speeches commemorating the NATO raids and highlighted their importance for the liberation of Kosovo. Veseli and Mustafa also talked about the global war against terror and Kosovo’s commitment to this front. The MPs observed a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the recent terror attacks in Brussels.

German Ambassador Axel Dittmann says his country will support opening chapters 23 and 24, on judiciary and rule of law, in the first half of this year.

In an interview for Vecernje Novosti, Dittman said that NATO membership was not a prerequisite for joining the EU, and the same applies for recognition of Kosovo's independence.

In 1999, Božidar Šarković from Klina expected the worst of the NATO soldiers who following the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement marched into Kosovo and Metohija. KFOR soldiers didn’t move a finger when Albanians killed Serbs and burned their houses, he said. Šarković, who returned to Metohija in 2009, still has reservations about the KFOR, but he admits that the military mission is important for the survival of Serbs in Kosovo, because it protects not only houses, but also churches and monasteries.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will sign into law an agreement with NATO related to logistics that was recently confirmed in the National Assembly. This is according to Belgrade-based daily Danas.

"The president sees nothing new or controversial in the law that would stand out in comparison with anything in the past related to cooperation between Serbia and NATO, which conditioned this legal act," the paper writes on Friday, citing top state leadership sources.

The dust that rose in Serbia's parliament about the adoption of the agreement with NATO has not yet settled. In light of the pre-election quarrels, the question of all questions, “can and will NATO protect the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija?”, remains unanswered, writes Sputnik. Orhan Dragas, the Director of the International Center for Security, told Sputnik that the agreement must encourage the Serbs in Kosovo, adding that they want to believe that the agreement will guarantee the Serbs a better life than they have had so far, when it comes to safety.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met today in Belgrade with the Nato Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Philip M. Breedlove, and expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with KFOR, whereas Breedlove thanked Vucic for efforts invested in preserving stability in the Western Balkans which is a precondition for economic and any other progress.