Former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson stated today in Pristina that a DNA analysis recently revealed that he had Albanian genes from his father's side and that he had not been aware of this at the time of NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia.

Robertson held a lecture at Univerzum faculty where he spoke enthusiastically about NATO's actions to save civilian lives in Kosovo and declared that their motto at that time was: Serbs out, peacekeepers in, refugees back.

Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hashim Thaci, congratulated Montenegro for acceptance of the invitation to become a NATO member.

He wrote on his Facebook page that Montenegro’s membership at NATO will strengthen security in Balkans.

“Congratulations Montenegro for the invitation for NATO membership. This is a development that strengthens security of the entire Balkans, including Kosovo,” Thaci wrote.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the KFOR mission will remain in Kosovo. At a press conference with Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, Stoltenberg stated that NATO presence in Kosovo is the longest military operation of this organization, pointing out its commitment on ensuring the safety and security of the whole region. "We're staying in Kosovo," said Stoltenberg, adding that everything related to future depends on certain conditions.

KFOR has lifted restrictions over certain parts of Serbian air space that were in place since 1999. This news has been published today in Belgrade by the Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the joint press conference with the Serbian prime minister. Stoltenberg explained that KFOR, as of today, completely relaxes security zone and abolishes restrictions introduced in 1999 as a concrete result of relations between Nato and Serbia, and added that it means full integration of Serbia into the European air space.

Terrorist attacks in Paris have provoked a question throughout the world about protection from this kind of violence. Analyst from Kosovo Naim Maloku argues that extreme radicalism is a global problem to which Kosovo is not immune either. “France can’t do it on its own, nor can any state fight the global terrorism on its own. A message should be drown from what happened in Paris, and this should encourage better cooperation between security sectors, not only in our region but worldwide,” said Maloku.

Deputy President of Kosovo Assembly Xhavit Haliti announced that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly “Rose-Roth” seminar will take place next year in Kosovo. He said a meeting of such a level is in the interest of Kosovo and that it is in the responsibility of Kosovo institutions and its people to continue efforts to fight terrorism, organised crime, and corruption.

NATO did not approve the formation of the so-called Army of Kosovo, Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic has said.

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic said to Blic that this was opposed by those members of the military alliance that have not recognized Kosovo, "and that also prevents the so-called Kosovo from developing partnership relations with NATO."

It is not up to NATO to decide on the structure, mandate and mission of the Kosovo Security Force. Future of the KSF is an internal matter of local Kosovo institutions. NATO currently supports the development of the KSF in the framework of their original mission and mandate, through the NATO Liaison and Advisory Team.

Security Council is preparing a new reorganization of the UN Mission in Kosovo

“The main topic of the briefing on UNMIK, in the Security Council on 21 August, will be the reorganization and reduction of the UN mission in Kosovo. Format of UNMIK should be adapted to the results of the Brussels agreement on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” said political analyst Dusan Janjic.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, in an interview with the Germany-based Handelsblatt said that Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and NATO is an irreversible way. “The European Commission has called on the EU to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo and this is the best evidence that Kosovo has met the criteria set by Brussels for the SAA,” Thaci said. According to him, Kosovo had to meet many more criteria than the countries of the region in order to be granted visa liberalization.