Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said Kosovo's future regular army would need to consult with NATO first about any actions in the Serb-majority north.
Prime Minister Mustafa said on Wednesday that NATO would not stand in the way of Kosovo forming its own army, but NATO's approval would be needed before it could undertake any action in the mainly Serbian far north of the country.
Kosovo Security Force Minister Haki Demolli said that the draft law on the establishment of Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) will be presented to the government next week. He added however that before a draft law on transformation of the KSF into KAF is passed, the Kosovo Assembly needs to vote in favour of constitutional changes. Demolli explained that the KSF transformation process is expected to happen in three stages.
Kosovo Security Force commander Kadri Kastrati said in an interview for Radio Kosova that the Force has made considerable progress since its establishment and that it is ready to be transformed into an army. Kastrati said that the KSF has a modern infrastructure, equipment in accordance to NATO standards and also has the capacity to deploy a company, made of 127 members, as part of humanitarian relief. He said that the KSF company is expected to become certified by the UN by 2016.
"If we estimate that we cannot achieve the basic interests and that we cannot change what is the most important for us, we will certainly leave the government. But let's give these people a chance and let’s see if they are sincere when they say that they want Serbs in Kosovo", said Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic.
If Pristina announcements become a true, and Kosovo army will be formed through legal shortcuts in order to avoid the ramp of Serbian MPs, the political crisis in the province would only deepen.
According to calculations stipulated by the Kosovo constitution, the votes of Serbian MPs are necessary for the formation of the army and because of that, the outgoing Minister of Security Forces Agim Ceku, said that Pristina has a plan "B": the establishment of the armed forces through change of a law.