Senior US official Wess Mitchell confirmed America’s support for the establishment of a regular army in Kosovo during his visit to Serbia – which strongly opposes the idea.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell reaffirmed Washington’s support for the establishment of a Kosovo army after a meeting with Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, on Wednesday.
“Nobody can place a veto on Kosovo’s right to develop its [armed] forces,” Mitchell said at a joint press conference with Vucic, adding that the issue requires Kosovo’s constitution to be amended.
Vucic, however, insisted that there are no legal grounds for Kosovo to form an army, adding that the only reason it is being allowed to do so is because the US recognizes its independence – which Serbia does not.
“I ask anyone from the US or EU to show me a document allowing Kosovo to establish its own armed forces. It doesn’t exist,” Vucic said.
The Serbian President also said he doubted Kosovo will act on its pledge to form an autonomous Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, despite Mitchell’s calls for its formation.
“I’m almost convinced that nothing will come of that business. If they wanted to do it, they would have done it in the past five years,” he said.
Mitchell said that both Belgrade and Pristina have to fulfill the obligations that stem from their EU-sponsored negotiations in Brussels.
The US official began his tour of the region with a visit to Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
From there he went to Macedonia, where he spoke with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev about that country’s long-running dispute with Greece over its name. He will also be visiting Athens and Cyprus as part of his tour.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
