NATO, Serbia Discuss Security of Kosovo Jun 4, 2010
Serbia’s army chief Thursday visited Kosovo for the first time since its split from Serbia in 2008 for talks on border security with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led mission, known as KFOR, here, a statement said. Serbian General Miloje Miletic and KFOR commander, German general Markus Bentler, met in order to “enhance the cooperation and thus the level of security” in the boundary area between Kosovo and Serbia, KFOR said in a statement. “Issues of mutual interest, like the fight against smuggling, the security of the crossing points and the problem of the illegal crossing,” were the main topics on the agenda, it said. Miletic is only the second Serbian army chief to visit Kosovo since 1999, when the breakaway territory came under United Nations administration following a NATO bombing campaign. The bombing was launched to stop a crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians carried out by the Serbian regime of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. In 2005, general Dragan Paskas, then chief of staff of Serbia-Montenegro’s federation army, visited Pristina to attend a transfer of duty by KFOR commanders. Kosovo officials at the time boycotted the ceremony due to Paskas’s presence. Despite Serbia’s fierce opposition to the Albanian-majority province’s unilateral declaration of independence, it has been recognized by 69 countries, including the U.S. and most European Union members. June 03, 2010 AFP http://serbianna.com/news/?p=4828 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
