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bne February 2019
In a festive atmosphere, the laws were
adopted by 107 MPs in the 120-seat parliament. Eleven ethnic Serb MPs boycotted the vote.
Veseli said that this is a historic day for Kosovo.
Kosovan Prime Minister Ramush Haradi- naj said in a separate statement that the decision “is an extraordinary news for the consolidation of the state of Kosovo”.
The day before the vote, soldiers of the Nato-led KFOR peacekeeping mission moved through the north of Kosovo. The region is populated mainly by Kosovo’s Serb minority, and the KFOR movement was seen by ethnic Serbs as a provocation before the crucial vote.
The Serbian government strongly condemned the formation of the army, saying that this is an issue of great concern and represents a violation of the
Southeast Europe I 61 could lead to a military intervention,
but according to analysts this is unlikely to happen.
The head of the Serbian office for Kosovo Marko Djuric, in a reaction fol- lowing the vote, said that the decision to form the so-called "army of Kosovo" is an act against peace and an act of political aggression towards Serbia. According to Djuric, the army is illegal.
“We regret that this decision was made despite the concerns expressed by Nato,” Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. He reiterated that the decision is “ill-timed”.
“Nato supports the development of the Kosovo Security Force under its current mandate. With the change of mandate, the North Atlantic Council will now have to re-examine the level of Nato’s engage- ment with the KSF,” Stoltenberg said.
However, he added that Nato continues to support the EU-mediated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
“Kosovo's army will always be multiethnic and will serve all its citizens”
“Kosovo's army will always be multi- ethnic and will serve all its citizens, in function of peace with all armies of the region, including the Serbian Army,” Haradinaj said.
However, the situation is expected to raise tensions in northern Kosovo, which has a mainly Serb population.
principles of international law, and the UN Resolution 1244.
For Serbia, Nato-led KFOR peacekeeping forces are the only legal military presence in Kosovo.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said earlier that the decision to form an army
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