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COM KFOR MEETS CHIEF OF ARMED FORCES OF MONTENEGRO AND COMMANDER KSF

On 23rd April, the Kosovo Force Commander (COM KFOR), Major General Salvatore FARINA, received Admiral Dragan SAMARDZIC, Chief of General Staff of Armed Forced of Montenegro, for the first time in KFOR HQ in Pristina.

This meeting is part of the agenda of the high level talks conducted in line with the Military Technical Agreement (MTA), known as the KUMANOVO TREATY.

Major General FARINA and Admiral SAMARDZIC spoke about the security situation in Kosovo with specific reference to the North, they also addressed the security in the rest of Kosovo including the area bordering with Montenegro. They gave great importance of mutual cooperation in order to enhance the security situation at regional level.

General FARINA thanked Admiral SAMARDZIC for the constant efforts made by the Montenegrin Armed Forces in order to enhance the stability and the overall security through the dialogue and the cooperation with all the interlocutors in the Area.

In the afternoon Major General FARINA and Admiral SAMARDZIC invited the KSF Commander, Lieutenant General Kadri KASTRATI for a trilateral meeting. During the trilateral meeting SAMARDZIC, KASTRATI and FARINA addressed security issues, exchanged information in particular in the capability areas related to search and rescue, emergencies, floods, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), engineers and medical emergencies.

COM KFOR highlighted that NATO supports the Kosovo Security Force "within the current mandate”. "Those core capabilities”, stressed COM KFOR, "make the KSF able to become an important interlocutor in Kosovo and in the Balkan area to contribute to the regional security and stability”.

COM KFOR underlined the improvement on the security situation in Kosovo after the 19th April Belgrade - Pristina agreement and confirmed the continuous effort of the NATO mission to contribute to safe and secure environment (SASE) and freedom of movement (FOM) creating the necessary conditions to support the dialogue and the progress for all the people in Kosovo.

Admiral SAMARDZIC stressed the importance of the incoming June 2014 "A5 Conference” where Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM and Montenegro Chiefs of Defence will meet to discuss about the security issues and developing capabilities in the region to respond to emergency situations. Other countries of the Balkan areas would be participating as observers like Slovenia and Serbia and an invitation would be forwarded also to Kosovo Security Force.
COM KFOR meets on a regular basis with the CHODs of the four countries bordering the KFOR Area of Responsibility, namely Albania, FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia.