NATO Secretary General On Voting In Kosovo In Serbian Elections – Statement

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen

On Sunday, there will be voting in Kosovo in the Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections. I strongly urge all leaders and all communities to show restraint during the voting process. In this critical period, it is important to avoid any unilateral actions or statements that can raise tensions. Therefore, I welcome the agreement reached to allow the OSCE to facilitate the process and call on both Pristina and Belgrade to continue cooperating with the international community in order to ensure a calm and peaceful vote.

KFOR’s mission is to preserve a safe and secure environment for all people of Kosovo in an impartial way, as it has done for over a decade. I have full confidence in the judgement and professionalism of the Commander of KFOR to use all the means within his mandate and all the instruments at his disposal, including the second battalion of the Operational Reserve Force, which has now been deployed to Kosovo.

KFOR and EULEX will continue to coordinate closely on the ground. The future of the whole region is integration in the Euro-Atlantic region, so we must do all we can to avoid any possible setback in the region’s progress towards that goal.