NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit Kosovo on March 11 for the first time since assuming his position, reports REL.
The day before, the NATO chief will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During his visit to Kosovo, Rutte is expected to be accompanied by ambassadors of NATO member countries that are part of the North Atlantic Council.
Meanwhile, NATO has not yet officially announced the visit.
Mark Rutte himself had previously announced the visit to Kosovo during a debate in Bratislava, Slovakia, earlier this year.
On Monday, Rutte also had a phone conversation with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
A few days ago, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that stability in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia is in everyone’s interest, and that he does not see any reason to believe that there will be any dramatic change in the U.S. commitment to NATO.
He made this comment during his stay in Bratislava when asked by students about the possibility of the conflict in Kosovo restarting, following concerns that a new U.S. policy could lead to a military withdrawal.
“Let me be completely clear. From everything I understand from the American system, they are fully committed to NATO and current commitments. But let’s see what happens. We can always have policy changes or small adaptations. The Slovaks, the Dutch, and others are doing this. But I have no reason to believe there will be dramatic decisions. And generally, in the Western Balkans, we must be sure that we keep our focus on this region because stability in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Serbia is in all of our interests,” he responded.
Following the elections in Kosovo, Rutte had also called for the continuation of the democratic process, which includes the formation of coalitions.
The NATO delegation, led by the Secretary General, will also visit the KFOR mission, which is led by NATO.
Currently, around 4,700 soldiers are part of the mission. The largest contingent is from Italy, with 1,250 personnel, as it also holds the command, while the United States has approximately 600 personnel in the mission.
