Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, stated that the threat from Serbia is real.
He emphasized that Kosovo is preparing to make the Serbs think twice before attacking. Kurti mentioned the increase in the military budget, the increase in the number of soldiers, as well as the purchase of arms from the USA and Turkey.
“Serbia continuously makes threats, but we do not know when they will materialize. Experience and history teach us that those who make threats will eventually act on them. We must be vigilant and as prepared as possible, which is why we are strengthening our military. We have removed the cap on the number of soldiers, raised the age limit for soldiers from 23 to 25 years.
In three years, we have added 1852 soldiers to the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), and 600 new soldiers will join this year. From the USA, we are buying Javelin anti-tank missiles, and from Turkey, we are buying Bayraktar drones. Additionally, we have quadrupled the number of trainings for soldiers and officers abroad, and the defense budget has doubled. We are doing this precisely because there is a real threat from Serbia, often accompanied by threats from Russia.
The saying ‘the battle is over, but the war is not’ applies here in reverse; with Serbia, ‘the war is over, but the battle continues’ on the international stage, around our borders, in the fight against organized crime, we constantly have battles where we must face Serbia, which does not distance itself from Milošević, does not distance itself from Putin, does not acknowledge the crimes committed in Kosovo, and does not recognize our independence.
Recently, they conducted a military exercise in Peshter, Sandžak, about 30 kilometers from the border with Kosovo, only 3 kilometers from Montenegro, with offensive weapons. They did not do this in Vojvodina near Hungary, but towards Montenegro and Kosovo.
It is very clear that their nervousness over the success of the state of Kosovo translates into increased aggression. Therefore, we must take measures to be as prepared as possible, so that they think twice before attacking us, thus preventing an attack. If they decide to attack, then they should fail as they have before,” said Albin Kurti.