Great Britain remains concerned about the situation in northern Kosovo. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently expressed his concern.
British MP Alicia Cairns asked Prime Minister Sunak if there would be a commitment from him to extend KFOR's mandate in order to tackle the smuggling of weapons imported from Serbia into Kosovo.
“As Prime Minister, will you now commit that we will join EUFOR, where I would add that both Turkey and Chile are members, and will you also consider pushing for an extension of KFOR’s mandate in Kosovo to address the illegal issues, namely the weapons being sent from Serbia to Kosovo, which are being illegally funded by Belgrade and the militias being armed in Kosovo,” MP Kearns asked.
In his response, Sunak added that Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Aleksandar Vucic have a responsibility to reduce tensions in the northern part of Kosovo.
"We are very concerned, I am very concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo, which you are aware of and we strongly condemn the unprovoked attacks by protesters on KFOR members. The Foreign Secretary has already told the Prime Minister of Kosovo and Serbia that leaders in Belgrade and Pristina have a responsibility to reduce tensions and prevent further violence," Sunak said, adding that a way back to dialogue must be found by the EU.
Regarding MP Kearns' question about joining EUFOR, which is the international mission responsible for implementing the military part of the Dayton Agreement, Sunak said that the UK's non-participation in it "does not reflect the importance of the operation to the peace and stability of the region and that we are trying to continue to explore opportunities to expand cooperation with the mission."
