UK distances itself from Nato withdrawal
By politics.co.uk staff
Britain is distancing the withdrawal of its remaining troops from Kosovo from rumours of a Nato scale-down in the world’s youngest country.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that all but three of its 167 personnel in Kosovo are leaving the country.
“[Nato’s] supreme allied commander Europe has decided that the specific capability, currently provided by the UK to the Nato force in Kosovo, is no longer required,” defence secretary John Hutton told parliament.
“Our current force of 167 personnel will draw down to a small number of posts between the end of March 2009 and September 1st 2009.”
But a defence source told inthenews.co.uk the move was a “sensible piece of housekeeping” and did not amount to the Nato peacekeeping force being downgraded to a deterrent presence status.
“This is simply us removing a capability that is no longer needed,” the source added.
Kosovo has been relatively stable since it declared its independence from Serbia unilaterally in February 2008.
The 15,000-strong Nato-led Kosovo Force (KFor) has been in place since the 1999 bombing campaign in response to aggression from the then Yugoslavia.
Its mandate is to support development of a “stable, democratic, multi-ethnic and peaceful” Kosovo.
Mr Hutton accepted that the UK army’s drawdown reflected the “changed circumstances in Kosovo, in particular the improved security situation”.
“The key milestones in Kosovo’s independence have passed without major incident and the security situation in Kosovo is generally calm,” he said.
“The EU rule of law mission has recently rolled out across Kosovo. Against this backdrop, and with over 14,000 personnel still in theatre, Nato remains well-placed to deal with any potential security incidents.”
Serbia refuses to recognise an independent Kosovo, a stance backed by Russia and most of Africa, Asia and South America.
The west, led by the United States and the majority of the European Union – Spain being the notable exception – recognises Kosovo’s independence.
