NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated that the alliance expects accountability from the authorities in Belgrade for events in Kosovo, including the attack in Banjska and attacks on KFOR soldiers during tensions in the spring of 2023.
"I have a personal relationship with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. We have known each other for many years. But, of course, we expect him to determine responsibility for what happened a few years ago, and this for two issues. For both of them, he has promised full determination of responsibility," Rutte said.
Rutte made these statements during his address to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), where he also confirmed support for the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.
Rutte also stressed that NATO is committed to the security situation in the Western Balkans, emphasizing that the Western military alliance will not allow a security vacuum to be created in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have been rising in recent years, and the most serious incident occurred in September 2023 in Banjska, Zvecan, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing a sergeant. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three Serb attackers were killed.
Kosovo politician and businessman Milan Radoićić claimed responsibility for the attack, and has since been in Serbia, where he has not been prosecuted to date.
This armed incident was preceded by protests in northern Kosovo in May of that year. More than 90 members of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, had been injured – some of them seriously – after clashes with Serb protesters in Zvecan.
The violence in Zvecan erupted after local Serbs opposed the entry of new Albanian mayors into municipal buildings in Zvecan, Leposavić and Zubin Potok – municipalities in northern Kosovo inhabited by a Serb majority – following local elections held earlier that year, which were boycotted by local Serbs.
Dozens of people have been arrested and charged for the events in Zvecan, and some have been sentenced to prison after plea agreements with the prosecution. NATO has called for those responsible for both cases to face justice.
On Greenland and relations with Trump
During the discussion in AFET, the topic was also the agreement that Rutte reached last week with US President Donald Trump, which, as announced, enabled the US president to abandon the threat of imposing additional tariffs on several European countries and taking control of Greenland.
Before European lawmakers, Rutte presented two courses of action when it comes to the security of Greenland and the Arctic: collective NATO efforts to strengthen military and economic defense against Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic as well as bilateral talks between Denmark, Greenland and the United States.
The NATO Secretary General said that the US president is right about the Arctic issue. He said that it is about collective defense, since, according to him, sea routes are opening up.
"China and Russia are becoming increasingly active. We have to confront this problem," Rutte said.
He confirmed the US president's full commitment to NATO and sent a message to European allies that they "can only dream" that they can defend themselves without the United States.
Last week, Trump said he had reached an agreement with Rutte on a framework agreement for Greenland. Earlier, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the US leader said he wanted immediate talks to buy Greenland.
He has ruled out the possibility of using force to take over the island. Trump has argued that he needs Greenland for national security./REL
