"KSF" has no NATO support to arm itself - Stoltenberg tells Tanjug

BELGRADE - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday in Belgrade the so-called Kosovo Security Force had no NATO support to arm itself and that its transition to an army was "ill-timed and ill-advised."

Stoltenberg said this in an exclusive interview to Tanjug, in response to a question why NATO was allowing the so-called KSF to arm itself and buy UAVs.

"We have advised against it, so that does not happen with the support of NATO," he said.

When asked about the so-called Kosovo's membership in NATO, Stoltenberg responded that "any decision on membership has to be done by all NATO allies, by consensus."

"Within NATO, some allies have not recognised Kosovo so, of course, that also impacts their assessment of any potential future membership. What is important for NATO is that we strongly believe that the only path to a peaceful solution to reduce violence, to prosperity in the region and in Kosovo, is the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, and we urge Pristina and Belgrade to engage and to sit down in good faith to try to find a way forward together because violence is not the answer to the challenges within Kosovo," he said.