Türkiye to send forces to Kosovo at NATO’s request

Against the background of the escalation in Kosovo, Turkey, at the request of NATO, will send a battalion of special forces there, according to the website of the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

Turkey, as noted in the statement, is closely following the developments in the Balkans and calls on the parties for restraint and dialogue in order to resolve the recent events in the north of “friendly and brotherly Kosovo.”

“Following the events that took place in Kosovo, the commando battalion, which is part of our 65th motorized rifle brigade (Kirklareli), which was previously assigned to NATO forces for Kosovo, was deployed as a reserve unit at the request of the NATO Joint Forces Command in Naples,” the statement reads. message.

The transfer of the unit to Kosovo is scheduled for June 4-5, the Defense Ministry added.

On May 26, another aggravation took place in the north of Kosovo and Metohija. Protests erupted in several Serb-majority municipalities over the outcome of the last election, which was won by Albanians despite a record low turnout as the local population boycotted the elections. Serbian protesters demanded the cancellation of the results and the resignation of the heads of municipalities. In response, the Kosovo police fired tear gas and stun grenades in some municipalities. As a result of the clashes, 52 Serbs and 41 peacekeepers of the international security forces in Kosovo (KFOR), operating under the auspices of NATO, were injured.

On the same day, the Serbian army was put on full alert and advanced to the administrative border with Kosovo. The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of the republic’s authorities in connection with “new anti-Serb provocations.” The EU and NATO called on the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to stop the escalation. On May 30, it became known that NATO additionally send 700 troops in Kosovo and will raise the level of readiness of another battalion so that it can be sent if necessary.