NATO has stated that any decision concerning the possible opening of the main bridge over the Ibër River to vehicle traffic must take into account the needs of all local communities.
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A NATO official told Radio Free Europe that KFOR continues to provide the necessary security support so that the European Union’s diplomatic efforts can move forward.
According to the official, NATO’s mission in Kosovo has begun gradually moving its permanent presence away from the bridge over the Ibër, in line with the improvement of the security situation in Kosovo.
The official described this as part of the optimization of KFOR’s positioning, a process being carried out with full transparency. He added that, depending on security developments, the process could be reversed.
He stressed that KFOR Commander Ozkan Ulutash is in communication with all counterparts in Kosovo, international organizations and the Armed Forces of Serbia.
In this context, the official also mentioned Ulutash’s meeting with representatives of the Serb List on August 11, during which the mission’s presence over the Ibër River was discussed.
According to the official, KFOR will continue to carry out the mandate given to it through UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and will work to create a safe environment for all communities.
“KFOR will have a visible presence in North and South Mitrovica as well as in northern Kosovo, and it continues to contribute to ensuring a safe environment for all communities,” the NATO official said.
He added that KFOR would continue to support security so that dialogue and the EU’s diplomatic efforts could advance.
NATO’s reaction came after the media sought a position on a letter that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had sent to the alliance’s chief, Mark Rutte, asking him to halt the reduction of KFOR’s presence on the bridge.
The NATO official said that Rutte “is in regular contact with President Vučić.”
Days earlier, Kosovo’s acting minister of internal affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, had also reacted to the gradual withdrawal of KFOR troops from the main bridge over the Ibër, describing the development as good news.
Sveçla had said that, in addition to the gradual withdrawal of KFOR troops, the presence of the Kosovo Police on the bridge would also be reduced.
According to him, this was a short-term process that would give everyone assurances that “the opening of the bridge will be good for everyone, without having a negative impact on anyone.”
“The time will come when the next steps will both be made public and seen, just as they are being seen today. And something that has been a concern, but also a symbol of division for 27 years, will become a memory,” Sveçla told Kosovo’s public broadcaster on August 10.
Currently, the main bridge over the Ibër can be used only by pedestrians. In July 2024, the Kosovo Government announced that the bridge would also be opened to vehicles, but the initiative sparked tensions and reactions from the international community.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo executive has also built two other bridges nearby, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. Their aim is to link North Mitrovica with South Mitrovica.
Earlier in the day, Vučić announced that he had sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asking him to halt the reduction of the presence on the main bridge over the Ibër in North Mitrovica.
“I have just sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asking KFOR, in accordance with UN Resolution 1244, to stop the terror against Serbs, their persecution and arrests, the demolition of their homes, as well as the opening of the bridge over the Ibër,” Vučić wrote on Instagram on August 20.
“I believe his assessment will be that peace and regional stability are of great importance,” the Serbian president added.
During the evening of August 20, Vučić said he expected Rutte to respond to his letter “in one way or another” in the following days.
He warned that the authorities in Serbia would continue the “political struggle by all possible means,” not ruling out even calling a special session of the United Nations Security Council.
Vučić also said that Millan Mojsillović, chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, had held a “very difficult” and “bad” conversation with KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Ulutash.
According to Vučić, KFOR’s withdrawal from the bridge at this point would “create the conditions for a final confrontation with the Serb population” in northern Kosovo.
Mitrovica was divided after the 1999 war into a northern part, where Serbs form the majority, and a southern part, with an Albanian majority. Currently, these two parts function as two separate municipalities.
Since the end of the war, the bridge over the Ibër has been monitored by KFOR and over the years has served as one of the main points of interethnic clashes.
The main bridge over the Ibër River is still considered one of the most sensitive security points in northern Kosovo.
