KFOR has decided to begin the gradual transition from its permanent presence on the main bridge over the Ibër River in Mitrovica, while at the Deçan Monastery, the Kosovo Police will be integrated step by step into the international mission’s security architecture. This development is being regarded as particularly significant for Kosovo, as it has sparked debate over strengthening domestic institutions and their responsibility for guaranteeing security throughout the country.
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Belgium-based legal expert Skënder Musliu, speaking to “Bota sot,” described KFOR’s move as an important vote of confidence in state institutions and, in particular, the Kosovo Police.
According to Musliu, this was not an unexpected decision, but the culmination of a lengthy process of analyses and assessments conducted by KFOR and NATO in cooperation with Kosovo’s institutions.
He said that, despite developments in the Kosovo Assembly that he described as destructive on the part of the opposition, KFOR delivered positive news several days ago. Musliu recalled that after guarding the bridge over the Ibër River for 27 years, the international mission decided to gradually transfer this responsibility to the Kosovo Police. He also emphasized that KFOR had announced the gradual integration of the Kosovo Police at the Deçan Monastery as well.
Musliu believes that this step was taken only after a detailed review of the security situation and continuous cooperation with the Kosovar authorities.
Referring to statements portraying the news as a surprise, he said that, in his assessment, the decision had been prepared earlier on the basis of numerous analyses by KFOR and NATO military and security experts. He added that the process had also been conducted through consultations and ongoing work with Kosovo’s institutions.
According to the legal expert, one of the key signals conveyed by this decision is KFOR and NATO’s assessment that security in Kosovo has improved and that the Kosovo Police possesses the necessary capabilities to assume greater responsibility.
Musliu said that KFOR and NATO had concluded that peace and security in Kosovo had improved significantly. According to him, the Kosovo Police has been assessed as capable, professional and well trained to manage the situation on the Ibër Bridge, which over the years has been a flashpoint for clashes and interethnic tensions.
He also interprets the decision as a politically significant signal for Kosovo’s institutions, particularly in the face of claims that the Kurti government’s policy toward the north and security issues has jeopardized relations with international partners.
According to Musliu, the trust KFOR is placing in Kosovo’s institutions disproves the accusations and propaganda of the opposition and some media outlets, which claim that Kurti is endangering peace and stability and damaging relations with the international community.
Addressing the importance of the bridge over the Ibër River, Musliu emphasized that for many years it represented more than just a structure linking the two parts of Mitrovica. According to him, the bridge had also become a symbol of Kosovo’s political and institutional division.
He said the significance of the latest development can be better understood by examining the origins of the problems in the north and the long period during which Kosovo’s institutions had limited ability to operate in that part of the territory.
Musliu recalled that from the postwar period until recent years, the bridge over the Ibër symbolized the separation of northern Kosovo, where state institutions did not fully exercise sovereignty. Serbian parallel structures operated in that area, while Belgrade’s influence remained very strong for a long time.
According to him, the north has faced numerous security problems over the years, along with organized crime and the operation of parallel structures. Musliu also mentioned the terrorist attack in Banjska, listing it among the gravest evidence of the threats that have emerged from this part of the territory.
According to him, the changes in the north in recent years should also be analyzed in the context of the restoration of the authority of Kosovo’s institutions in that area of the country.
Musliu stated that Albin Kurti’s rise to power brought numerous changes. He mentioned the closure of parallel institutions, the crackdown on illegal structures and the restoration of the authority of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. According to him, the Kurti government not only opened the bridge over the Ibër River, but also built and opened other bridges, while announcing plans to build new ones.
According to Musliu, the gradual transfer of responsibilities from KFOR to the Kosovo Police should be viewed first and foremost as institutional progress benefiting the state, although politically it may also be regarded as an important achievement of the current government.
He emphasized that the development should not be attributed solely to the success of one party or government, because it is primarily an institutional step in the interests of the state of Kosovo. Nevertheless, Musliu assessed that the Kurti government’s policies in the north had helped create the conditions enabling Kosovo’s institutions to assume greater responsibility.
In this context, he also criticized the reaction of the opposition and some media outlets to KFOR’s announcement, saying that an event of this kind deserved greater public attention.
Musliu said KFOR’s positive news should have been treated as the leading story by the media, but that, in his view, the opposition and some media outlets chose to remain silent about it. He added that instead of recognizing the growing trust that an international institution such as KFOR is placing in Kosovo’s institutions, political debate is often limited solely to clashes between parties.
The Belgium-based legal expert assessed that the decision also sends a direct message to Belgrade and to political actors opposed to strengthening Kosovo’s institutions: responsibility for security within Kosovo’s territory is increasingly being transferred to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.
According to him, the message is that Kosovo’s institutions are gaining trust and assuming the responsibilities that belong to them in the security sector. Musliu said this is important both for Kosovo’s citizens and for the country’s relations with its international partners, while for Belgrade it demonstrates that the institutional reality in Kosovo cannot be reversed.
In conclusion, Musliu called for KFOR’s decision to be addressed by Kosovo’s political establishment beyond narrow party interests, and for the consolidation of institutions to be viewed as a state-building process.
He told “Bota sot” that institutions and political parties should assess this step beyond immediate interests. Although political differences may exist over the way the country is governed, Musliu emphasized that KFOR’s assessment that the Kosovo Police is prepared to assume greater responsibility should be considered, above all, good news for the state of Kosovo. According to him, this demonstrates that institutions are being consolidated, while sovereignty and state responsibility are being strengthened.
