Press Release (98)139 5 Dec. 1998

Press Statement NATO has developed plans in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1203 in consultation with the OSCE for an Extraction Force that will extract OSCE verifiers or other designated persons from Kosovo in an emergency. Under these plans, and with the agreement of the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) (1), the standing element of this Extraction Force will be stationed in FYROM (1) and will compromise about 1500 personnel from several NATO countries. The North Atlantic Council authorised last night the sending of the Activation Order for the deployment to FYROM (1) of the Extraction Force. This deployment will start shortly. The deployment of the Extraction Force in no way relieves the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) government of its primary responsibility for the safety and security of the OSCE verifiers deployed in Kosovo, stipulated in Security Council Resolution 1203 and in the agreement signed between the FRY government and the OSCE. Footnotes Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.