17 May 2006

NATO presence vital to talks, says Kosovo envoy News 16/05/2006 - NATO Visit to NATO by the United Nations Secretary General's Envoy to Kosovo, Mr Martti Ahtisaari Background NATO in Kosovo Multimedia High resolution photos Audio file of the joint press point (MP3/7258kb) Briefing NATO decision-makers in Brussels, the UN’s Special Envoy to Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, said NATO’s security presence was vital to the ongoing talks on the province’s future status. “Whatever the status in the end... there’s going to be an international presence,” he said at a press conference at NATO HQ, “Both parties [Kosovo Albanians and Serb] see the importance of NATO’s presence. We need the protection of minorities, need the protection from NATO for the cultural and religious sites.” He also said that there was a role for NATO to play in training the province’s security forces. Protection for all Mr. Ahtisaari visited NATO Headquarters on 17 May to brief the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance’s principal decision-making body, on the talks. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that KFOR is there to support the process and to prevent “spoilers from misusing the situation”. “The men and women of KFOR are there... to protect majority and minority alike,” he stressed. Since February this year Mr. Ahtisaari, former president of Finland, has been leading UN-sponsored talks on the future of Kosovo. Speaking to reporters he said that a central focus of the talks was decentralization and creating “secure living and working conditions for minorities”, particularly for the Serb minority. The North Atlantic Council visited Kosovo on 11 May, in what was a demonstration of the Alliance’s continuing commitment to peace and stability in Kosovo and the region. NATO and its Partner countries have about 17,000 troops keeping the peace in the province.