Kosovo’s Prime Minister says
Swiss soldiers are “very welcome”
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has spoken out in favor of strengthening Swisscoy in his country. According to him, Kosovo is not only dependent on the continuation of the mission, but also on the Swiss contribution growing.
Published: 12 minutes ago
“We always welcome more Swiss officers and soldiers,” Kurti said in an interview with CH Media on Friday. Kosovo is “infinitely grateful to Switzerland for its commitment to Swisscoy,” he said.
In November last year, the Federal Council announced that it wanted to extend the Swisscoy mission in Kosovo by three years, until the end of 2026.
A week ago, the Security Policy Commission of the Council of States also spoke out in favor of this. She had also requested that the number of members of the army be increased by a maximum of 30 people during an operation.
Swisscoy currently has a maximum of 195 members of the army. Parliament must approve the operation because it lasts longer than three weeks and involves more than 100 army personnel. The current mandate expires at the end of 2023.
The Swiss Army has been involved with Swisscoy since 1999 in the Kosovo peacekeeping mission KFOR (English for Kosovo Force), the multinational military formation set up in 1999 after the end of the Kosovo war under the leadership of NATO.