Italy says it will not withdraw troops from KFOR

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Italy will neither withdraw its troops from KFOR nor reduce its staff in the mission, local media quoted Italian government officials as saying on Monday (April 6th).

Italy will not make any move in that direction without a decision by NATO, Italian Deputy Defence Minister Giuseppe Cossiga said. He added that protecting Serbs and other non-Albanian communities in Kosovo, as well as Orthodox churches and monasteries, will be a mission priority.

In other news, the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) movement is accusing the Kosovo government of misusing taxpayers’ money to finance Serb parallel structures, local media reported on Monday.

Vetevendosje says 26 officials continue to receive money from the Kosovo budget while serving as part of parallel structures “working against [Kosovo’s] independence and territorial integrity”, movement member Glauk Konjufca said.