Vucevic: Potential US withdrawal from KFOR could make security conditions "complex"

SARAJEVO - Serbia's caretaker PM Milos Vucevic said on Friday in Sarajevo a potential US withdrawal from KFOR could make the security conditions in Serbia's autonomous province of Kosovo-Metohija "complex".

Asked by reporters to comment on reports by German media outlets that US troops would withdraw from Camp Bondsteel base in Kosovo-Metohija, Vucevic responded that a potential US exit from KFOR depended on a decision by US President Donald Trump and his administration, and noted that Serbia would be watching the situation.

"That can make the security conditions in Kosovo-Metohija complex, and all geopolitical developments regarding Ukraine as well as the relations among NATO partners, it all has an impact," Vucevic said after a meeting with Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia.

He noted that, under the Kumanovo Agremeent, KFOR was in charge of ensuring security to all people in Kosovo-Metohija and, especially, the Serb population, and added that a scenario where the so-called Kosovo Security Force would replace KFOR in Serb communities was absolutely unacceptable.

"For us, that is very dangerous, and we do not know whether America will reallocate its armed forces in Europe. We will be watching the situation to assess what that means for the security of the Republic of Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija," Vucevic said.