Albania and Kosovo say they will respond jointly to nationalist provocations

Tirana, 14 February 2017 (MIA) - Albania and Kosovo said that they will respond jointly to any nationalist provocation aimed at Kosovo. Albanian Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli and the Kosovan Security Force Minister Haki Demolli met in Tirana to discuss the latest tensions over Serb majority parts of northern Kosovo.
"Consolidating the Kosovan state and the inviolability of its constitutional borders was the main reason for this meeting. Any attempt to create false nationalist tensions will be met with our firm joint will to continue the dream of our people for Atlantic integration of the region we live in", said Minister Kodheli after the meeting on Monday evening. Kodheli added that Albania will double its military presence in Kosovo, as part of the international peace-keeping force.
An incident involving the re-establishment of a train link between Serbia and the city of Kosovska Mitrovica, whose northern part is majority ethnic Serb, sparked calls between Serbia and Kosovo for a return to hostilities. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 1999, following a massive NATO intervention, and declared independence in 2008, winning recognition from more than 100 countries, but no seat at the United Nations mainly due to objections from Russia.