NATO to Scale Down Kosovo Peacekeeping Force as Stability Improves

Belgium-NATO said on Friday it will reduce troop levels in its Kosovo peacekeeping mission, citing an improved security environment in the region while stressing that adjustments will remain gradual and reversible depending on conditions on the ground.

The NATO-led KFOR mission, which currently numbers about 4,600 personnel, has been deployed in Kosovo since the end of the 1998-1999 conflict between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serbian forces.US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the alliance saw an opportunity to “optimize KFOR’s size and posture further” as stability improved.

NATO said the planned reductions would be “calibrated” and implemented over time, with the possibility of reversal if the security situation deteriorates.The announcement comes as the United States signals a broader effort to reduce its military presence in Europe, according to European diplomats cited prior to the decision.

The US currently contributes just under 600 troops to the KFOR mission, based on April figures.In 2023, NATO deployed an additional 1,000 troops to Kosovo following a spike in tensions, though that reinforcement was later halted earlier this year after conditions stabilized.While the situation has improved overall, tensions remain in northern Kosovo, where the majority-Serb population resides.

The last major incident occurred in September 2023, when a Kosovo police officer was killed during a gunbattle with Serb separatists.NATO did not specify which national contingents would be affected by the reduction.