Rutte: KFOR to maintain between 3,000 and 3,500 troops in the future

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the Alliance’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) would be reduced to between 3,000 and 3,500 troops in the coming period.

KFOR currently comprises approximately 4,700 personnel. Rutte told a press conference in Brussels that NATO intends to return to the troop levels maintained prior to 2023. He noted that the exact numbers will depend on evolving circumstances, but that the mission’s presence is expected to fluctuate within that 3,000 to 3,500 range.

The NATO secretary general said that this reduction reflects an improved security situation on the ground. However, he emphasized that KFOR remains fully committed and focused on its core mission.

The troop increase took place in 2023, when NATO deployed nearly a thousand additional soldiers to Kosovo following a surge in tensions in the Serb-majority northern region.