NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Kosovo Thursday for talks with local leaders and commanders of the NATO-led peacekeeping presence, known as Kosovo Force (KFOR), which has been deployed there for a decade, according to dpa. On his first visit to Kosovo since his appointment to head the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Danish diplomat was set to meet KFOR Commander Giuseppe Emilion Gay, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Fatmir Sejdiu and other officials. He is expected to send a message of continued support for Kosovo, which last year unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, though he may also open discussions on the goal of further reducing or totally ending the NATO mission there, local observers said. NATO entered Kosovo in June 1999, after ousting Serbian security forces from the territory to end a brutal crackdown on the majority Albanian population. The initial force of some 50,000 troops was meanwhile reduced to fewer than 20,000. Though Serbia, which says it would never recognize Kosovo and would continue to fight its independence diplomatically, ruled out a military campaign, the former province remains ethnically divided and prone to violence. Violence is a threat particularly in Kosovo's northern section, where Serbs are in the majority and where Belgrade's influence remains strong.
