German troops pulling out of KFOR

Less than a month after the Dutch contribution to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) came to an end, Germany says its military presence in the self-proclaimed republic will wrap up before the end of next year. Only a limited number of officers will stay on to train the future "Kosovo Army."

When asked by Sputnik why Germany, one of the five NATO countries which make up the bulk of the multinational Kosovo Force, decided to pull out, Serbian military expert Andrej Mlakar said that, first, Germany, along with the US, are against the proposed creation of a Kosovo army, and argue that the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) stationed in the country is enough.

"The second reason is that the German armed forces are now focusing on fighting terrorism, preventing the threats stemming from the influx of refugees and also on containing Russia in the wake of the so-called 'annexation of Crimea,'"...