Jens Stoltenberg

BRUSSELS - Serbia is an independent, sovereign state and we respect its position that it does not want to become a NATO member, which is no obstacle to strengthening our cooperation, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels Monday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels that NATO is not considering withdrawing KFOR from Kosovo due to the current situation on the ground.

KFOR plays an important role for security and stability in Kosovo, and the NATO mission there means that any reduction in the number of troop would be based on the existing situation on the ground, he said.

Serbia is a sovereign, independent country and NATO respects its position not to join as a member, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

According to him, this is no obstacle to strengthen mutual cooperation.

North Korea announced that the recently tested rocket that had fallen off Japanese coast was the new type of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-15, according to the statement broadcasted by North Korean state television.

Pyongyang has declared the recent test successful, adding that it did not have any negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gave a guarantee to Turkey, saying that an incident like this would never happen again, in regards to a scandal targeting Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A NATO office will open shortly in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, it was announced, after Moldova's pro-Western Prime Minister Pavel Filip met NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.

Both sides said was agreed that Moldova will remain militarily neutral, according to its constitution, but Filip underlined that it wants to strengthen its relationship with NATO.

Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Ömer Çelik on Sunday called for investigating the chain of command involved in the NATO drill in Norway during which the reputation of Turkish president and founder were tarnished, Anadolu Agency reported.

BELGRADE - Miroslav Lazanski, a military commentator for Belgrade's Politika daily, says he has not seen a single statement - not even one by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg - that Serbia must join NATO, but notes the security of Kosovo Serbs is the reason why Serbia needs to cooperate with the alliance.

BRUSSELS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic requested at a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday that the military alliance's forces remain in Kosovo-Metohija.

BRUSSELS - A strong and prosperous Serbia means more security and stability in the Western Balkans, and cooperation with NATO ensures greater security to Serbia and its partners in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels Wednesday.