UN Security Council to meet on Kosovo's decision to create army

The meeting was requested by Serbia and Russia and will be held in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the government said in a statement. 

The meeting is scheduled to start at 21:00 CET.

The decision of the government in Pristina to turn the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army has been taken in gross violation of Security Council resolution 1244, which provides for the deployment of an international security presence, authorised to establish a safe environment for all people in Kosovo, the permanent representative of Serbia to the UN, Milan Milanovic, said in a letter to the President of the Security Council on Friday.

"No establishment of any other armed force is provided for in the resolution. This act of blatant violation of the documents of the United Nations represents a serious threat to regional peace and security and runs a risk of spreading instability far beyond the region," Milanovic said in the letter published on the website of the UN Security Council.

Last week, Kosovo's parliament adopted three laws for initiating the process of KSF transformation into a professional army, finalising the full internal consolidation of the Republic of Kosovo, the government in Pristina said.

The decision of the parliament in Pristina was backed by the US, while NATO warned that it was ill-timed, as it risks heightening tensions with Serbia which does not recognise the independence of Kosovo. A spokesperson for the European Commission commented that "like NATO, the European Union continues to share the view that the mandate of the KSF should only be changed through an inclusive and gradual process in accordance with Kosovo constitution."

Kosovo, considered to be a potential candidate for EU membership by the European Commission, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has so far has been recognized by more than half of the 193 UN member states.