The security situation in Kosovo is clearly deteriorating and NATO is increasing its presence in the spring, also with the help of the Bundeswehr - Germany's armed forces.

Brigadier General Ralf Hammerstein explains to Die Welt how nationalists are mobilizing in Serbia - and why the volatile situation in the Western Balkans is fulfilling the wishes of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Almost 25 years have passed since NATO intervened in the former Yugoslavia in 1999 and forced Serbian troops to withdraw from Kosovo. The Alliance then installed the KFOR mission to stabilize the situation – and continues to do so to this day. Even more soldiers will be needed again in the future, explains Brigadier General Ralf Hammerstein, who has advised the Government of Kosovo militarily as director of the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team since April 2023.

Hammerstein said that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is not progressing properly, as he adds that no border in the Western Balkans will be able to exist in good faith.

"They are all new states here in the Western Balkans and almost all governments are following a nationalist direction. If you look back at the history of the Yugoslav conflict, you will see that there are perpetrators and victims on all sides. There are ethnic boundaries that have been established. This ethno-nationalism, however, is the opposite of reconciliation. As long as ideas such as Greater Serbia or Greater Albania are proclaimed - and these are not the narratives of any extremist - no border will be able to exist in good faith.

According to him, Prishtina and Belgrade are pursuing a policy of maximum sovereignty and reciprocity, which leads to conflicts such as the license plate dispute in November last year.

"Belgrade banned the entry of Kosovar license plates and the new government in Pristina has reacted accordingly to support its sovereignty. This seemingly technocratic point of contention led to the withdrawal of Kosovo Serb officials from all institutions and new elections in northern Kosovo, which were boycotted by the Kosovo Serb population. All this led to violent unrest in May this year – and finally to a clash between KFOR soldiers and Serbian demonstrators, in which more than 90 KFOR soldiers were injured, some of them in serious condition", he said.