"A significant increase in the number of NATO soldiers and military equipment… will enhance security and peace in Kosovo and throughout the Western Balkans region," Kurti told German media.
The partially-recognized Republic of Kosovo is currently increasing defense spending and the number of its soldiers and reservists, the prime minister noted.
"An increase in the number of soldiers in the NATO peacekeeping force KFOR [Kosovo Force] will support our defense efforts," Kurti said.
The NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo currently has about 3,800 KFOR soldiers deployed in the republic, including about 70 troops from Germany, the report said, adding that up to 400 German military personnel could be sent to Kosovo by decision of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament.
The situation in Kosovo and Metohija remains tense. On December 10, Serbs in the north of Kosovo began setting up barricades in protest against the arrest of several Serb police officers by the Kosovar authorities over alleged war crimes and terrorism dating back to the 1998-1999 conflict.
The Kosovo war broke out on 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999 due to the armed conflict between the Serbian military and the Albanian-led Kosovo Liberation Army, a separatist group aspiring to gain the status of a constituent republic in what was then Yugoslavia. Amid the hostilities, the region was subjected to unauthorized NATO airstrikes in March-June 1999. The illegitimate intervention resulted in the deaths of over 2,500 people, including 87 children, and caused over $100 billion in damage.
In February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia and nearly 100 UN member states have since recognized its independence. Several countries, including Russia, Serbia, China, Greece, have not.