"This is the mission that has seen us engaged for more time, from 1999, and in recent years, five Italian generals have followed the leadership of KFOR's multinational force"This is how General Claudio Graziano, Chief of Defense Staff, arrived in Kosovo, at the Film City base in Pristina, the headquarters of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) Mission Command.
Accepted by the commander of the KFOR multinational force, General Salvatore Cuoci, he met Italian personnel of all armed forces at "Casa Italia" affirming that "Your contribution is of particular importance to our country, because Kosovo is in an area that for geographical and historical reasons is of direct interest also for national security. This is an important theater, perhaps more than other areas of operation we are engaged in, where it is necessary to continue to contribute actively to initiatives aimed at achieving a definitive stabilization path".
"The Western Balkans indeed - added General Graziano - are of primary strategic and security interest, above all in the current complexity of the international scenario we are experiencing and where we are called upon to face many challenges, including the fight against Daesh and the phenomenon of international terrorism, the control of migratory flows, even from the Balkans, and the contrast to illicit traffic".
"Our presence in this area, which today, thanks to the commitment of the international community, appears more stable - continued the Chief of Defense Staff - it remains fundamental because it is a territory potentially subject to extreme tensions, which can result from both internal crises and influences from the outside, and so it is even more important that you, employed in the various components of the mission, always have a constant perception and attention to what is the reality around you".
General Graziano, in expressing his appreciation for the work so far carried out, concluded that "with about 500 Italian military committed to being the second contributing nation of KFOR after the United States, we have achieved excellent results and this is above all due to your constant commitment and your undisputable professionalism, not only to peace service for these territories but also for the security of our country".
At the margins of the visit, the Chief of Defense Staff also met with the Military Chiefs of the Mission, seizing military contingents from 29 Countries, as well as the Italian Ambassador to Pristina, Pietro Cristoforo Sardi, focusing on the main issues that concern Kosovo, with particular attention to the current socio-political situation, security and the fundamental role that NATO is playing as a crucial partner in the process of stabilization of the Balkans. "
