Yesterday, team admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, commander of the Interoperable Summit Operations Command (COMCOI), met in Kosovo the soldiers of the Italian contingent employed in the NATO Kosovo Force mission (KFOR).
At Pristina airport, he was greeted by division general Giovanni Fungo, commander of the mission since last September 1, who explained to COMCOI the current operational situation and together they reached Pec / Peja, headquarters of the Multinational Battle Group West, based on 62th Infantry Regiment. The visit then continued to the base of the Carabinieri of Multinational Specialized Unit of Pristina where COMCOI met the Italian ambassador, Piero Cristoforo Sardi.
Admiral Cavo Dragone expressed words of appreciation for the KFOR commitment that contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability in Kosovo and in the Balkan area, a historically complex region bridging the West and the East.
In addressing the Italian military he stressed: "you are continuing to gain the trust of the people of Kosovo by acting with commitment, humanity, and professionalism". "You represent a great country, an example in the world, especially in this historical moment in which Italy, Europe and the entire international community are facing new and changing crisis situations. Be aware of your task "and concluding" continue to work with the same passion as always ", concluded the admiral.
Italy, with the over 550 soldiers belonging to the three armed forces and to the Carabinieri, represents one of the main supporters of the mission in Kosovo, where it operates from the 1999 for the stabilization of this delicate area of the Balkans and from the 2013 maintains the leadership of the mission.
Il Multinational Battle Group West, also composed of Slovenians, Austrians and Moldavians, it operates in the west of Kosovo and is also responsible for the protection of the Visoki - Decani monastery, an important place of Orthodox worship entered into 2004 among the UNESCO protected sites and the only place in Kosovo where KFOR is still directly responsible for security.
La Multinational Specialized Unit is engaged among other things in the vigilance of the bridge over the Ibar river that divides the city of Mitrovica, a symbolic place of an ethnic and social division not yet fully resolved. Moreover, since June 1, a new Italian-led specialist information research organization has become an integral part of the KFOR multinational force.
