Serbian president Boris Tadic has written to United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon and Nato secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer protesting against the formation of the Kosovo Security Force, international and Serbian news agencies reported on January 22 2009.

The Kosovo Security Force has 2500 full-time members and 800 reservists. To be trained by KFOR to meet Nato standards, the new outfit - described by Nato as a "lightly-armed formation" rather than an army - replaces the Kosovo Protection Corps.

According to media reports, the new body will be made up of ethnic Albanians and Kosovo Serbs but the ethnic Albanians will be in the majority. Its operational languages will be Albanian and Serbian.

Serbia, whose adamant rejection of Kosovo's February 2008 unilateral declaration of independence includes having mustered UN General Assembly support for a request to the World Court for an opinion on the validity of Kosovo's independence, sees the Kosovo Security Force as an illegal paramilitary formation.

Serbian news agency Beta quoted Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic as saying that the move by Nato to put the Kosovo Security Force into operation had harmed relations between Belgrade and Nato. Jeremic said that he would raise the matter in the UN Security Council and all international regional security organisations.

Tadic, in an interview with Serbian broadcaster B92 on January 19, said "Serbia does not accept the formation of Kosovo security forces and we will never accept such a solution," AFP reported. Tadic said that Belgrade "will insist in all international
forums and in Nato to disband these forces as they do not contribute to security in Kosovo."

"Demilitarisation (of Kosovo) is the only way to ensure security for people who live there," Tadic said.

The BBC reported on January 21 2009 that the plan was for the Kosovo Security Force to be engaged in tasks such as civil protection and crisis response. It is being overseen by Nato, which has 15 000 peacekeepers in Kosovo and will retain ultimate responsibility for security.

On January 20, daily newspapers in Kosovo reported Scheffer as having told a news conference the previous day that Nato was ready to discuss Serbia's proposal for the removal of the security zone at the Kosovo-Serbia border.

"If Serbia makes such a proposal, I am ready to discuss it," Scheffer was quoted as saying.

Scheffer said that in Kosovo, Nato military personnel, KFOR and the EU mission had well co-ordinated co-operation and that each organisation knew its own role.