Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said that there is no plan for the military alliance to reduce the size of its KFOR deployment in Kosovo.

Kosovo daily newspaper Zeri, in a report on March 5 2009, quoted Scheffer as saying: "Those who are speculating on any reductions of KFOR, including those in uniform, do not speak on behalf of Nato on this issue".

A day earlier, UK and international media reported that UK defence secretary John Hutton had told parliament that the 167 UK troops currently serving in Kosovo would be drawn down to a "small number of posts" by September.

According to the UK defence ministry, the decision was made because the situation in Kosovo had changed, above all in terms of improvements in the security situation.

"Key moments, connected with Kosovo's independence declaration, have passed without serious incident; the security situation in Kosovo is generally peaceful," the UK defence ministry said.

On March 4 2009, AFP reported, quoting Nato spokesperson James Appathurai, that Nato defence ministers could discuss cutting the number of alliance troops in Kosovo at a meeting in June because some countries believed that the peacekeeping force is too big.

But Appathurai rejected a Serbian newspaper report that the 16 000-strong KFOR peacekeeping contingent would be scaled down to a "symbolic" mission this year.

"It is possible that there could be discussion on a modification to the structure of KFOR, which would imply discussion about a possible reduction. That discussion might be possible in June, but not before," he said.

Some, but not all, countries believed that there could be a reduction, Appathurai said.