Serbia to Ask NATO Mission to Allow Deployment of Serbian Security Forces in Kosovo -Vucic

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Serbia will send a formal request to the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission command for permission to deploy Serbian military and police in Kosovo, even though it is likely to be rejected, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday.

"In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, we will send a request to the KFOR commander to arrange for the deployment of the Serbian army and police contingent in Kosovo and Metohija," Vucic said in his address to the nation and read out the relevant paragraph of the Security Council resolution.

The government's official decision on sending the request to the KFOR command will be made on Monday, the Serbian leader said.

"Of course, I have no illusions, and I know that they will deny this request. And I'm telling you that in advance," Vucic stressed, noting that it was still necessary to try.

Vucic also alleged that Kosovo authorities will apply for European Union (EU) membership on December 15 in violation of previous agreements, including one made in Washington.

"Pristina will formally apply for EU membership on December 15 with great fanfare in Brussels," Vucic said in his address to the nation.

He noted that the upcoming application would be "a bad idea."

"This is a very unpleasant event for us, a direct violation of the Washington agreement, an indicator that they don't want to honor the agreements reached during the Republican [US] administration and can violate as they want," the Serbian leader said.

Vucic added that he would send a letter to the heads of the five EU countries that do not recognize Kosovo's independence, namely Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania, stressing that EU regulations stipulate that only European states can apply for EU membership, a condition the self-proclaimed republic does not meet.