KFOR Cancels Ulutas Meeting With Kurti on Ibar Bridge
KFOR gave no explanation for why the meeting between commander Ulutas and Kurti fell through on the very day Kurti called for the Ibar bridge to reopen to vehicles.
KFOR commander Major General Ozkan Ulutas and Albin Kurti were due to meet in the afternoon of August 22 to discuss, among other things, reopening the main bridge over the Ibar to vehicle traffic. The meeting did not take place, and KFOR’s written statement cited only “unforeseen circumstances,” without any further explanation.
Earlier that day, at a press conference, Kurti had announced that he would meet Ulutas in the afternoon and that the bridge would be the topic of discussion. He argued that since new bridges have been built in Kosovska Mitrovica, there is no reason for the main bridge to remain closed to traffic, and said residents already cross the new bridges freely, without any rise in incidents.
KFOR’s written statement, issued the same day, read:
Due to unforeseen circumstances, a meeting between KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Ulutas and Albin Kurti did not take place today. The KFOR Commander remains in close contact with all his key counterparts. KFOR continues its daily activities across Kosovo in order to maintain a safe and secure environment for all communities.
The main bridge over the Ibar has been closed to vehicles since 1999 and is secured by Italian carabinieri serving under KFOR. It separates the northern, majority Serb, part of Kosovska Mitrovica from the southern, majority Albanian, part. On August 10, KFOR announced it was beginning a gradual withdrawal of its personnel from the bridge, in preparation for a full pullout from the controlled zone around it.
That same day, August 10, the Serb List requested an urgent meeting with Ulutas and opposed the withdrawal, arguing that the Kosovo police have not earned the trust of the Serb population in northern Kosovo.
What Is Vucic Asking Rutte For?
On August 20, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, calling the withdrawal from the bridge premature and asking that it remain closed. In the same letter, he also objected to the inclusion of Kosovo police in the security arrangements around the Visoki Decani monastery.
Vucic said that between 2021 and 2026, more than 800 ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs had been recorded, and recalled that on June 28, 2026, Kosovo police detained 36 people at Gazimestan during the Vidovdan commemoration. He added that the Community of Serb Municipalities, which Pristina owes under the Brussels Agreement, still has not been formed 13 years after the agreement was signed.
Srpske vesti previously reported on NATO’s first response to Vucic’s letter about the Ibar bridge.
On the same day the meeting with Kurti was called off, Saturday, August 22, Ulutas received Brigadier General James Fowler, commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, at KFOR headquarters in the Film City base in Pristina. Their talks focused on the security situation in the region. KFOR did not publish a statement on that meeting until the next day, August 23, which made it appear the meeting had happened after the canceled sit down with Kurti, even though the two took place on the same day.
Ulutas used the occasion to reaffirm the mission’s commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment, impartially and at all times, for everyone living in Kosovo. According to the statement, the KFOR commander also outlined the mission’s ongoing activities and key priorities.
KFOR’s mandate rests on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 from 1999, and the mission coordinates with the Kosovo police and the European Union’s rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX.
No date has been announced for when Ulutas and Kurti will actually meet. Vucic has said he expects to discuss the same issue with Rutte on Monday or Tuesday.
