Kosovo Approves New Army Despite Serb Opposition, NATO Criticism

Kosovo Approves New Army Despite Serb Opposition, NATO Criticism
Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci attends a ceremony of security forces a day before parliament's vote on whether to form a national army, in Pristina, Kosovo, Dec. 13, 2018. Reuters/Laura Hasani
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PRISTINA—Kosovo’s parliament voted on Friday to create a 5,000-strong standing army, a week after Serbia’s premier suggested the move could provoke military intervention by Belgrade.

The move, coming 20 years after Kosovo Albanians’ uprising against Serbian rule and a decade after independence, was lauded as “historic” by the United States but NATO criticized it as unhelpful in efforts to ease tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.