{"id":85175,"date":"2026-06-12T18:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=85175"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:27:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:27:40","slug":"nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced that it will \u201coptimize\u201d its presence and gradually reduce the number of troops serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo.<\/p>\n

The decision to decrease troop numbers over the coming year follows the continued improvement of the security situation in Kosovo in recent years.<\/p>\n

NATO had already halted the deployment of reserve forces in January this year. These forces had been serving on a continuous rotational basis within KFOR for more than two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current conditions provide an opportunity to optimize the size and positioning of KFOR,\u201d NATO\u2019s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. General Alexus G. Grynkewich, said in a statement issued on June 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cNATO and KFOR remain fully committed to security in Kosovo. It is precisely because of this commitment that the security situation in Kosovo has improved, as Kosovo\u2019s security institutions have strengthened their capabilities,\u201d Grynkewich added.<\/p>\n

The Western military alliance stated that troop adjustments will be carried out in line with developments on the ground, emphasizing that the decision can be reversed immediately should security conditions deteriorate or change.<\/p>\n

The development comes on the 27th anniversary of Kosovo\u2019s liberation, marking nearly three decades since 1999, when, following 78 days of air strikes against Serbian targets, allied forces led by the United States entered Kosovo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced that it will \u201coptimize\u201d its presence and gradually reduce the number of troops serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. The decision to decrease troop numbers over the coming year follows the continued improvement of the security situation in Kosovo in recent years. NATO had already halted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":85176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced that it will \u201coptimize\u201d its presence and gradually reduce the number of troops serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. The decision to decrease troop numbers over the coming year follows the continued improvement of the security situation in Kosovo in recent years. NATO had already halted […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"422\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nen Si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f\"},\"headline\":\"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\"},\"wordCount\":225,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"kryesore 1\",\"Kryesoret\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Albania\",\"Latest news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\",\"name\":\"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp\",\"width\":640,\"height\":422},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Euronews Albania\",\"description\":\"Top stories in Albania, Kosovo and the Balkans\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Euronews Albania\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png\",\"width\":280,\"height\":33,\"caption\":\"Euronews Albania\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/euronewsalbania\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f\",\"name\":\"Nen Si\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/euronews.al\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/author\/nensi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania","og_description":"The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced that it will \u201coptimize\u201d its presence and gradually reduce the number of troops serving in the KFOR mission in Kosovo. The decision to decrease troop numbers over the coming year follows the continued improvement of the security situation in Kosovo in recent years. NATO had already halted […]","og_url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/","og_site_name":"Euronews Albania","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":422,"url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Nen Si","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@euronewsalbania","twitter_site":"@euronewsalbania","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nen Si","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/"},"author":{"name":"Nen Si","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f"},"headline":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo","datePublished":"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/"},"wordCount":225,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp","keywords":["kryesore 1","Kryesoret"],"articleSection":["Albania","Latest news"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/","name":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo - Euronews Albania","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-12T16:34:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-12T17:27:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/640-0-7cd53ed265a0858a428306b63446eb2b.webp","width":640,"height":422},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-plans-gradual-withdrawal-of-troops-from-kosovo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NATO Plans Gradual Withdrawal of Troops from Kosovo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/","name":"Euronews Albania","description":"Top stories in Albania, Kosovo and the Balkans","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization","name":"Euronews Albania","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logo-mobile-euronews-albania-1.png","width":280,"height":33,"caption":"Euronews Albania"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/","https:\/\/x.com\/euronewsalbania"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f","name":"Nen Si","sameAs":["http:\/\/euronews.al\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/author\/nensi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85175"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85177,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85175\/revisions\/85177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}