Kosovo Purchases Turkish "Bayraktar" Drones

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti indicated today, Sunday, that the country has purchased a number of Turkish-made "Bayraktar" drones at a time when it is experiencing unrest in the northern regions where Serbs refuse to acknowledge the authority of Pristina. Kurti stated, "The funds that our country has recently spent in the security sector have made Kosovo safer." He added, "Kosovo is now more secure and proudly so," noting that his government has increased the number of troops by 80 percent and the defense budget by more than 100 percent over the past two years. Kosovo aims to join NATO, but four of the alliance's members still do not recognize its independence from Serbia in 2008. Following the violence that occurred in May, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić placed the military on alert and mobilized units near the border with Kosovo.