Today, in the House of Commons during oral defence questions, I raised the very important issue of Kosovo and the possible impact Russia’s new president, Mr. Medvedev, could have in the current situation there.
Mr. Medvedev visited Belgrade twice during his campaign to show solidarity with the Serbs over Kosovo. Russia’s newly appointed Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has warned that Russia could use military force if the Kosovo situation worsens.
I asked what assessment the Government has made of how the new Russian government might affect the security situation in Kosovo. The answer I received was a pre-rehearsed line mentioning “continuing assessments” by the Ministry of Defence and a “hope that everyone plays a constructive role” in the region.
When it comes to the Balkans, the Russians, and the future of European security I am looking for a little more than “continuing assessments” and “hope” from the Government.
Furthermore, it just so happens that the UK currently provides the troops for the Operational Readiness Force (ORF), the pan- Balkans reserve force that is double-hatted for both EU troops in Bosnia and NATO troops in Kosovo. This at a time when roughly 20 per cent of British forces are deployed on operations or conducting other military tasks.
It was no secret that the date Kosovo was expected to declare independence would fall in the early part of 2008, yet the Government did not make a prior agreement with another NATO member to provide the troops for the ORF. If the ORF has to be deployed to either Kosovo or Bosnia in the event of a security crisis, regardless of what Government Ministers say, it will have an impact on our overstretched Armed Forces.
The UK has deployed the ORF once before in 2004 and in doing so required more than 30 C-130 and five C-17 sorties. This is a huge amount of strategic airlift. Keep in mind the deployment of the ORF in 2004 was executed well before we had 7,900 troops in Afghanistan and the required air bridge it needs for logistical support. With the amount of airlift that is required to support on-going missions in Iraq and Afghanistan we will, at the very least, be challenged in providing the same level of response now.
This is just another example this Government failing to plan properly and our allies failing to share the burden fairly.
