The Military Technical Agreement, also known as the Kumanovo Agreement, signed between the International Security Force (KFOR) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, was an accord concluded on 9 June 1999 in Kumanovo, Macedonia. It resulted in the end of the Kosovo War,[1] and established new basic relations between Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Force, which would act to replace units of the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo.
| Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force (KFOR) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Ceasefire agreement |
| Signed | 9 June 1999 (1999-06-09) |
| Location | Kumanovo, Macedonia |
| Effective | 10 June 1999 (1999-06-10) |
| Signatories | |
| Parties | |
| Languages | |
| Military Technical Agreement | |
The run-up to the Kumanovo Agreement involved a flurry of negotiations not just between Yugoslavia and Serbia but also NATO and Russia. Despite the initial agreement, for instance, on a withdrawal timetable for the Serbian forces in Kosovo, NATO's Operation Allied Force was still underway, pending the completion of full withdrawal of the Serbian troops.[2]
There are sources that cite the role that Russia played in the immediate resolution of the accord. There was a claim about a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. An initial agreement between the two parties was reached, which involved a commitment on the part of NATO to cease its airstrikes and a willingness to remove a passage it wanted to include in the Kumanovo Agreement in exchange for Russian support for a forthcoming UN Resolution agreed by the Group of Eight.[2] Without the Russian participation, the UN Security Council Resolution on Kosovo would not have been approved and the NATO airstrikes would have continued.[2]
The key provisions of the agreement were designed to enable the following:
The NATO presence was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, which authorized UN Member states and international organizations to maintain an international security presence, as Kosovo Force (KFOR),[3] whose mandate is open-ended unless the UN Security Council decides otherwise. The KFOR was authorized to take all actions necessary to ensure compliance with the agreement.[4]
