PRISTINA, Kosovo

Kosovo leaders on Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of NATO's "Operation Allied Force" launched against the former Yugoslavia.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani laid a wreath at the NATO monument in the capital city of Pristina.

Osmani thanked NATO member countries for "not turning a blind eye to the suffering of the Kosovar people at that time."

Kosovo believes it will soon join NATO as a member and stand alongside its "friends," helping other countries and repaying its debt, he said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on X described NATO's air campaign as "one of the most successful humanitarian interventions in history," emphasizing that it halted the "unspeakable horrors of genocide."

"We are always grateful to the world leaders & the countries involved, who used politics to protect humanity," Kurti added.

25 years since NATO air campaign in former Yugoslavia

NATO launched an air campaign on March 24, 1999, due to the former Yugoslavia's failure to stop oppression in Kosovo. It lasted until June 10, 1999.

During the air campaign, command and control systems, military barracks and units, air defense systems, energy and communication infrastructure, and fuel facilities in present-day Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo suffered heavy damage.

Operation leading to Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo and multinational peacekeeping is considered pivotal in Kosovo's path to independence.

Türkiye joined the operation with 10 F-16s based at Italy's Ghedi Air Base, logging around 2,000 flight hours.

Resolution 1244 granted the UN authority in Kosovo, leading to the deployment of NATO's peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), including Turkish troops.

Currently, KFOR comprises over 4,500 military personnel from 27 countries.

Kosovo war and independence

In the Kosovo war of 1998-1999, more than 10,000 Kosovars, mostly Albanians, were killed, and over a million Kosovar civilians from various ethnic groups were forced to flee their homes.

The main reason for the frequent tensions between the two countries is said to be Serbia's view of Kosovo, which declared unilateral independence in 2008, as its own territory.

Kosovo and Serbia are working through the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process initiated in 2011 to normalize relations and ultimately find a common path toward mutual recognition.

Recent tensions in northern Kosovo have contributed to the deadlock in the process.