(11 Jun 2019) Kosovo has awarded a special honour to former U.S. President Bill Clinton for setting the country on the path to independence from Serbia.
Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci awarded Clinton the Order of Freedom in appreciation of his role during and after Kosovo's war with Serbia in 1998-99.
Clinton, his then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other senior world politicians were in Kosovo on Tuesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the deployment of NATO troops.
"I think the whole world today, with the all its turmoil, can look to Kosovo as an example of democracy and commitment to improve, to grow and to live in peace with all the neighbors," Clinton told the gathering.
The 1998-99 war in Kosovo, then a province in Serbia, ended following a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against a bloody Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian nationalists.
More than 10,000 people died during the conflict and 1,650 are still unaccounted for.
NATO has been leading a peace support operation in Kosovo, KFOR, since the end of the conflict.
KFOR, NATO's largest operation in Europe, has troops from 28 states, with a combined strength of more than 3,500 military and civilian personnel.
Admiral James Fogo, commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command, said the aim was "to broaden and deepen our dialogue and partnership as part of a joint effort finally to fulfill our vision of a Europe – whole, free and at peace."
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