Kosovo (Hansard, 19 July 1999)

§ 17. Mr. Campbell-Savours
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records are to be kept on the Kosovo military campaign; and where they are to be located. [90216]

§ Mr. George Robertson
Records of every aspect of the campaign are kept. They will be drawn upon in work undertaken as lessons to be learned and subsequently archived in accordance with the Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967.
420W

§ 18. Mr. Casale
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current security situation in Kosovo. [90217]

§ 24. Dr. Naysmith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current security situation in Kosovo. [90223]

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in Kosovo. [90213]

§ Mr. George Robertson
The Security situation in Kosovo continues to improve as KFOR becomes larger and increasingly well established. While incidents such as looting and murder are still occurring, Serb and KLA compliance with their respective undertakings has been satisfactory so far. Around 700,000 refugees have returned and are vigorously rebuilding their lives. This is due in no small part to the efforts of KFOR troops who continue to do an excellent job.
Improvements in the security situation, and the continuing arrival in theatre of troops from other nations, make it possible for me to announce some further withdrawals of British troops from Kosovo. Between August and October, we will be bringing home the 1 PARA, 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles, and the Irish Guards battle groups together with their supporting elements.
These withdrawals, together with the withdrawals of units of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy announced last month, will go a long way to help relieve the overstretch in the Armed Forces. Further withdrawals, including that of HQ Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, will follow.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution he and his Department are making to(a) the United States and (b) NATO post-Kosovo reviews. [91576]

§ Mr. George Robertson
The Ministry of Defence is looking at the lessons learned from the Kosovo conflict, and is contributing to similar work at NATO. I and my Department will continue to have contacts with Allies, including the US, on a wide range of issues, including lessons learned.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops Russia has committed to Operation Joint Guardian; how many Russian troops have been deployed; what is the deadline for the deployment of Russian troops to Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [91571]

§ Mr. George Robertson
The total number of Russian forces committed to Operation Joint Guardian will not exceed 3,600. Five battalions (approximately 2,850 troops) will be deployed in the three sectors, and up to 750 troops for airfield and logistics base operations. There will also be 16 liaison officers.
There is no NATO deadline for the deployment of Russian troops to Kosovo. As of 15 July 1999, 713 members of the Russian armed forces were deployed in Kosovo.
NATO allies welcome the Russian contribution to Operation Joint Guardian. NATO and Russia have worked together successfully in Bosnia and look forward to doing the same in Kosovo.
421W

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel and at what grade or rank are currently reviewing the Strategic Defence Review following the Kosovo conflict. [91575]

§ Mr. George Robertson
I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I gave on 10 May 1999,Official Report, column 8, to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Sir S. Chapman).

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if all Serbian paramilitary forces have left Kosovo; [91591]
(2) how many members of (a) the Yugoslav army, (b) the SAJ anti-terrorist police and (c) the PJP combat police forces he estimates have left Kosovo. [91572]

§ Mr. George Robertson
COMKFOR declared on 20 June 1999 that all Serbian military and paramilitary forces had left Kosovo.

§ Mr. Syms
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of Serb armour in Kosovo which survived the bombing campaign. [90211]

§ Mr. George Robertson
Now that K-FOR troops are deployed in Kosovo, a full assessment of the damage inflicted on Yugoslav forces, and the proportion of Serb armour in Kosovo that survived the campaign, is underway. This will take some time to complete.