Minister of Communities and Returns in the Kosovo government Sasa Rasic said that a total of 1,553 persons returned to Kosovo in 2009, and evaluated that "security and freedom of movement are no longer a problem for the return of the refugees."

Speaking of the plans for the return in 2010 at a press conference in Pristina, Rasic said that several hundred refugee families are expected to come back to Kosovo.

"We will make possible for 50 to 60 families to return to the municipalities of Vucitrn, Prizren and Klina through the joint projects with our local partners.

When it comes to the outstanding project supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), we expect 140 families to return in the first half of 2010, and 150 families in the second half of the year," Rasic pointed out.

He appealed to all the refugees from Kosovo to return to their homes. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Kosovo Chief of Mission Herman Stuurwold said that this organization will continue to support the return to Kosovo. It is not easy to ask of people to return to their homeland under any circumstances. This implies a greater effort to provide safe environment for them, Stuurwold underlined.