Kosovo has asked the United States to establish a permanent military base in the country and speed up its integration into NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kosovo’s Defence Minister Armend Mehaj said on Sunday. The United States has already 635 soldiers in the Balkan country to maintain the fragile peace as part of a NATO peacekeeping mission. “Accelerating Kosovo’s membership in NATO and having a permanent base of American forces is an immediate need to guarantee peace, security and stability in the Western Balkans,” Mehaj said on his Facebook page. Kosovo has joined other countries i…