UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, October 28, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: In addition to the runoffs, two more rounds of elections expected (media)
Kurti: Serbia must hand over chief criminal Radoicic (media)
Citaku to Kurti: The people now know what your governance brings (media)
Abdixhiku reacts to Kurti, accuses him of eight-month blockade (media)
Osmani in Saudi Arabia calls for visa facilitation for Kosovo people (media)
Abdixhiku meets Limaj; “an excellent meeting with an excellent friend” (media)
Kosovo puts Lake Ujmani and Mount Mokna under protection (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: Serbia values its place in Europe between East, West and close ties with US (Tanjug)
Petkovic: “Kurti is the biggest destroyer of dialogue and peace in the Western Balkans“ (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian Parliamentary Delegation attends NATO PA committee meeting in Palermo (Tanjug)
Vucic: Croatians won’t take over NIS (N1)

International Media:

Kurti’s failure to form government leaves Kosovo in limbo (BIRN)
Kosovo police station failed to process hundreds of reports of offences (BIRN)
Montenegro to scrap visa-free regime for Turkish citizens (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: In addition to the runoffs, two more rounds of elections expected (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti confirmed that, after failing to form a new government, receiving only 56 votes in Parliament, Kosovo will head to new elections. He stated that there is no other solution besides elections and announced that Kosovo will likely face two rounds of parliamentary elections, one in December and another in spring, in addition to the upcoming municipal runoffs. Kurti blamed the Democratic League of Kosovo and Nisma parties for refusing to join a governing coalition, saying that with their support he would have had enough votes to form a government and elect a new president.

He admitted there is uncertainty regarding the 2026 state budget, since a caretaker government can propose the draft but cannot ensure its approval without a parliamentary majority.

Kurti also said he has been “the most insulted prime minister in Kosovo’s history” and criticized the LDK for its unwillingness to cooperate, both nationally and locally.

He mentioned that he had envisioned Speaker Dimal Basha as a minister in his proposed cabinet and claimed that Vetevendosje remains united and ready for elections.

In conclusion, Kurti said the next elections will be “a referendum between our four years of governance and the past governments.”

Kurti: Serbia must hand over chief criminal Radoicic (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in a press conference with journalists, addressed relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “With official Belgrade, we have agreements, not only dialogue mediated by Brussels, dating back to February 2023. In addition, we also have the Implementation Annex of the Agreement, which was reached in March of the same year,” Kurti underlined.

He added that Kosovo had expressed its readiness to implement these agreements to achieve normalization of relations, but that this requires Serbia to take concrete action,starting with the surrender of Radoicic. “At the same time, we demand that Serbia hand over the chief criminal and terrorist Milan Radoicic. From our point of view, he is a fugitive, while from Belgrade’s official stance, he seems to act as a kind of bodyguard for the president of Serbia. And he is not alone, he is accompanied by at least 44 paramilitaries who killed Kosovo Police officer Afrim Bunjaku. Therefore, they should be handed over to our authorities, because in Kosovo they would face a fair trial. Kosovo is a state governed by the rule of law, far more democratic than Serbia,” Kurti stated.

He further added that, “unfortunately, Serbia is increasingly turning into a “second Belarus” in Europe.”

Citaku to Kurti: The people now know what your governance brings (media)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vlora Citaku reacted to caretaker Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti’s remarks during a press conference on Monday, arguing that he has turned “the state of Kosovo into a theatre stage” and that Kosovo is faced with international isolation, sanctions and economic crisis. According to Citaku, for five years during Kurti’s governance, there has been poverty and mass fleeing of people from Kosovo. “For him, governance makes sense only if he rules alone. The people now know who he is and what his governance brings,” she said in a Facebook post.

Abdixhiku reacts to Kurti, accuses him of eight-month blockade (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, has responded to caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who recently said he was surprised by LDK’s stance and claimed the party has not distanced itself from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Abdixhiku accused Kurti of paralyzing Kosovo for eight months, usurping institutions, and repeatedly violating the Constitution. “A man who blocks the state for eight months claiming he has the votes but is being stopped, and in the end deceives everyone; A man who violates the Constitution 48 times and brags about it; A man who usurps institutions by being both prime minister and MP; A man who disrespects the Republic’s courts, unlike those in the country where he raises his own family; A man who places himself above the prosecution and protects corrupt party members simply because they are his; A man who insults and divides wherever he goes; A man who accuses his political opponents, the very house of democracy, of being ‘traitors to Serbia’ just because they think differently; A man who insults our electorate by calling them ‘animals’ and then expects submission; A man who isolates our Republic and jeopardizes the future of our children; A man who cannot understand cooperation, unity, and reconciliation," Abdixhiku said referring to Kurti.

Osmani in Saudi Arabia calls for visa facilitation for Kosovo people (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani was received on Monday in an official meeting by the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman. The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, Grand Mufti Naim Ternava. Osmani expressed her gratitude for the longstanding friendship and continuous support that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided to Kosovo over the years. She emphasized the importance of further strengthening relations between the two countries, according to a statement from the Presidency’s press office.

Osmani proposed facilitating travel for Kosovo people through the introduction of electronic visa applications, an initiative that was welcomed with particular interest by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The statement further noted that discussions focused on deepening economic cooperation and opening new chapters in bilateral relations. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to peace, stability, and regional and global cooperation, as well as their readiness to sign new agreements in areas of mutual interest.

President Osmani also expressed Kosovo’s readiness to expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia in renewable energy, tourism, agriculture and food security, education, digital innovation, and sustainable development, emphasizing that these areas represent a strong foundation for building a long-term partnership between the two nations.

Abdixhiku meets Limaj; “an excellent meeting with an excellent friend” (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku met on Monday with the leader of NISMA Fatmir Limaj. Abdixhiku told reporters that “it was an excellent meeting with an excellent friend”. Asked what they discussed at the meeting, Abdixhiku said: “if we had wanted you [the media] to know we would have invited you”.

Kosovo puts Lake Ujmani and Mount Mokna under protection (Koha)

Kosovo’s caretaker Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, said on Monday that Mount Mokna and Lake Ujmani/Gazivoda have been placed under protection. He said that the decision which he signed last week for preliminary protection “is one of the most important decisions for the protection of nature in Kosovo”. “With this decision, the Republic of Kosovo becomes the country with the highest percentage of territory under nature protection in the entire Western Balkans. After a year-long field study, it has been established that this area constitutes a rare natural asset, with rich biodiversity and landscapes of particular ecological and scientific importance", Durmishi said in a Facebook post.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: Serbia values its place in Europe between East, West and close ties with US (Tanjug)

Serbia values its place in Europe between the East and the West, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said, noting Serbia's close relationship with the US, Tanjug news agency reported.

"Serbia is very proud of its independent foreign and security policy, which has been deeply rooted in the history of our nation and has enabled us to remain independent for centuries, although we are small", Djuric told Fox News Digital in an interview at the weekend.

He said Serbia's strategic partnership with the US was growing, "for which there is bipartisan consensus in this country".

Watch the interview at: https://shorturl.at/aPzLy

Petkovic: “Kurti is the biggest destroyer of dialogue and peace in the Western Balkans“ (Kosovo Online, media)

Albin Kurti is becoming increasingly nervous each day due to his inability to form a government, which is why he is once again attacking Belgrade, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic said yesterday, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Member of Parliament (Albin) Kurti is falling apart at the seams, venting his frustrations through attacks on President Aleksandar Vucic. Kurti is the biggest destroyer of dialogue and peace in the Western Balkans”, Petkovic said.

During his address to the media on Monday, Kurti said, among other things, that “Serbia is increasingly becoming like another Belarus in Europe”.

Serbian Parliamentary Delegation attends NATO PA committee meeting in Palermo (Tanjug)

The head of Serbia's standing Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Zoran Dragisic and delegation member Natasa Jovanovic attended on Monday in Palermo a joint meeting of the NATO PA Political Committee, the Committee on Democracy and Security and the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group, Tanjug news agency reported.

"During the meeting with members of the Spanish delegation – Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Fernando Gutierrez and Chairman of the Committee on Democracy and Security Javier Maroto, the head of the Serbian delegation, Prof Dr Zoran Dragisic, thanked Spain for its continued and strong support for our country, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the contribution of Spanish soldiers as part of KFOR in Kosovo and Metohija", an official statement said.

"Delegation member Natasa Jovanovic expressed her satisfaction with the exceptional cooperation with her colleagues from Spain, who are representatives of the Spanish People's Party, with whom the Serbian Progressive Party in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as well as within the EPP Group, has excellent cooperation. She stressed that Spain is one of Serbia's greatest friends, which strongly supports our country's European path, and thanked them for respecting international law in regard to Kosovo and Metohija“, the statement added.

Vucic: Croatians won’t take over NIS (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied reports on Monday that the Serbian Oil Company NIS would be sold to Croatians, N1 reported.

“I see the stories continuing in Croatia that they will become the owners and I can only tell them, as well as any Russians considering this, that this will not happen. Just so they bear that in mind, nothing more”, he told Informer.

Vucic said that his meeting with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission included the NIS which is majority Russian-owned. He is reported to have said that the NIS is the biggest risk but is crucial for Serbia.

International Media

Kurti’s failure to form government leaves Kosovo in limbo (Balkan Insight)

After incumbent prime minister Albin Kurti failed to obtain a majority in parliament for his proposed cabinet, snap elections may now be the only way out.

When the display screen in parliament showed on Sunday that only 56 out of 120 Kosovo MPs had voted for Albin Kurti’s proposed cabinet, it marked the end of more than eight months’ struggle to form a new government.

It was also the first time in the history of Kosovo’s young democracy that a leader had presented a cabinet line-up to MPs but did not get a majority of them to vote for it.

“It is an unprecedented situation in [Kosovo’s] parliamentary experience but not an insoluble one when it comes to the constitutional aspect,” Vullnet Bugaqku, a researcher with the Pristina-based think tank Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, told BIRN on Monday.

Read at: https://shorturl.at/wLYMe

Kosovo police station failed to process hundreds of reports of offences (Balkan Insight)

A police report seen by BIRN shows that 197 reports of crimes and 186 civil complaints were left unprocessed over more than a decade by the police station in Peje/Pec in western Kosovo.

A Peje/Pec police station internal report, seen by BIRN, has revealed that over around one decade, from 2012 to 2023, police officers and management at the station had not processed over 380 potential criminal and civil violations as well as internal disciplinary cases.

The ongoing prosecution investigation has revealed that police officers and management systematically failed to forward cases to the Peje/Pec prosecutor’s office, effectively bypassing their legal obligations by keeping the files in station drawers instead. The statute of limitations for many of these cases expired as a result, preventing further prosecution and leaving alleged offenders free.