• Trump sends invitation to Osmani, wants Kosovo to join Board of Peace (media)
• Kosovo has not been asked for US$1 billion for the Board of Peace (AP)
• Rama congratulates Osmani on getting invitation to join Board of Peace (media)
• Kurti meets Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos in Davos (media)
• Kosovo leaders remember late President Ibrahim Rugova (media)
• Peaceful protest in Pristina on Feb 17 in support of former KLA leaders (Indeksonline)
• Kosovo Judicial Council prioritises SLAPP cases in 2026-2028 strategy (media)
• AJK reacts to death threat against Vox Kosova journalist Lirim Mehmetaj (media)
• Cattle wagon turned museum: Remembering Kosovo Albanians’ wartime deportations (PI)
• Ivic: Question is whether Pristina will seize opportunity offered by US (Kosovo Online)

Trump sends invitation to Osmani, wants Kosovo to join Board of Peace (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X this morning that she was “deeply honored by President Donald Trump’s personal invitation to represent the Republic of Kosovo as a founding member of the Board of Peace, standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the pursuit of a safer world”. “True leadership doesn’t just talk about peace, it delivers it. That is exactly what President Trump is doing through this historic initiative. America helped bring peace to Kosovo. Today, Kosovo stands firmly as America’s ally, ready to help carry that peace forward. History remembers those who take bold steps to build peace — and we are ready,” Osmani said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.fm/b0w22

Kosovo has not been asked for US$1 billion for the Board of Peace (AP)

Kosovo has received an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join the Board of Peace, an initiative aimed to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the reconstruction of Gaza, and to promote conflict resolution in the world. For countries that aim to become permanent members in the institution – which has raised fears about creating a parallel system to that of the United Nations – the price asked by Trump for the first year is US$1 billion, the news website reports

Based on reports in US media, those countries that don’t pay US$1 billion will have a limited three-year mandate in the Board of Peace.

The news website has asked the Office of Kosovo President if Kosovo intends to pay the amount to secure a permanent seat in the Board of Peace. Bekim Kupina, media advisor to President Osmani, said that the invitation sent to Osmani does not mention any payment. “This has not been requested. The payment of US$1 billion has not been requested. You can see for yourself in the invitation,” he said.

Rama congratulates Osmani on getting invitation to join Board of Peace (media)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama congratulated Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani today on receiving the invitation from US President Donald Trump to join the Board of Peace, “a very meaningful gesture by President Trump toward Kosovo that further strengthens the relation of friendly America with the Albanian people, and which also sends a meaningful signal for Kosovo’s security and belonging in the space of broad US interests in the world”.

Kurti meets Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos in Davos (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They discussed Kosovo’s economic progress and democratic advancement, which Kurti said are key for Kosovo’s path towards the European Union. “The European Commission’s Country Report for 2025 showed that Kosovo has continued to make progress in European integration. No country in the Western Balkans was more prepared at the time of receiving the status of candidate country, therefore Kosovo’s democratic progress deserves to be assessed with this status. The meeting also discussed the geopolitical situation, the Growth Plan, regional cooperation and current affairs. Regarding regional cooperation, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that Kosovo plays an active and constructive role and supports the broader economic integration of the region based on the values and standards of the European Union,” a press release issued by the Kosovo government notes.

Kosovo leaders remember late President Ibrahim Rugova (media)

One of the main stories in the media today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova. President Vjosa Osmani, who laid flowers at Rugova’s grave with his family today, said that Rugova united the whole people of Kosovo around the cause of freedom, independence and democracy. “This cause lives on and has been implemented with the great sacrifice of our people, our liberation war and building alliances with our strategic allies within the Euro-Atlantic family. President Rugova built these alliances with an exemplary vision which to this day remains a beacon for all of us who want to see a stronger Kosovo and integrated in Euro-Atlantic structures. Honoring President Rugova will be eternal, and his vision will live on as long as Kosovo lives, eternally,” she said.

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku said that Rugova is remembered for his dream “and we will continue to work to give our country the merited future as a strong member of the Euro-Atlantic family”. He also said that Rugova “is the biggest Albanian of all times and as such he obliges us to act with dignity, maturity and great commitment for our country”.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said he had the honor to cooperate with Rugova “in a crucial period and very sensitive period of state-building”. “With his state-forming vision, he paid special importance to strengthening ties with the West, by fostering an eternal friendship with the United States, actions that led to independence and which still remain the cornerstone of our vision as a state,” he said in a Facebook post.

Ekonomia Online reports that foreign ambassadors accredited in Kosovo too paid homage to Rugova by laying flowers at his grave.

Peaceful protest in Pristina on Feb 17 in support of former KLA leaders (Indeksonline)

A peaceful protest with the motto “Justice, not politics” will be held in downtown Pristina on February 17 in support of former KLA leaders who are standing trial in the Hague. The Liria ka Emer [Freedom has a Name] platform will organize the protest, and its representatives told a press conference today that February 17 has not been chosen accidentally but that it coincides with the day when Kosovo declared its independence, making the protest a symbolic and civic act in defense of the principles of justice.

Kosovo Judicial Council prioritises SLAPP cases in 2026-2028 strategy (media)

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, and Lëvizja FOL welcome the newly adopted Strategic Plan for Access to Justice for the period 2026–2028, which gives priority to SLAPP cases.

According to the Strategy, judges in Kosovo at all court levels will be required to prioritise SLAPP cases concerning media and civil society activists in their work and resolve them as a matter of urgency. In addition, they also have to prioritise cases of defamation and safety involving     journalists and civil society activists.

The Strategy was adopted on 15 January by the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), the highest governing body of the judiciary, responsible for overseeing courts and recruiting judges. The three-year Strategy is a binding document for all judges, and its implementation will be monitored closely.

With the deadline of 7 May 2026 to transpose the EU Directive on SLAPPs, as well as the Council of Europe Recommendation on SLAPPs, the KJC is among the first judicial councils in Europe to give priority to SLAPP cases. This contributes directly to ensuring that such cases are dismissed as early as possible.

This approach demonstrates the KJC’s strong commitment to protecting public participation, media freedom, journalists, and media workers from abusive legal proceedings. We hope that other judicial bodies in Europe will follow this example.

AJK reacts to death threat against Vox Kosova journalist Lirim Mehmetaj (media)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) in a statement today expressed deep concern over a serious death threat made against journalist and founder of Vox Kosova, Lirim Mehmetaj. “A threatening comment directed at Mehmetaj was posted on Facebook, containing explicit language that implies a violent killing threat. AJK strongly condemns this type of language and calls on the Kosovo Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office to take urgent action to identify and locate the individual responsible, and to hold them accountable for the criminal offense of making threats. This highly serious threat endangers the physical safety of Lirim Mehmetaj and the editorial staff of Vox Kosova. For this reason, AJK urges the Kosovo Police to immediately provide protective measures to ensure their safety,” the AJK said.

Cattle wagon turned museum: Remembering Kosovo Albanians’ wartime deportations (PI)

As part of its second Reporting House museum, BIRN is chronicling the testimonies of Kosovo Albanians who found refuge in North Macedonia after being forced by Serbian forces to flee the country in 1999, in trains.

Gentrit Hykolli from Drenas vividly recalls how in 1999, when he was only 6 years old, he and his family were forced onto a train by Serbian forces and expelled from Kosovo.

In 1998, “we first found refuge in the mountains, in shelters in the surrounding villages, at times we returned [home], and we were expelled [again]. Then we transferred in Sllatina [a village some 25 km west of Prishtina] at some relatives’ house and from there we moved in with the family of Ramadan Mehmeti in the ‘Kodra e Trimave’ neighbourhood of Prishtina,” he told Prishtina Insight.

Soon, the Mehmeti family decided to flee by car and invited Hykolli’s family to take a second car and go with them. “I remember that the car would not turn on and we got stuck there. The car would not turn on. The entire family went on foot, like everyone else.”

Serbian forces led Hykolli’s family and the rest of the refugee column towards the Prishtina train station.

“We got on trains. All seven members of my family were in the same cabin. We had no idea where we were going, if we were going to Serbia, Albania, or Macedonia,” he recalled.

Hykolli voluntarily participated in a series which chronicles the lives of Kosovo citizens who fled Kosovo on trains during the 1998-99 war. The chronicles will be part of a second exhibition put on by BIRN’s Reporting House museum, in Kosovo’s capital Prishtina, which provides evidence of the Kosovo war as reported by journalists, experienced by citizens, and seen by artists.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/2iQZv

Ivic: Question is whether Pristina will seize opportunity offered by US (Kosovo Online)

Petar Ivic, an associate of the Pupin Initiative, says that the message from the State Department – that it hopes to strengthen its partnership with the future Government of Kosovo, but that this government needs to carry out actions that advance the shared agenda for regional peace, stability, and mutual economic prosperity – is very clear and represents an outstretched hand conditioned on concrete results. “This is an unequivocal statement. It is very clear what can be expected, and it is an attempt to reset relations after Kurti nevertheless won the Kosovo elections. This represents an outstretched hand for another chance, but one conditioned on very concrete results, and the question is whether the administration in Pristina will seize that opportunity,” Ivic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, US interests in the region are manifold, and Kosovo’s actions during 2025 were anything but aligned with most of them. “These interests range from countering what they perceive as malign Chinese and Russian influence, to economic diversification, peace, stability, the European path, and economic development. What Kosovo delivered in 2025 was anything but most of those interests. They hope that this opportunity will be used in the direction of fulfilling those interests, but through unilateral and destructive actions, especially toward the minority Serb population, the fulfillment of those interests is nowhere in sight,” he said.

When it comes to the economic interests that America has in Kosovo, Ivic says these primarily concern energy and investments. “Recently there has also been talk about rare minerals, which, as we see, are very important to Trump globally. However, those reserves are still largely unexplored. But this is not mainly about economic interests, rather more about geopolitical ones, because economic interests spill over into the geopolitical sphere. It is more about stability in the region, removing Russian and Chinese influence, and a direct military presence, such as the Bondsteel base,” Ivic notes.