- Thaçi: Only we and Serbia will be in Paris (KTV & Klan Kosova)
- Rama responds to Haradinaj: Vucic publically expressed his unhappiness against me as same as Ramush (KTV)
- Analysts expect Germany and France to give impetus to Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (KTV)
- EU has lost reputation concerning Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (RTK1)
- Serwer: Macron joined those that oppose border changing (RTK1)
- Hahn: It is time for Western Balkans to become part of EU (KTV)
- Pacolli: No reconciliation without Belgrade punishment (KTV)
- Kosnett: Serbs to live in Kosovo and build country’s future (RTK1)
- Burchett: No one willing to punish Serbians for sexual violence in Kosovo (KTV)
- INSID: The repatriated to be engaged against radicalism (Klan Kosova)
- Rama: Thaçi said in Berlin that borders were not and will never be discussed (Klan Kosova’s summary of Zona B show)
News
Thaçi: Only we and Serbia will be in Paris
(KTV & Klan Kosova)
Kosovo-Serbia relations will be the main topic of the meeting that is expected to be held in Paris in July, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron.
The meeting was announced to be similar to that of the Berlin Summit, but Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi said that they agreed that in Paris there is no need for participation of leaders of other Balkan states, except Kosovo and Serbia.
At the second press conference after his return from Berlin, President Thaçi denied that he and Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj went there without a unified stance, but he addressed such accusations against the Quint countries and the US.
President Thaçi stated that no new and concrete ideas for reaching an agreement with Serbia came out of the Berlin Summit.
He reiterated that at this Summit, it was made clear to Serbia that the tariff will not be rescinded and that Kosovo will not allow establishment of Association of Serbian municipalities, as it wishes.
The President urged the Kosovo Assembly to urgently issue a resolution on Serbia’s genocide and crimes committed against Albanians in Kosovo.
In the meantime, Klan Kosova reported that President Hashim Thaçi is disappointed with the Berlin Summit, as he is also accusing the European Union leaders of racism.
In an interview with this TV station in Berlin, he said that Kosovo is being discriminated and unjustly punished with non-liberalisation of visas.
“It is a punishment and discrimination. I am speaking about prejudices to the racist elements,” he said.
Different from before, now, according to him, no one knows the date of this decision.
Thaçi also said that he was against the tendency to relate visas with Kosovo-Serbia relations.
As far as the tariff is concerned, he thinks that it should remain. Furthermore, according to him, additional reciprocity measures with Serbia should be taken.
President does not believe that the great agreement with Serbia cannot be achieved without the United States on the table.
“The European Union is currently weak. It does not have no clarity, no clear substance about what it wants, but it also does not have a vision,” he stressed.
Nevertheless, he says that he is more optimistic about 1 July meeting in Paris, where, according to him, Emmanuel Macron will be clearer than this time in Berlin.
Rama to Haradinaj: Vucic expressed his unhappiness against me as same as Ramush
(KTV)
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama accused his Kosovo counterpart, Ramush Haradinaj, that he has not yet understood an elementary norm of human understanding, which, according to him, is also the rule of leaders, that when they discuss something between themselves, they do not comment them in public.
As Rama said, “lying to appear as ‘good men’ in front of their people.”
Rama said that no one asked Haradinaj in Berlin to revoke the tariff. Rama said that he has personally done the opposite.
The Albanian Prime Minister said that he has only suggested Haradinaj to accept the request of Chancellor Merkel and President Macron to suspend the tariff for 6 or 4 months, in order for the dialogue to continue.
“I have supported and support even today the tariff as ‘cry’ of Kosovo, for the world to hear it and I have protected it as such, everywhere and with everyone,” Rama said among other things.
“However, since Ramush publicly complained that I put more pressure on him than Vucic for revocation of the tariff, there’s nothing else for me but to be comforted by the fact that after the Summit, Vucic also, publicly expressed his unhappiness against me as same as Ramush,” he added.
Analysts expect Germany and France to give impetus to Kosovo-Serbia dialogue
(KTV)
Kosovo and Serbia have not moved from their original positions, so that they could return to the negotiating table.
Political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri stated to Radio Free Europe that after stagnation of the EU-facilitated dialogue process, Germany and France that also are part of the EU can now give the dialogue a new dimension, bearing in mind the political weight of Berlin and Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron respectively.
Përparim Kryeziu of the Group for Legal and Political Studies says that Germany and France have started to own the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia.
However, research presented by the Group expresses scepticism that under these circumstances, a final deal can be reached in a near future.
According to political analyses and statements, the increased interest of Germany and France to be more actively involved in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia might be related to the stance of the two countries against the border changing idea, which emerged by the negotiation stakeholders in Brussels, under the EU facilitation.
EU has lost reputation concerning Kosovo-Serbia dialogue
(RTK1)
Role of the EU’s transformation power in the region in the coming years, and how the Western Balkans will deal with security challenges and past conflicts. These were some of the questions posed at the conference ‘Western Balkans: Managing challenges ahead’, organised by Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG), School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins, and by European Fund for the Balkans.
Daniel Serwer of Johns Hopkins thinks that this is the right momentum for resolving the Kosovo and Serbia issue, and that as soon as it is resolved, the problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be more resolvable and differently from now. I addition, he is a supporter of pragmatic diplomacy.
On the other hand, Florian Bieber, BiEPAG coordinator and professor at Graz University, thinks that the key issue in the Balkans is authoritarian governments that are not fully committed to the liberal-democratic values of the EU and the US, followed by the media loyal to presidents, such as the case in Serbia.
“This causes disappointment to citizens, not because they are against the EU, but because they view the West as the one that tolerates autocracy. These are countries that are supposed to be part of the same EU club. Saying that those countries are not in a war and that is enough, is not good for the future of the region,” he highlighted.
Commenting on the Berlin summit, Bieber said the issue is that the European Commission has lost reputation concerning the Dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. He has no plan for solution, but he is confident that there must be measures for building trust amongst the countries, in order for them to have normal relations.
Serwer: Macron joined those that oppose border changing
(RTK1)
Talking about the Berlin Summit, former US diplomat Daniel Serwer said that to his understanding, Emmanuel Macron has aligned himself beside the opponents of the idea of border changing between Kosovo and Serbia.
Speaking from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Daniel Serwer added that he thinks that the right momentum for resolving the Kosovo and Serbia issue is now.
“What I understood was that President Macron has joined opposing any border change, which for me is the right thing to do. I hope this will open the way to a more serious discussion for normalisation of relations,” said Daniel Serwer, Director of the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Hahn: It is time for Western Balkans to become part of EU
(KTV)
On the 15th anniversary of EU Enlargement, the EU-Commissioner for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that time has come for finalisation of this project.
According to him, this project will be concluded with integration of the Western Balkans in EU, KTV portal reported.
“Today we celebrate 15 years of EU Enlargement, an ambitious project based on joint efforts and a common vision: to re-unite the European continent and to safeguard peace, prosperity and security for all EU citizens. This vision came true and now is the time to look forward and to finalise the historic project of European unification by integrating the Western Balkans. I am sure that – with joint efforts – it will be a success story, too, for both sides!” Hahn wrote on Twitter and concluded it with a motto: “EU – WB: stronger together.”
Pacolli: No reconciliation without Belgrade punishment
(KTV)
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Behgjet Pacolli stated that reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo will not be possible without punishment of Belgrade.
Writing about stories of former President Atifete Jahjaga, Vasfije Krasniqi, and Ilir Bytyqi before the US Congress, Pacolli said that we were not aggressors but victims, and victims need justice.
He expressed his gratitude to Congressman Eliot Engel for taking this initiative, and all those who testified at the hearing session.
Kosnett: Serbs to live in Kosovo and build country’s future
(RTK1)
The United States Ambassador Philip Kosnett stressed that Serbs should continue to live in Kosovo and work together with other communities in peace.
On Wednesday he visited two Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, Partes/Partesh and Gracanica/Graçanicë. According to him, it is important for Serbs to live in their homes and contribute to the future of Kosovo.
“I want to be optimistic about the future of the Serb community in Kosovo. I think it is important that Serbs continue to live here. It is also important that they feel welcome. There needs to be a future in Kosovo where the members of all communities can feel at home – that they feel that they can live and work and worship in peace, in both countries, in all countries in the region,” Kosnett told a Serb medium in Kosovo.
He said that Serbs should build their future in Kosovo and thus build the future of the country.
“I think that just by living here and building a future for their children, the members of the Serb community here are making a real contribution to Kosovo’s future,” the US Ambassador said.
Kosnett says that Kosovo and the United States share the diversity and that it must always be the case.
“For an American, living in a multi-cultural, religiously diverse country is a normal thing, and I’ve often said that one of the things that America and Kosovo have in common is the diversity of peoples who live in their countries. And, I hope that that will always be the case,” the US diplomat ended.
Burchett: No one willing to punish Serbians for sexual violence in Kosovo
(KTV)
Congressman Tim Burchett says that he had a conversation with former President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga on Tuesday at the US Congress, where Kosovars testified about Serbian crimes in Kosovo.
“I had a great conversation with the former President of Kosovo about war crimes carried out by DIRTBAG Serbians and no one willing to punish them,” Burchett wrote on Twitter, KTV portal reported.
In the video attached to the same post, Burchett also said: “She is really an outspoken lady. Wonderful, wonderful and passionate person talking about these DIRTBAGS in Serbian, their war crimes, and specifically sexual crimes against the folks, just a horrible rape and things that they pulling over there. They are despicable people. Everybody is trying to figure what to do to bring them to justice. Really, to me, they just don’t have any God. People over there in Serbia, don’t have any guts to go after them, a lot of them left the country are really convenient, but, anyway hopefully we’ll keep putting pressure on them,” Congressman Burchett stated.
INSID: The repatriated to be engaged against radicalism
(Klan Kosova)
Justice dealt with them as soon as they returned from Syria. In addition to the sentence they can get, these repatriated persons, who were in the conflict zone in the Middle East, can also be used by the state for the good.
At the Institute for Security, Integration and Deradicalization (INSID) are considering that it is utterly these returnees who can be used to fight extremism and terrorism.
Vokrri considers that the state should be softer toward the returnees in order not to foster ghettoization or marginalization of this category, but they should certainly be kept under control.
“The people who were involved in this phenomenon, the state should initially see as victims of propaganda. They should then undergo an investigation and legal process,” Vokrri said.
He says that Albania’s system should be used for this matter.
“What happened in Albania is that recruiters and callers were mainly punished. The opposite happened here,” Vokrri added.
Founder of INSID is Albert Berisha, who stayed in Syria in 2013 and who publically spoke about his repent, for which he is serving the three and half year imprisonment sentence.
Rama: Thaçi said in Berlin that borders were not and will never be discussed
(Klan Kosova’s summary of Zona B show)
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama saw the Berlin Summit, which brought together Balkan and European Union leaders, as a positive development for Albanians.
“I think that despite all that I have seen to boil in Tirana and Prishtinë/Pristina, this has been an extremely positive moment,” Rama said,
“It had a particular importance for the Albanians because it was widely discussed for starting a new pace of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Things were spoken openly and the positions were clear.”
“At the end the conclusion was very clear – French President [Emmanuel Macron] and German Chancellor [Angela Merkel] are personally committed in this process with their teams,” Rama underlined.
In an interview with Klan Kosova’s Zona B show, Rama said that there will be an intensive dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia, and that it will take place without conditions.
Speaking about Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Edi Rama said that the United States of America is and will be a very important stakeholder in this process.
Commenting on the Berlin Summit, the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that at the summit, the long discussed issue of a possible border changing between Serbia and Kosovo was clarified very well.
“It was said that they will enter the process without any prejudice and precondition, having in mind the experience of other countries, including Kosovo and Montenegro. However, there is always some discussion on mutual border recognition,” Rama said.
In an interview with Klan Kosova’s Zona B show, Rama stated that President Hashim Thaçi said in Berlin that drawing ethnic borders between Kosovo and Serbia was not and will never be discussed.
“As President Thaçi and all the rest clearly said, drawing new ethnic borders is not and was never discussed. This is the red line, and the rest is open for discussion, as it should and will be,” he added.
“I cannot say anything else, except that there was a clear commitment. The most important thing is that the meeting did not end on Monday to close the issue, but it ended to continue dealing with the issue properly also under supervision of the two key leaders of Europe [Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron],” Rama said.
But was any possibility of border changing between Kosovo and Serbia dismissed in Berlin?
“This means that there is no prejudice and everything will be discussed, including finding understanding on border, of course,” Rama explained.
“This is not about exchanging territories, or drawing ethnic borders. This is about finding a common solution and to achieve recognition of Kosovo by Serbia, then by five EU Member Countries that do not recognise Kosovo, and then by Russia, China, and so on,” Rama concluded.