• Haradinaj-Merkel meeting to take place on Thursday (media)
• Merkel and Macron prepare ground for Paris meeting (Koha)
• Thaci and Vucic to meet this Friday (Indeksonline)
• Palmer: U.S. sets no timeframes, but dialogue should continue (VOA/Klan)
• SRSG Tanin meets Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade (media)
• Dacic meets UNMIK chief, discuss situation in Kosovo (Indeksonline)
• ​Kosovo MFA: Tanin’s visit to Serbia, wrong address (RTK)
• Hoxhaj reacts to Dacic’s image of U.S. bill with inscription “Kosovo is Serbia”
• Lajcak: OSCE is closely following situation in Kosovo (Radio Free Europe)
• Kosovo Assembly delegation to visit Presevo Valley today (media)
• U.S. colonel: Security situation is good, political solution is needed (media)
• Juncker: Culture of political compromise must be reestablished in Balkans
• Stoltenberg: Prespa agreement to serve as example for Kosovo and Serbia (Zeri)

Haradinaj-Merkel meeting to take place on Thursday (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday in Berlin.

Analyst Belul Beqaj said for Zeri that the meeting will be decisive in whether the Haradinaj-led government will be able to bring to a close the dialogue with Serbia. “If there are indicators that this coalition cannot successfully conclude the dialogue process, we will most likely then get other signals encouraging the opposition to push for new elections in order to legitimize a new spectrum,” Beqaj said.

Bota Sot quoted Deutsche Welle reports saying that the Haradinaj-Merkel meeting will last one hour and that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will be the central focus. The two officials are however also expected to discuss the import tariff on Serbia and preparations for the Paris summit in July. “Merkel will request for additional explanations on the possibility of the tax on Serbia being revoked. The meeting will be held behind closed doors and no press point has been announced,” DW’s Bahri Cani said.

Merkel and Macron prepare ground for Paris meeting (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emanuel Macron are preparing the ground for the upcoming meeting in Paris in early July. The paper recalls that the previous meeting, which was held in Berlin, ruled out the idea of land swap as a possible solution for a final peace settlement between Kosovo and Serbia.

A delegation of Merkel and Macron’s diplomatic advisors visited Pristina last week to discuss the Paris meeting with Kosovo’s leaders. The meetings were held behind closed doors and there were no media statements after the talks.

Citing official sources, Deutsche Welle reported that the German and French officials delivered clear messages to Pristina but did not specify the content. It was only said that “the meeting in Berlin and the meeting in Paris are not aimed at taking over the role of facilitator in the dialogue or to replace the EU’s role in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia”.

The paper further notes that Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday. Several media quote a press release issued by the German government as saying that the meeting will focus on bilateral relations between Germany and Kosovo, foreign policy issues, and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Thaci and Vucic to meet this Friday (Indeksonline)

Citing international sources, the news website reported on Tuesday that Kosovo and Serbia Presidents, Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic, will meet this Friday as part of preparations for the upcoming summit in Paris.

The EU-brokered meeting between the two leaders will be held during the GlobSec conference, in Bratislava, Slovakia.

At the conference, Thaci and Vucic will speak about the chances to reach a final comprehensive peace agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Gazeta Express too reports on the meeting and it notes that it contacted President Thaci’s Office to learn more about his trip to Bratislava, but they did not reply.

Palmer: U.S. sets no timeframes, but dialogue should continue (VOA/Klan)

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Matthew Palmer, said in an interview with Voice of America in Serbian that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia needs to “urgently” resume and that the agreement needs to be implementable and “sold” to the respective publics.

Palmer said the U.S. has no red lines in the negotiating process but that this does not mean a “blanc cheque”. “We would like to see the sides negotiate the best possible agreement; present it to us, if they require our support. If we have concerned, we will express them and try to find a solution with the parties to reach something we would support and something with which we could work for in implementing it. However, this is not our process. This is their process. We support them.”

Palmer added: “We don’t view this in the time aspect. We support normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, we would want the dialogue to continue as soon as possible and the two sides to agree to full normalisation of relations in the right time. As to whether this will happen this year, I cannot predict.”

“I think [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic has stated clearly that he is ready to return to dialogue when the tax is revoked and that he is working in achieving an agreement for full normalisation of relations. We believe he is sincere and the Kosovo side is also sincere in the objective for reaching a full normalisation of relations but these are complicated matters – political, psychological, emotional. Time is required for this to be resolved but the first step is for the parties to return to the table of talks and set things in motion in the right track.”

Asked to comment on Vucic’s remarks that Pristina will lift the tax when its ‘western allies’ decide so, Palmer said: “I think it is very important for Serbia, Belgrade political leadership, admit that Kosovo has independent agencies. Kosovo is not simply a United States instrument. Kosovo is an independent country, an independent society with its own policies and these policies need to be implemented. The issue of negotiations, the issue of tariffs, is a politically-charged issue in the context of politics in Kosovo. We will support the suspension or the lifting of the tariff as a means to return to dialogue. We think this would be an important step ahead.”

SRSG Tanin meets Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade (media)

Ahead of the UN Security Council session on Kosovo, Head of the UN Mission in Kosovo, Zahir Tanin, met in Belgrade Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who said that that the upcoming session will be very important not only because the Kosovo issue will be discussed at the Security Council but also in light of recent events which he said have disrupted the fragile stability of Kosovo.

According to Belgrade-based news agency FoNet, Vucic said: “For us the unhindered review of Kosovo issue at the Security Council, in line with Resolution 1244, is of essential importance.” He added that, “The fact that the Pristina side continuously takes irrational and unilateral actions and constantly makes provocations, only goes to confirm that Pristina is consistently working in preventing any kind of dialogue.”

Vucic further condemned the arrest of two UNMIK staff members during the Kosovo Police operation on 28 May saying it was an attempt to compromise the UN mission in Kosovo. “United Nations role in Kosovo is of decisive importance for Serbia,” he said.

Tanin is also reported to have met the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Chepurin who said that his country “will do everything in its power to make sure the Security Council undertakes all necessary measures regarding the mistreatment of UNMIK staff member by the Kosovo Police.”

Dacic meets UNMIK chief, discuss situation in Kosovo (Indeksonline)

Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, met in Belgrade with UNMIK chief Zahir Tanin, the news website reported. The meeting focused on Kosovo and the recent police operation in the north. Dacic expressed his concern and complained that Kosovo Police used unjustified force against the Serb people and UN staff members. “The controversial minister”, as the news website refers to Dacic, said he expects the UN Mission in Kosovo to continue operating in line with UNSC Resolution 1244. He also said it was important that the police operation in the north is discussed at the upcoming session of the UN Security Council.

​Kosovo MFA: Tanin’s visit to Serbia, wrong address (RTK)

Jetlir Zyberaj, advisor to Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli, took to Facebook on Tuesday to react to UNMIK chief’s visit to Belgrade “to discuss with the authorities there about the alleged concerns over a criminalized member of this mission”.

Zyberaj wrote that it is unclear how in the current circumstances, Zahir Tanin could visit Serbia and meet President Aleksandar Vucic, when it is known that with its statements Serbia does not hide its attempts to destabilize the region.

“There are only a few official addresses where Tanin should seek explanatory meetings and to distance the responsibility of the mission he leads from the scandal of their staff member. These are the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and the international community in Kosovo. Serbia and Belgrade are the wrong address,” Zyberaj wrote.

Noting that the UNMIK chief has failed to distance himself from the statements of Serbian officials, Zyberaj wrote that Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli has asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UNSC member states to explain why UNMIK acts against the interests of Kosovo and national security and in the service of crime and smuggling.

“Statements by representatives of this mission, over the last couple of days, have lacked respect for Kosovo’s institutions and we will take measures,” Zyberaj wrote.

Hoxhaj reacts to Dacic’s image of U.S. bill with inscription “Kosovo is Serbia” (Klan)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, has reacted to a picture showing Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic holding a 100 U.S. dollar bill with the inscription “Kosovo is Serbia”.

“What does this image resemble? Serbia’s corrupt, dollar diplomacy to influence foreign governments aimed at undermining Kosovo’s statehood & derailing region’s Euro-Atlantic future. While the lifespan of a C-Note is around 15 years, Kosovo’s independent statehood is eternal,” Hoxhaj tweeted.

Lajcak: OSCE is closely following situation in Kosovo (Radio Free Europe)

Slovak Foreign Minister and chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Miroslav Lajcak, said on Tuesday that the Western Balkans is in the focus of the Slovak presidency of the OSCE. After meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade , Lajcak also said that they are following the situation in Kosovo very closely.

Kosovo Assembly delegation to visit Presevo Valley today (media)

Several news websites report that a delegation of Kosovo MPs will visit Presevo Valley today. MP Nait Hasani told Klan Kosova on Tuesday evening that he together with fellow MPs, Ismail Kurteshi, Arberie Nagavci, Teuta Haxhiu, Valentina Bunjaku, Arban Abrashi and Valon Ramadani will stay for two days in the Albanian-inhabited municipalities in southern Serbia. MPs will get upclose information about the administration, local government, media, education, the recognition of diplomas and other issues. Hasani said Belgrade authorities granted the permit for the visit.

U.S. colonel: Security situation is good, political solution is needed (media)

Several news websites cover an article originally published in warisboring.com, highlighting a quote by a U.S. colonel, Roy Macaraeg, serving in KFOR, as saying that the security situation on the ground is good but that a political solution is needed between Kosovo and Serbia. The article also notes that U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper, who met with U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Kosnett for closed-door talks ahead of his stop at NATO’s Camp Bondsteel, said his focus during the trip was to get feedback from soldiers rather than delve into the fraught political situation in the country. During a base tour, Esper was briefed on the mission by soldiers and talked about the latest developments in Army training for deployments. Still, Esper said his impression after meeting with troops in Kosovo was that enthusiasm for the mission as high. The ethnically charged atmosphere in Kosovo is an area of growing concern — U.S. European Command has repeatedly identified potential unrest in the Balkans and Russian interference in the region. “At the ground level, when you go outside it is very safe,” Macaraeg said. “A lot of the tensions go up to the political level.”

Juncker: Culture of political compromise must be reestablished in Balkans (media)

European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, said on Tuesday that no country would be admitted in the European Union until it resolves problems with other countries and called for the culture of political compromise to be reestablished in the Balkans. Juncker said the agreement between Skopje and Athens is an exceptional political achievement and a model for everyone in the Western Balkans. “This shows that anything can be achieved if there is courage and a clear perspective,” he said. “I have said it in 2018 that no country will be admitted to the EU if they don’t resolve bilateral disputes. North Macedonia understood this call and everyone in the region should do the same.”

Stoltenberg: Prespa agreement to serve as example for Kosovo and Serbia (Zeri)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev that the Prespa Agreement on the name issue should serve as a model for the whole region including Kosovo and Serbia as “it shows that it is possible to overcome past differences, to overcome historical disagreements, not to forget about the past, but not to let the past destroy the future.”

“NATO is present in Kosovo through our KFOR mission, which has a clear international mandate. And we are there to create stability, peace and to protect all communities in Kosovo, also the Serbs. And therefore we are, of course, also working closely in contact with all the communities in Kosovo, to make sure that we are, every day, delivering on our mandate to provide stability and security for all the people in Kosovo. That’s our mandate. That’s our mission in Kosovo. Then we understand that there is also a need for a political solution. And therefore we would strongly support the… that the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade can again move forward, that we can have a resumption of that dialogue because, in the long run, that’s the only way to solve the differences and the disputes we see related to Kosovo,” Stoltenberg said.