• President Thaci received by the U.S. President, Donald Trump (media)
• Thaci meets NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg (Bota Sot)
• Haradinaj thanks Germany for opposing border changes (Zeri)
• Haradinaj meets Palmer, presents his position on dialogue (RTK)
• “Haradinaj went to U.S. to stop Thaci from drawing new map for Kosovo” (Klan)
• EU wants a high-profile envoy for dialogue (Koha)
• Meetings in New York, efforts to set framework for dialogue (Koha)
• Vucic: U.S. do not want frozen conflict in Kosovo and neither do we (RTK)
• “Palmer’s nomination, proof of America’s seriousness toward Kosovo” (Klan)
• Kosovo takes over presidency of SEECP, Pacolli calls it huge step (Epoka)
• Haziri: LDK has red lines for PDK, but not for AAK (Klan Kosova)
• Albanian FM Cakaj calls on India to recognise Kosovo (Bota Sot)
• First online Albanian-Serbian-Albanian dictionary to be launched today (media)

President Thaci received by the U.S. President, Donald Trump (media)

President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, attended on Tuesday the reception organised by the President of the United States of America, for the participants of the United Nations General Assembly, during which he was received by President Donald Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump.

“During this brief meeting with President Trump, Thaçi expressed his appreciation for the support that the U.S. President and nation have continuously provided to the nation and the state of Kosovo. He added of the U.S. was crucial for the nation of Kosovo, initially for the survival and later on for the enlivening of the aspirations for freedom and independence,” a press communique issued by the Office of the President reads.

Thaci also spoke to Klan Kosova about his meeting with Trump saying that Kosovo is blessed to have the full suport of the U.S. and that this was confrimed in the meeting. “There is strong confirmation that our special and permanent relations will remain as such,” he said.

He said Kosovo will continue to preserve relations with the U.S. and “no ego or daily appetite or politics will harm these relations.” “Finally, I invited President Trump to visit the state of Kosovo. I hope and believe that in the near future when President Trump is in our region, he will visit Kosovo, the most pro-American country in the world.”

Thaci meets NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg (Bota Sot)

President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci met in the margins of the UN General Assembly NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and discussed the cooperation with NATO and its peacekeeping force, KFOR, as well as the transition process of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF).

“KFOR continues to do a marvelous work in Kosovo,” Thaci is quoted to have said and went on to add that the KSF transition is going as planned by Kosovo institutions in cooperation with international partners. “KSF today is a professional force of NATO standards, trained by NATO, a multiethnic force which engages for equal gender representation”, Thaci said.

Haradinaj thanks Germany for opposing border changes (Zeri)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj met in New York the Germany’s representative to the UN Christoph Heusgen. “I thanked Ambassador Huesgen for the unwavering support of Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel against border changes and concrete efforts for unconditional renewal of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue,” Haradinaj said.

Haradinaj meets Palmer, presents his position on dialogue (RTK)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj, met the U.S. Envoy for Balkans, Matthew Palmer on Wednesday. “I stressed once again that Kosovo is ready and committed to a legally binding agreement, including mutual recognition in the existing borders,” Haradinaj said.

“Kosovo is unshakable on strengthening bilateral and strategic partnership, as well as in deepening the eternal friendship with the U.S. Return at the table of dialogue without conditions and with clear deadline and framework, for normalization of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, is the only way that approximates the two countries with Euro-Atlantic structures,” he said.

“The nomination of Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer, as special envoy on this matter, by the Department of State, is a sign of U.S.’s continuous support for Kosovo,” Haradinaj said.

“Haradinaj went to U.S. to stop Thaci from drawing new map for Kosovo” (Klan)

Shpend Ahmeti leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who is running in a coalition ticket with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), said its leader Ramush Haradinaj told him he needed to travel to the U.S.

“He told me: I have to go because when we are not there bad things for Kosovo are happening. He said President of Kosovo is already there as is that of Serbia and they may be cooking up another map to split Kosovo up like last time,” Ahmeti said at an election rally in Suhareka.

EU wants a high-profile envoy for dialogue (Koha)

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources in the EU, the paper reports in one of its front-page stories that Brussels is planning to appoint a high-profile special envoy or representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “It won’t suffice for this person to have access to Vucic and Thaci but that this envoy should be taken seriously also by the other stakeholders in Kosovo, Serbia and the world,” a source told the paper. The same source acknowledged that “works need to be done to soften the damage caused by Mogherini and the stunts with border changes”. Some diplomats told the paper that “there are several people that already themselves in that position”. Another senior EU diplomat told the paper: “it should be a serious person with a high political profile and with authority in Belgrade and Pristina, Washington and New York, and even in Moscow”.

Meetings in New York, efforts to set framework for dialogue (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that in their meetings at the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kosovo’s leaders received requests to remove obstacles and resume dialogue with Serbia. Serbian officials too talked about a final settlement with Kosovo and the compromise they want to achieve. Meanwhile, political commentators in Pristina claim that “dialogue is continuing under the table despite Serbia’s position that it will not return to the table of talks until the import tariff is lifted”. Krenar Shala, a Pristina-based political analyst, told the paper: “the substantial part of dialogue happens under the table. What people see in the media is only symbolical”. He did not rule out that the new government that will be formed in Pristina after the October parliamentary elections, could be offered a solution that could include border changes. “That option cannot be ruled out … Serbia’s primary objective however is to resume dialogue and not necessarily reach an agreement,” he argued.

Vucic: U.S. do not want frozen conflict in Kosovo and neither do we (RTK)

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said the United States of America are interested to resolve the problem between Kosovo and Serbia, as they do not want it to be a frozen conflict for another ten years or more. According to him, this is Serbia’s interest as well.

Vucic told TV Pink on Wednesday about his brief meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump saying he does not want to sell a few-minute meeting as a spectacle.

Speaking about his meeting with U.S. senior officials Matthew Palmer and Philip Reeker, Vucic said the U.S. are interested to resolve the problem between Pristina and Belgrade. “What I would point out as positive is that Americans speak in a rational manner, despite the fact that some of our ideas will not be accepted. But they want to listen to us and make efforts towards finding a solution,” Vucic said.

“Palmer’s nomination, proof of America’s seriousness toward Kosovo” (Klan)

Former Commander of the U.S. forces in Europe, Benjamin Hodges, said that nomination of Matthew Palmer as Special Envoy of the State Department for Western Balkans shows how important finding of a solution for Kosovo is. “When the United States send a special envoy, it is a message for all parties that we care to help resolve the matter,” Hodges said.

Kosovo takes over presidency of SEECP, Pacolli calls it huge step (Epoka)

For the first time, Kosovo has taken presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), announced acting Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli who also said that this represents a huge step for Kosovo. “It is a moment of pride for Kosovo and myself to be chairing the largest and most important political organisation in the region,” Pacolli said at the SEECP meeting.

Haziri: LDK has red lines for PDK, but not for AAK (Klan Kosova)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Lutfi Haziri said on Wednesday that this party cannot cooperate with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) because the latter “has burned the bridges of cooperation”. Haziri did not rule out coalitions with other parties, including a coalition with the AAK-PSD. “We will establish a culture of cooperation with all parties in the Assembly. The PDK burned the bridges of cooperation, because they removed the LDK and chose different partners, but everyone realised that it is difficult to cooperate with them. With the other parties, we will coordinate at the level of political agendas. If we are close in terms of political agendas, the political and economic programs, and for issues that are important for the country, we will join forces both in the Assembly and in the government,” Haziri said.

Albanian FM Cakaj calls on India to recognise Kosovo (Bota Sot)

Albanian Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj met in New York in the margins of the UN General Assembly India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and called on the country to recognise independence of Kosovo. “The central part of discussion focused on the necessity of recognising independence of Kosovo and support it in international mechanisms. Support for consolidation of international position of Kosovo is central element of Albania’s foreign policy,” Cakaj wrote on Facebook.

First online Albanian-Serbian-Albanian dictionary to be launched today (media)

The first online Albanian-Serbian-Albanian dictionary will be launched today in a ceremony at the national library in Pristina, several online media outlets report.

As language barriers have been identified as one of the main obstacles for inclusion and interaction between different communities in Kosovo, IOM has started to develop new resources for language learning. In cooperation with the Office of Language Commissioner, the British Embassy in Pristina and UNMIK, IOM supports activities to promote multilingualism and the importance of language learning and this includes the development of the online language-learning platform VocUp and free language classes.

Today’s event will also include the screening of a documentary that highlights the efforts of committed individuals to promote the importance of multilingualism.