• Police special units arrest two Serbs in the north (media)
• Kosovo withdraws Interpol membership bid (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo not an object at table of talks, but equal party (Bota Sot)
• Mustafa: LDK-VV making efforts to agree on coalition government (media)
• Vetevendosje denies conditioning from LDK (RTK)
• Haziri: LDK and VV have not yet discussed division of posts (Bota Sot)
• NATO calls for immediate resumption of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• In the U.S., Osmani visits National Security Council (Klan Kosova)
• Ramush Haradinaj gives up MP post (media)
• Specialist Chambers invites three former KLA members (RTK)
• Haradinaj and his “political army” spent €672.223 in lunches (Koha)

Police special units arrest two Serbs in the north (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo Police special units arrested a senior member of the Kosovo Police, Rade Basara, in Mitrovica North this morning. Basara is suspected of taking part in the spoliation of evidence into the assassination of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic in January 2018. Basara is also suspected of being involved in organised crime in the north. Police also arrested another person whose identity has not been revealed. According to the news website, police are also searching for Zeljko Bojic, head of police operations in the north. The police operation is ongoing in the municipality of Leposavic. Syle Hoxha, a special prosecutor, told Express that the operation was carried out after directives issued by the Basic Court in Pristina, the Department for Serious Crimes. “I can confirm the operation. For the time being, two people have been arrested and police are searching for another suspect. Their arrest relates to the spoliation of evidence related to the assassination of Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic. They are also suspected of being involved in organised crime,” Hoxha said. The two arrested officers have been transferred to Pristina.

Kosovo withdraws Interpol membership bid (media)

Two days before the Interpol General Assembly is set vote on whether to admit Kosovo as the newest member of the organisation, Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj announced that he requested postponement of the vote citing “present circumstances”, Zeri writes on the front page.

Koha Ditore at the same time reports that Haradinaj opted for “tactical retreat” with regards to Interpol application and finally decided to heed the advice of western allies who warned that if Kosovo’s application is put to a vote this year, it will face “spectacular failure”. It also says that Interpol General Assembly is expected to be attended by representatives from around 150 countries, making this year’s event bigger than last and automatically reducing Kosovo chances for acceptance for the fact that the larger the participation, the more votes are required for a motion to be successful.

“Taking into account the created circumstances and based on competencies as acting prime minister, I have requested today postponement of vote on Kosovo’s Interpol membership bid for next year,” Haradinaj is quoted by his office.

Meanwhile, acting Foreign Minister of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli said that he considers the absence of 18 countries that have recognised Kosovo from the Interpol event as problematic. “Some African countries that have recognised us will also not be attending the event,” Pacolli added.

“We are assessing all notes verbale that we have. You know two-thirds of countries present are required and unfortunately we today are dealing with countries that have not recognised Kosovo,” Pacolli said. He noted that Serbia was not only lobbying against Kosovo’s admission with countries that have not recognised its independence but also with those that have done so.

Epoka e Re, in its leading front-page story, quotes Behar Selimi, security expert and former Kosovo Police General Director, as saying that Kosovo had very slim chances of joining INTERPOL this year and that the outgoing government’s decision to withdraw the membership bid was natural. Selimi said that the resignation of the government made it impossible for relevant institutions to make proper preparations for the membership bid. He also said that Kosovo does not lose much “because it has established cooperation with all police forces in the region”.

Leaders in Serbia have hailed Kosovo’s withdrawing membership bid calling it a victory of Serbia’s diplomacy. President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said this was a “small tactical victory” for Serbia and added that Kosovo has decided to withdraw its application for fear that the result this time around would be much worse than that of last year. “It was not an unwise decision for them because their citizens were not able to see how much support they lost,” Vucic said.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic meanwhile said Pristina authorities withdrew application after realising “they had no chance of becoming member of the world policing organisation or any other important international organisations”.

Kurti: Kosovo not an object at table of talks, but equal party (Bota Sot)

In an interview for North Macedonia Albanian language media outlet TV Shenja, Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti said that there is agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to form joint government but added that they are currently waiting the final vote result although he said he didn’t expect it would affect the standing of the parties.

“Considering that LDK and VV had an agreement that the winning party will get the post of prime minister, it means therefore that I am the future prime minister of Kosovo,” Kurti said.

He said he would be working in deepening relations with international allies. “The international factor respects the people of Kosovo and their actions and statements are made accordingly. The U.S. will be alongside us.”

Asked about the future of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Kurti said: “I cannot guarantee a success with Serbia, but I can guarantee that Kosovo will have a successful representation. Kosovo will no longer be an object at the table but an equal party to Serbia. Serbia cannot expect from us what it cannot do itself.”

Mustafa: LDK-VV making efforts to agree on coalition government (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa held separate meetings yesterday with the British Ambassador Nicholas Abbott and France’s Marie-Christine Butel.

Mustafa briefed the ambassadors about the ongoing meetings of LDK and Vetevendosje working groups aimed at harmonising the parties’ programmes paving way for a future coalition. “In the new government, LDK will be focusing on the rule of law, education, health, European integration and fight against corruption,” Mustafa said.

Vetevendosje denies conditioning from LDK (RTK)

Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) senior member Albulena Haxhiu denied media reports according to which the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has requested seven ministries in a new ruling coalition. She added that they will never become pray of the of conditioning in their negotiations, because according to her, if there are unacceptable demands, Kosovo will go to elections again. “So, these are speculations for the fact that immediately after that meeting, we held our meeting of the leadership where the leader and his deputy informed us about it. There was no other demand or conditioning,” Haxhiu said adding that when it comes to the position of the prime minister, the citizens have decided for Albin Kurti.

Speaking about the dialogue with Serbia, Haxhiu said agreements reached so far must be assessed first and then followed by discussions with Serbs in Kosovo. “I have no dilemma that the Serbian List is against the Republic of Kosovo, that Serbian List works against Kosovo’s interests, and they don’t recognise Kosovo,” Haxhiu said adding that their government cannot have any cooperation with such political parties that do not recognize Kosovo and fight it.

Haziri: LDK and VV have not yet discussed division of posts (Bota Sot)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri said that there have been no discussions with Vetevendosje over division of government posts and added that this cannot be done without harmonisation of government policies required by coalition partners. He said reports that the parties have already agreed on dividing government cabinet posts are speculations.

NATO calls for immediate resumption of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday in London that NATO’s cooperation with Serbia is good and assessed this country as a trustful partner. This statement of the NATO Secretary General was conveyed by head of the Serbian delegation at NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London, Dragan Sormaz.

The latter told the Serbian news agency Tanjug that an important statement of the NATO SG Stoltenberg during Monday’s session was that NATO supports resumption of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and that the discussions should start immediately.

In the U.S., Osmani visits National Security Council (Klan Kosova)

Vjosa Osmani, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) candidate for prime minister, is visiting the U.S. and met John Erath, director for Europe with the U.S. National Security Council. “We had very productive discussions on priorities and challenges awaiting Kosovo in the coming months and years,” Osmani wrote on Facebook.

Klan Kosova meanwhile is quoting officials from LDK saying that Osmani’s visit to the U.S. is not related to recent political developments. It says Osmani’s has travelled in the capacity of member of the parliamentary board network and member of the steering council of Young MPs Initiative of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Ramush Haradinaj gives up MP post (media)

Most media report that Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister and leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said on Tuesday that he has decided to give up the post of MP. He thanked the people that voted for him in the recent parliamentary elections and said he would continue to work for Kosovo’s interests. Haradinaj also called on the formation of new institutions “with the same political maturity we have shown in the election process”.

Specialist Chambers invites three former KLA members (RTK)

Hysni Gucati, head of the War Veterans Organisation, said on Tuesday that the Specialist Chambers have summoned another three former KLA members, Fadil Beka, Fatmir Sopi and Sejdi Veseli, for interview. Fadil Beka was reportedly a doctor who served among the KLA forces. Gucati did not say if they were invited as witnesses or as suspects. He added that his organisation will always be in defense of war values because, according to him, “no one can blot KLA war.”

Haradinaj and his “political army” spent €672.223 in lunches (Koha)

The paper reports in one of its front-page stories that over a two-year period in office, outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and his associates spent nearly €700,000 in official lunches. “Haradinaj and his ‘political recruits’ cost the state budget almost €5 million. Around €2 million were spent in salaries and per diems,” the paper notes. It also says that the Office of the Prime Minister gave access to this information only after the paper complained to the Ombudsperson. “The information shows that Haradinaj’s ‘political army’ used the state budget even for buying clothes,” the paper adds.