• Kurti promises agreement with Mustafa before constitutive assembly session (Koha)
• Kurti: LDK seeks President’s post, but they don’t say who is the candidate (RTK)
• Kosnett: The U.S. never supported border change (Kallxo)
• UK’s ambassador meets LDK leaders (media)
• Selimi: Lajcak, serious candidate for EU envoy in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• “Serbian List not an obstacle to formation of new Kosovo government” (media)
• Palokaj: EU has failed in the dialogue led by Mogherini (Koha)
• Constitutional Court suspends law on salaries (media)
• Montenegro court confirms sentence for war crimes in Kosovo (Zeri)
• Kosovo opens its embassy in Oslo, Norway (RTK)

Kurti promises agreement with Mustafa before constitutive assembly session (Koha)

Vetevendosje (LVV) leader and candidate for Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, pledged on Thursday that a coalition agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) would be finalised before the constitutive session of the Kosovo Assembly, the paper reports on its front page. Kurti said he was optimistic but did not reveal any details from his meeting with LDK leader Isa Mustafa on Wednesday.

“We are getting ready for a good governance. As far as talks with the LDK are concerned, we cannot have good news until there are no concrete results. I have said this earlier, and I will say it again. Today there is no meeting; we will have continuous meetings and communication until we reach the agreement we want. When there are concrete results, I will give you news, but there are no concrete results yet,” Kurti said after meeting representatives of the Association of the Rights of Patients in Kosovo, to discuss healthcare insurance.

Kurti: LDK seeks President’s post, but they don’t say who is the candidate (RTK)

Leader of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) Albin Kurti said that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is requesting support for the post of the President, without saying who would that be. “I am being requested to give blank consent. They have requested the post, but did not tell me who their candidate is,” Kurti said at Jeta ne Kosove TV show. “None of the three members of the LDK leadership admitted that they want to become President,” he added.

LDK and LVV are on their final phase of reaching the agreement for ruling coalition. Working groups of the two political entities created a joint governing program, and only division of the government posts has remained to be decided.

Kosnett: The U.S. never supported border change (Kallxo)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Kosnett spoke at Jeta ne Kosove TV show about the U.S. position with regards to the change of borders between Kosovo and Serbia. He said their position was often misunderstood.

“We have said that if Kosovo and Serbia negotiate a comprehensive solution which includes revision of the borders, we will not oppose it immediately. But it is important to let your viewers know that the U.S. government has never encouraged in an active manner a border revision or as some called it division,” Kosnett said.

He added that the issue of border change is old news and it was not popular among Kosovo citizens.

Kosnett also had a specific message for Vetevendosje Movement’s leader Albin Kurti. “I think that Albin Kurti is aware that he has to convince people of Kosovo that he intends to be Prime Minister of all people in Kosovo. I said this in the past, he is aware that people did not vote for him to be the Prime Minister of the Republic of Northern Albania,” Kosnett said.  He added that Kurti should meet more often the people of Kosovo.

Kurti, who was also present at the show, responded to Kosnett’s remarks saying “I will be the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo but I have to stress that to me, Albania is a special country and Serbia is a special country, and they are in two extremes of my views.”

UK’s ambassador meets LDK leaders (media)

The British Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott met yesterday leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa and its deputy Vjosa Osmani.

In a statement after the meeting, LDK said they discussed recent political developments, negotiations with the Vetevendosje Movement and relations between Kosovo and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Abbott is quoted as telling Indeksonline after the meeting that he had a very good meeting. “Mr. Mustafa gave me a very good opportunity to hear from him how coalition negotiations are going, and we are looking into how to move forward successfully as soon as possible and that the agreement is closer by the day,” Abbott is quoted.

Selimi: Lajcak, serious candidate for EU envoy in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

Several media outlets are quoting the former Kosovo foreign minister, Petrit Selimi, saying that Miroslav Lajcak from Slovakia is a serious contender for the post of EU envoy in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I’ve heard now from three different sources Josep Borrell is seriously considering appointing Slovak Miroslav Lajcak as envoy in dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Minister Lajcak is likable, but I really don’t think an envoy should come from a non-recognizing country,” Selimi wrote on Twitter.

“Serbian List not an obstacle to formation of new Kosovo government” (media)

In a farewell meeting with the Italian Ambassador to Kosovo Piero Cristoforo Sardi, Dalibor Jevtic from the Serbian List said the party will not be an obstacle to the formation of new Kosovo government. Jevtic said in the meeting that Serbs’ minimal demand is not to be discriminated in Kosovo.

Palokaj: EU has failed in the dialogue led by Mogherini (Koha)

The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent, Augustin Palokaj, said in an interview with KTV on Thursday that the European Union has failed in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, by not speaking in one voice and by allowing the issue of borders to be raised.

Palokaj also said there will be no visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo this year, and that hopes for this to happen next year rest with Germany.

“Everything surrounding the dialogue was about Kosovo’s tariff on Serbian goods, the demands of the EU and the U.S. to lift the tariff, and Prime Minister Haradinaj’s insistence that the tariff would not be lifted until his conditions are met. In my opinion, maybe this was just an excuse for the lack of progress in the dialogue, because even if it weren’t for the tariffs, the dialogue was in a dangerous phase … The former High Representative, Mogherini, will be remembered for her mistake to allow people to talk about border changes,” Palokaj said.

Constitutional Court suspends law on salaries (media)

Upon the request of Kosovo Ombudsperson, the Constitutional Court has decided to suspend the implementation of the Law on Salaries for Public Sector until 30 March 2020. The law is reported to cover 70 percent of the public sector, leaving the rest of employees outside of its scope.

Meanwhile, four trade unions including that of healthcare, education, customs, and police are against the suspension measure and have announced protests in support of the law.

Montenegro court confirms sentence for war crimes in Kosovo (Zeri)

Montenegro’s Court of Appeals has confirmed the 14-year prison sentence for Vlado Zmajevic, former member of the Yugoslav Army, convicted of war crimes in murdering four Albanian civilians in the Kosovo village of Zheger.

Kosovo opens its embassy in Oslo, Norway (RTK)

Kosovo’s first Ambassador to Norway Uliks Emra presented his letters of credence to his Highness King of Norway Harald V, being accredited as the Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Kosovo to the Kingdom of Norway.

Conveying the greetings of the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci and population of Kosovo, Emra expressed appreciation to his Highness King of Norway Harald V for the unsaved and comprehensive contribution that the Kingdom of Norway offered to Kosovo during the years.

“On his side, His Majesty King Harald, after expressing his heartfelt greetings to President Thaci, stressed that they are very happy about Kosovo’s decision to open the Embassy in Oslo and that this is a special moment in the relations between two countries.

“The Kingdom of Norway will continue to support Kosovo in all areas, and you can be very sure of that,” he was quoted as saying.