• 141 new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours (media)
• Kamenica mayor announces he tested positive for coronavirus (media)
• Lajcak: Kosovo’s road to EU depends on normalisation of relations with Serbia (media)
• Thaci calls for visa liberalisation, dialogue to end in mutual recognition (media)
• Hoti: Kosovo government ready to resume dialogue with Serbia (media)
• Osmani: Dialogue should not include talks on territories (media)
• Trump’s advisor: Pleasure to welcome presidents of Kosovo and Serbia (media)
• Stano: Brussels dialogue, main platform for Serbia and Kosovo (EWB)
• Mustafa expects final agreement with Serbia by year’s end (RTK/Telegrafi)
• Surroi: Russia may seek to be present in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Koha)
• Djuric, Serbian List react to the inauguration of Decan-Plava road (Koha)

 Kosovo Media Highlights

141 new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said in a statement on Tuesday that 141 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed. 42 new cases are from the municipality of Prishtina.

There are currently 756 active coronavirus cases in Kosovo.

Kamenica mayor announces he tested positive for coronavirus (media)

Mayor of Kamenica, Qendron Kastrati, announced via social media that he has tested positive for Covid-19 after being exposed to the virus a week ago.

Kastrati said he is not experiencing any symptoms but that he is in self-isolation and is working from home.

Lajcak: Kosovo’s road to EU depends on normalisation of relations with Serbia (media)

The EU Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, was in Pristina yesterday where he discussed with institutional leaders the prospects of resuming dialogue.

He said that Kosovo’s path to European integration goes through normalisation of relations with Serbia and that he informed his interlocutors about his plans for dialogue. “I want Kosovo to walk this path and this can only be done by the EU,” Lajcak said.

Lajcak underlined he expects close cooperation with the U.S. on the dialogue issue saying that everything achieved so far in the process is a result of joint and close work between the EU and the U.S. and that the ambition is to continue this way.

“My mandate is very clear, to assist in achievement of a legally binding agreement between Kosovo and Serbia that would normalise relations and resolve all problems and that would be acceptable for the countries in the region and the EU member states,” he noted.

Thaci calls for visa liberalisation, dialogue to end in mutual recognition (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said after meeting EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak on Tuesday that the European Union must grant visa liberalisation to Kosovo and that the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia must conclude with mutual recognition.

Thaci said Kosovo has unwavering trust in the United States and that it embraces European values. “We also need to be acknowledged and valued by the European Union. The European Union is running late with the visa liberalisation process and it must move quickly,” he said.

Thaci also said he believes the United States and the European will coordinate successfully as partners of Kosovo, Serbia and the Western Balkans. “We welcome all efforts that lead to the full normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. This also means peace and stability in the Western Balkans,” Thaci added.

Koha quotes Thaci saying he would be ready to sign agreement in Washington if a good deal is presented to him while Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said he did not expect the meeting to end in a signing ceremony.

Hoti: Kosovo government ready to resume dialogue with Serbia (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said at a joint press conference with the EU Special Representative for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak that the government of Kosovo is ready to resume the dialogue with Serbia process.

“We are ready for a dialogue that would finally close the deal and all open issues we have with our neighbouring country,” Hoti said adding that the talks should end in mutual recognition paving the way for Kosovo’s European integration perspective.

Hoti said he was pleased with messages that Lajcak conveyed in Pristina and announced he will once again meet the EU envoy to discuss technical side of dialogue.

Osmani: Dialogue should not include talks on territories (media)

Kosovo Assembly President Vjosa Osmani said on Tuesday that talks between Kosovo and Serbia should not include negotiations on territories. After meeting EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, Osmani said the government should represent Kosovo in the process of dialogue with Serbia and that the Assembly must have an oversight role in the process.

Osmani said that the dialogue should conclude with mutual recognition between the two countries. She argued that there should be no negotiations on Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Trump’s advisor: Pleasure to welcome presidents of Kosovo and Serbia (media)

Robert O’Brien, National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday he welcomes the meeting between Kosovo and Serbia delegations at The White House on June 27.

“I am pleased to host the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo with @RichardGrenell at the White House. The United States is looking forward to these important discussions,” O’Brien said.

Stano: Brussels dialogue, main platform for Serbia and Kosovo (EWB)

European External Action Service Spokesman Peter Stano told FoNet news agency he did not want to speculate on what would happen in Washington during the announced Belgrade-Pristina meeting, but stressed that the Brussels dialogue is the main platform for Serbia and Kosovo and that the goal was to move closer to a final agreement and progress on the European path.

Asked whether two parallel negotiation processes are taking place in Brussels and Washington, he said that interpretations are free, but that the EU mediates in the dialogue between the two sides from the beginning and that they see positively everything that will move things forward.

According to him, the EU and the United States have a common interest in the Western Balkans. “We want to help stabilize the region. The future of these countries is European “, said Stano.

Mustafa expects final agreement with Serbia by year’s end (RTK/Telegrafi)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa said he was hopeful a final comprehensive agreement with Serbia will be reached by the end of the year which he said should be facilitated by the U.S. and the EU.

Speaking to the public broadcaster RTK, Mustafa said the final agreement would pave way for Kosovo to join the United Nations and other international mechanisms.

Surroi: Russia may seek to be present in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Koha)

Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview with KTV that Russia could also be seeking to be part of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue which, according to him, would present a real problem.

He said dialogue needs to be well-structured so as to enable establishment of inter-state relations between Kosovo and Serbia within a framework where both the U.S. and the EU would be able to contribute.

Surroi also said Kosovo should request a consensus between the U.S. and the EU on the issue of dialogue adding that there can be no two parallel processes. “There is one process set out by the UN General Assembly, the Brussels one. The U.S. has agreed to support it, we have sought the U.S. role to be greater, among others, because of EU’s failure. The real problem could be that apart from the U.S. Russia could request to be present, which it actually did,” he said.

Speaking about the upcoming meeting in Washington, Surroi said that neither President Hashim Thaci nor Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti have consensus in discussing a possible agreement.

Djuric, Serbian List react to the inauguration of Decan-Plava road (Koha)

Head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, has reacted to the inauguration of the Decan-Plava road yesterday saying he expects the international community to prevent unlawful construction work near the UNESCO-protected site of the Orthodox Monastery of Decan.

The Serbian List said it was disappointed with the inauguration ceremony. “The road is being constructed in the Decan Monastery zone which is legally protected and such construction activity is not allowed in the area,” the Serbian List said.

Yesterday, a group of Kosovo government officials inaugurated the first segment of the road with Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti underscoring the importance of the project which he said will connect Albanians and has strategic interest.