LOCAL PRESS 

Serbia inspired by spirit of Sretenje an example to many around the world (Politika/Novosti/Tanjug) 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated in Orasac on Monday that the spirit of Serbia from the time of Sretenje is guiding us and expiring even today, when Serbia is a strong and modern state that values its history and tradition and takes care of its citizens, its national interests and the economy. Speaking at a state ceremony marking the Statehood Day of Serbia together with President of Republika Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic, Brnabic said that we are marking Sretenje today in a world that we could not imagine one year ago, in a world faced with the biggest crisis since World War II, in which due to the pandemic everything changed overnight and we are going through unparalleled challenges. Inspired by the spirit of Sretenje, Serbia has become a world leader, the best organised with its own forces in the fight against COVID and it helps others in the region, Brnabic pointed out and added that the voice and opinion of such a Serbia is respected in the international arena too. Brnabic said that our country is getting stronger and stronger even in these difficult times and an increasingly good place to live in, noting that our ancestors would be proud to see how Serbia is fighting with its own resources and knowledge. Cvijanovic stated that Serbia of today is a proof that all obstacles in the past have been successfully overcome and that Serbia is strong and determined enough to face all the challenges that the future brings.

Blinken to Vucic: Reaching a comprehensive agreement centered on mutual recognition will require flexibility and a willingness on all sides to compromise (Tanjug) 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated on Monday, on behalf of the US government, Statehood Day. “This year we also recognize the 140th anniversary of formal relations between our two countries. As we reflect on this extensive shared history, including our alliance during two world wars, together we share pride in the contributions of individuals like Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin, and Mabel Grujic, and both our nations celebrate the Serbian Apollo Seven’s contributions to landing an astronaut on the moon. The United States reaffirms its commitment to our long-standing partnership.  Our support for Serbia’s strategic goal of membership in the European Union endures.  We applaud Serbia’s steps to establish normalized relations with Kosovo.  Reaching a comprehensive agreement centered on mutual recognition will require flexibility and a willingness on all sides to compromise. I wish safety and good health to the people of Serbia as we continue to work together to overcome the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macron to Vucic: I remain determined to support efforts related to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina aimed at reaching a comprehensive and final agreement (FoNet/RTS) 

French President Emmanuel Macron conveyed on Monday a congratulation to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the Statehood Day of Serbia. The congratulation reads as follows:

“Mr President, dear Aleksandar, On the occasion of the Republic of Serbia’s national holiday, I hereby convey to you cordial congratulations on behalf of France and on my own behalf. The spirit that dominated my visit to Belgrade on 15 and 16 July 2019, and which enabled me to see how much France is present in Serbs’ hearts, continued to boost our activities. I was pleased when we exchanged views in Paris on 1 February, reaffirming our understanding and our common will to further deepen our bilateral relations. I am convinced that the implementation of the Belgrade metro project, as a symbol of our cooperation, will enable attraction of other French investments. As we discussed in Paris, I remain determined to support the efforts related to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, with the support of European mediation, aimed at reaching a comprehensive and final agreement that will contribute to the stability of the entire region. Rest assured that France stands by Serbia to support it on the path of reforms, especially in the rule of law within the renewed accession procedure that you have accepted and which, I am convinced, is in the interest of Serbia and its citizens. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you once again, and please accept Mr President the assurances of my highest consideration,” reads the congratulation of the French President Macron. At the end of the letter, President Macron added the following in his own handwriting: “Thank you once again for our exchange of views. You can count on me, and I count on you.”

Falconi: Without the “game of alliances” for solution of Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug/RTV)

French Ambassador to Serbia Jean-Louis Falconi estimates that it is not an exaggeration to say that France is a strategic partner of Serbia, that it cultivates dynamic bilateral relations and a political dialogue with trust, and when it comes to the Kosovo issue, as he says, no external force should dictate the terms of a possible agreement concerning the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Therefore, there is no “game of alliances”, Falconi said in a written interview for Tanjug on Sunday, answering the question whether the assessments heard here after the meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris were exaggerated, that Serbia finally got an ally in France in the West and expectations from Paris when it comes to solving the Kosovo problem. “France fully supports the mediation of the EU in this dialogue because we believe that it is a matter of European security. The role of the facilitator is to see the field of possibilities, to take into account the views of the parties, their red lines, to make proposals, if that happens, for dialogue to yield results and, if necessary, use its influence,” explains Falconi. As for the content of a possible agreement, he says, the French President was very clear: only those solutions that enable permanent progress on this issue should be approved by both sides and confirmed at the international level. “France will not stand in the way of an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, but such a compromise needs to be reached,” says Falconi. When asked how high the issue of Kosovo and Metohija is on France’s agenda at the moment, having in mind all the problems within the EU and within the country due to the pandemic and economic crisis, the Ambassador said that the Kosovo issue remains well placed on France’s diplomatic and international agenda. “This decision is not accidental, despite the pandemic and economic crisis. If I stick to the facts, the future of the European continent, stability and security of the region, its economic development depend on it. Western Balkans is our neighbor and is surrounded by several EU countries. Thus, it is normal for us to be very interested in that,” he says, noting that this is also a “personal” priority of President Macron, who, he says, has been pursuing a decisive pro-European policy since the beginning of his term.

Vucic receives Borisov (Tanjug/RTS) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received on Monday in Belgrade Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who co-chairs the Serbian-Russian intergovernmental committee on trade and economic and scientific and technical cooperation, thanking him for making 15 February, Serbia’s Statehood Day, an even greater occasion with his visit to Serbia. “I am glad we are celebrating the great holiday, Sretenje, with our Russian friends,” Vucic said, also thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for congratulating him on Statehood Day. According to a statement released by his office, Vucic expressed the hope he would have an opportunity to welcome Putin in Belgrade again. Vucic, who had bestowed a ribbon Order of the Republic of Serbia upon Borisov earlier in the day, said the Russian official deserved the honor many times over due to his efforts aimed at strengthening the cooperation between Serbia and Russia. He also noted that strategic relations between the two countries were good, and highlighted the significance of Russia’s active support for Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Congratulating Vucic on Statehood Day, Borisov said he was honored to receive the high-ranking Serbian state decoration. Vucic thanked Russia for shipments of its anti-COVID vaccine Sputnik V, and they also discussed the implementation of plans for Serbia to produce the vaccine on its own with assistance from Russian experts and based on Russian technology. Borisov said bilateral relations were making constant progress. “Each of our meetings opens a new page in our cooperation,” the Russian official said. Vucic and Borisov said the goal was for bilateral trade between Serbia and Russia to exceed $4 billion. They also agreed that implementation of joint infrastructure and energy projects was making good progress.

Vucic congratulates Serb List on winning all ten mandates (Tanjug/TV Pink) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic congratulated on Sunday evening the Serb List on winning all ten mandates at the elections in Kosovo and Metohija. “I congratulate our people. I hoped for this and this is an important matter, because a difficult period awaits us,” said Vucic on TV Pink.

“How come Rada Trajkovic didn’t receive anything? It seems the people know who is doing what over there and who is working in their interest,” said Vucic. He says that he received information that the Albanians are trying to have Kosovo in the Conference of Constitutional Courts, as an international institution. “We will follow that, and if that is really true and if it turns out to be true by the end of February and the beginning of March, then that means that they no longer respect any norm of the Washington agreement. There is no problem, but we will be forced to respond to that. But they will not like the answer, it will be diplomatic, serious and responsible,” said Vucic. I do not believe that they will be happy with new withdrawals of recognition, and I can now tell them that there will be, said Vucic and asked them once again to come to their senses and respect the agreements they signed.

Petkovic: Victory of Serb List is guarantee of survival of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug/RTV) 

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic stated on Monday that the victory of the Serb List at the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo and Metohija is a guarantee of the survival of the Serbs and the state of Serbia on the territory of the southern Serbian province. With congratulations on the occasion of the Statehood Day of Serbia, especially to the citizens of Kosovo and Metohija, Petkovic pointed out that the numbers show that the Serb List won 96.16 percent of the votes, which is a higher percentage compared to the previous ones held in 2019. That, he said, clearly speaks of the trust that the Serb List has among the people of Kosovo and Metohija, considering that the other two Serb parties that support the Albanians won 3.85 percent, two percent less compared to the previous elections. The result of the Serb List, Petkovic pointed out at a press conference, shows that this political option will exclusively decide on the future and destiny of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, in consultation with Belgrade. He assessed that the post-election situation in Kosovo and Metohija will be “difficult and complex”, adding that he expects pressure from the West on Belgrade and President Vucic in that regard. He expects that the election result of the Albanian political parties will make the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina more difficult, considering that Albin Kurti’s Self-Determination has already said that “dialogue is not on the list of priorities”. “With the victory of Self-Determination, the political situation in Kosovo and Metohija is completely changing. And what is important and what we should all understand is that Belgrade, the state of Serbia and President Aleksandar Vucic are for dialogue and that only with a compromise solution and dialogue can we achieve historical reconciliation between Serb and Albanian people,” stated Petkovic and pointed out that this is the position of most EU member states and most influential countries in the world. He points out that Belgrade supports the EU mediator in the dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and has a constructive approach towards that process that is in our interest. “Because, while we have a dialogue and talk about difficult problems at the Brussels table, we are avoiding problems on the ground,” Petkovic said, adding that a compromise solution is only possible with Belgrade’s consent. If someone tries to reach a solution with ultimatums and blackmail, there will be nothing from it,” concluded Petkovic.

Dacic: No Pristina government is pleasing to Serb people (TV Pink/Beta) 

It was positive to see a large number of Serbs cast ballots in the recent snap parliamentary elections in Kosovo and vote for the Serb List party, as the List represented a connection with Serbia, Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said, noting that no government in Pristina is pleasing to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, but their interest was to be represented in the institutions. Dacic told TV Pink that by winning all ten seats in the Kosovo Assembly allocated for the Serbs, the Serb List had become a factor which could not be avoided during the formation of a new cabinet. Asked to comment on the fact that the largest number of ballots had been collected by the Self-Determination party, the leader of which, Albin Kurti, had said that the resumption of the dialogue with Belgrade was not his priority, Dacic said that he was not surprised with the statement, adding that if Kurti had formed a cabinet, the time ahead would not be easy for the dialogue. Dacic stressed it was important to preserve peace and stability in the region and to honor the agenda which is sustainable at this time, such as free movement of goods and persons.

Twenty years since terrorist attack on Nis Ekspres bus near Podujevo (RTS/Tanjug) 

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced that today marks 20 long years since one of the most monstrous crimes committed by Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija when the Nis Ekspres bus was attacked in Livadice near Podujevo, killing 12 and injuring 43 displaced Serbs who went to mark the Memorial Day in Gracanica. Suncica Pejcic, Zivana Tokic, Slobodan Stojanovic, Mirjana Dragovic, Veljko Stakic, Nenad Stojanovic, Milinko Kragovic, Lazar Milkic, Dragan and Nebojsa Vukovic, Snezana and Danilo Cokic, who was only two years old, were killed in the attack. Even after two decades, no one has been charged for this crime, and the families of the victims are still waiting for justice for their loved ones. The crime in Livadice shows that there is still no readiness in Pristina to face the committed crimes, as evidenced by the glorification of the crimes of the terrorist KLA that we witnessed in previous months. This crime is both a mirror and a defeat for the international community in Kosovo and Metohija, which has shown itself unprepared and disinterested to ensure security for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and justice for all victims, especially since this crime took place in the presence of international security forces. We expect those responsible for this and other crimes against Serbs to be brought to justice, and in that sense we ask the international community to reopen this and other unsolved cases of crimes against Serbs and victims, at least after two decades, to bring peace and comfort to families. The Serbian government will never stop seeking justice for the victims of this and other monstrous crimes committed throughout the province, it is stated in the announcement.

Reljic: Truth about massacre will not be announced (Danas, by Jelena Tasic) 

“The truth about the massacre of Serbs in Livadice – about the preparation of the terrorist act, its perpetrators and the number of victims, has not and will not be announced to the public. Firstly because the military and civilian representatives of the international administration in Kosovo and Metohija do not want that truth to be known, and finally because the political representatives of our country have never shown nearly enough persistence in demanding that the truth be revealed. Having ‘plowed’ the standards proclaimed in their time, which should precede the status, in the ecstasy of so-called negotiations and Brussels “progresses”, they did not condition a single agreement with the massacre in Livadice, the massacre of reapers in Stari Gracko, the shooting of children on the river in Gorazdevac, the 2004 pogrom, mass persecution of Serbs and Gorani, so many destroyed churches, burned homes and ‘killed’ graves,”- Mitra Reljic, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Pristina, based in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, tells Danas on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack in Livadice.

Mitra Reljic was one of the passengers in a convoy of six Nis Ekspres buses, one of which was blown up on 16 February 2001 in a mine explosion placed under a bridge on the Nis-Pristina highway in Livadice near Podujevo. “When it comes to the terrorist attack near Podujevo, as well as the one in Stari Gracko, the pogrom in March 2004 and many other atrocities, British and American members of KFOR, but also some others, not only covered up the crimes but, if not in the abovementioned ones participated, they certainly tacitly supported many crimes against the Serbs. I say this on the basis of what was happening before my eyes in Pristina, entrusted to the British KFOR contingent, as well as what was happening at the administrative crossing near Podujevo, under the control of British soldiers, on that 16 February 2001, where we, survivors of the massacre, spent more than sixteen hours on the lawn,” says Reljic. She reminds that because of the attitude of KFOR members towards the Serb population in Kosovo and Metohija, she also wrote to the then KFOR commander Juan Ortuno. “In the midst of unimaginable terror against the Serbs, in which, in their own way, members of certain KFOR contingents also took part – they classified, for example, Serbs at administrative crossings, according to that Nazi rule, into men and women, and forced mothers, for the sake of being searched naked, to put the babies on the dirty ground – I sent a letter to Juan Ortuno, the then KFOR commander. Recalling his affiliation with the Spanish people close to us, I appealed to him to stop the organized terror against the Serb people and to abolish concentration camps for Serbs, and noted that it was of little use to Serbs that he might tell the truth in his memoirs in twenty years,” said Mitra Reljic.

She does not believe that the subsequent findings will contribute to the discovery, especially not the sanctioning of crimes committed against the Serbs, stating as an argument that “if they wanted to, Florim Ejupi would not just like that ‘escape’ from Bondsteel”.

Dacic: Some parties don’t want foreigners in the inter-party dialogue (Politika/Beta) 

The positions of parties that do not want to participate in the inter-party dialogue on election conditions should also be heard if representatives of the European Parliament or any foreign mediators are already present in the talks, Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said on Saturday. “It is obvious that there are political parties that do not want to participate in the dialogue with government representatives in the presence of European mediators. That means that there will have to be another platform for talks with other parties,” Dacic told Politika. Politika reminded that Dacic proposed 1 March as the date for the first video conference in which he and EP representatives would participate together with David McAllister. After that, invitations would be sent to political parties and, depending on their answers, further talks would be organized.

Part of Serbia’s opposition presents joint platform for election dialogue (FoNet) 

Representatives of part of Serbia’s opposition presented four goals in their platform for inter-party dialogue under the auspices of the European Parliament – ensuring free and secret voting for citizens, the prevention of misuse of state public resources for political purposes, ensuring media freedom and establishing expert bodies to supervise the election process. Those behind the platform are the Democratic Party, the Movement for Reversal, the Movement of Free Citizens, the Party of Freedom and Justice, the ‘Do not let Belgrade d(r)own’ Initiative, and Together for Serbia. A representative of the Do not let Belgrade d(r)own Initiative Biljana Djordjevic said that this part of the opposition is demanding early elections at all levels, separate elections for different government levels and the obligation for the list holder to be on the party’s electoral list. Deputy leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice Borko Stefanovic said that his party demands the formation of a transitional body for conducting elections, either a new ministry or a coordinating body with executive powers, which will serve to prevent pressure and blackmail targeting voters in Serbia. This body should be headed by a person who is not a member of any political party but an expert in electoral law who is proposed by opposition parties, he explained. Stefanovic added that another demand is the establishment of a parallel editorial of the informative program of the public broadcaster, Radio and Television of Serbia, and the Radio and Television of Vojvodina. Democratic Party Vice President Dragana Rakic said she hopes that in the coming period the entire opposition will reach a single joint platform.

Serbs ‘exterminated’ from B&H judiciary! (Novosti)

The daily notes that with the election of Halil Lagumdzija for the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), the Serbs have lost another leading post in the B&H judiciary. According to the daily, all the leading posts are now occupied by the Bosniaks, with the exception of Chief Prosecutor of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office Gordana Tadic, who is a Croat, and President of the B&H Constitutional Court (CC) Zlatko Knezevic, who is a Serb. According to the daily, knowing that votes of foreign judges in the CC are crucial for adoption of decisions, it shows the importance of Knezevic’s post. Delegate in the B&H House of Peoples Dusanka Majkic (SNSD) said the Bosniak policy has never given up on the plan to control the whole judiciary, which is now happening with Lagumdzija’s election. Majkic stresses that the Republika Srpska (RS) should answer to Sarajevo the same way and appoint Serb staff to leading posts in the judiciary in the RS.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Kordic elected new Mayor of Mostar, Maric elected President of Mostar City Council (BHT1)

HDZ B&H Mario Kordic was elected the new Mayor of Mostar at Monday’s session of the Mostar City Council. Namely, Kordic was elected the Mostar Mayor following a third round of voting in which he won 17 votes, while his opponent and candidate of ‘Coalition for Mostar’ Zlatko Guzin won 16 votes. Two votes cast in the third round of voting for the new Mostar Mayor were invalid. Despite the fact that this was a secret ballot, BHT1 presumes that Our Party (NS) remained consistent to the very end. Namely, both NS’ Irma Baralija and NS’ Boska Cavar previously stated that they will not support either the HDZ B&H’s candidate or ‘Coalition for Mostar’ candidate. After his election, Kordic took his solemn oath as the new Mostar Mayor, while official handover of duty ceremony should take place by the end of the week. “I am extremely proud of the fact that I have been elected the Mayor of Mostar. You can expect that I will work hard and that we will create a good story and everything that we stated during the election campaign and after that will be my mission and we will all work together to the benefit of citizens of Mostar” Kordic underlined. Given that in accordance with the Statute of the City of Mostar, President of the Mostar City Council and the Mostar Mayor cannot come from the rank of the same people, Salem Maric was elected the new President of the Mostar City Council (Instead of HDZ B&H’s Ivan Zelenika). After the vote on the Mostar Mayor, an extraordinary session of the Mostar City Council took place at which Mostar councilors adopted the decision on temporary financing of the City of Mostar for the period January-March 2021. The reporter characterized the session as a constructive session without many breaks and in her opinion, the election of the new Mayor was a big moment that everyone waited for, expressing hope that this will unblock things and move them towards a better future.

Sattler, Inzko congratulate election of Mostar Mayor, call for constructive work to benefit all Mostar citizens (Oslobodjenje)

The Head of the EU Delegation to B&H Johann Sattler congratulated newly elected Mostar Mayor Mario Kordic and stated: “This is an opportunity to turn a page and work constructively with all 34 councilors to markedly improve the functioning of the city and meet the expectations of its citizens”. High Representative Valentin Inzko also congratulated and stated: “I implore the new Mayor and the new City Council not to waste a single day and start working on resolving various issues that burden each and every citizen of Mostar”.

Inzko confirms OHR is analyzing proposal for Mostar to have rotating Mayor (O kanal)

The City Council of Mostar (CCM) failed to hold the second round of voting for the new Mayor of Mostar on Friday and session of the CCM was postponed at the request of BH Bloc’s Irma Baralija so that all political parties could agree on the proposal for Mostar to have a “rotating Mayor”. Namely, BH Bloc proposed signing of an agreement about a “rotating Mayor” in Mostar, which stipulates rotation of most probably three persons in the post of Mostar Mayor, where each candidate would hold the post for 16 months and three candidates would most likely be from HDZ B&H, the Coalition for Mostar and BH Bloc. Representatives of the Mostar branch of SDP B&H stated that this would be a political agreement and that the Statute of the City of Mostar would not have to be changed. SDP B&H councilor in the CCM Arman Zalihic stressed that the goal is to resolve the stories of winners and losers in Mostar and create a broad enough a coalition that would deal with the issues such as water supply, sewage and roads. The Coalition for Mostar, more precisely SDA, accepted the proposal for Mostar to have a “rotating Mayor”, while HDZ B&H rejected it. HDZ B&H representatives deemed the proposal for Mostar to have a “rotating Mayor” as a game of BH Bloc and its partners. President of the CCM Ivan Zelenika (HDZ B&H) stressed that the Statute of City of Mostar stipulates how the Mayor of Mostar is elected. “The Statute stipulates the duration of mandate. The Statute stipulates how Mayor if removed, how the City Council President is removed and everything else,” Zelenika said. President of HDZ B&H City Board in Mostar Slaven Zeljko stressed that the principle of rotation is not part of the Election Law of B&H. “We have to complete this process without rotation regardless of the fact that someone perhaps last night dreamt about rotation or had a similar idea,” Zeljko underlined. High Representative Valentin Inzko confirmed for O Kanal that the OHR is analyzing the proposal for Mostar to have a “rotating mayor”.

Covic sends letter to EUD, OSCE, OHR, US Embassy: Proposal on method of rotation of Mayor of Mostar is unacceptable (Nova BH)

Last session of the City Council of Mostar (CCM) was interrupted after BH Bloc proposed rotation method, according to which candidate of each of three political blocs in Mostar should be performing duty of Mayor of Mostar for equal number of months. This proposal was accepted by Coalition for Mostar and First Mostar Party (PMP), while it is completely unacceptable for HDZ B&H. Leader of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic sent a letter to the OHR and foreign embassies in B&H. Among other things, the letter reads that anti-Croat hysteria is on the scene, aimed at preventing legitimate election will of citizens of Mostar and to block process of election of Mayor and consequently formation of functional local authorities. Covic called on the international community to prevent institutional tyranny and chaos, which can occur due to unreasonable conditioning and disputing election will of citizens. SDP’s councilor in the City Council Arman Zalihic said that Covic’s letter was unnecessary. Zalihic added that every time Covic is nervous, he addresses the international community. “There is nothing for the OHR to do here. If wide enough political agreement is reached, it can be adopted by the City Council in legal way”, explained Zalihic. Councilor of Coalition for Mostar Adil Suta stated that they hope Mayor will be elected soon, and that he expects Zlatko Guzin will be first Mayor in line with rotation model. Next session of the City Council of Mostar is set to be held on Monday. Leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic reacted to Covic’s letter. He said that HDZ B&H leader’s letter is full of ungrounded and insulting claims and theses. Izetbegovic went on to say that proposal to share power in Mostar that includes Croats, was defined as anti-Croat hysteria by Covic. Covic sent the letter to the EU Delegation (EUD) to B&H, the OSCE Mission to B&H, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the US Embassy to B&H. Covic noted that the proposed solutions have no legal basis.

Raguz sends letter to international institutions in B&H agreeing with Covic that rotation model for Mostar Mayor is unacceptable (Hayat)

HRS leader Slaven Raguz sent a letter to the international institutions in B&H on Sunday, as a reaction to HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic’s letter to the international actors in which he called for a reaction to the situation with the proposed rotation model for the future Mostar Mayor. Raguz wrote that he agrees with Covic that the rotation model is unacceptable, as well as that there has been “anti-Croat hysteria”. However, Raguz disagrees with Covic that the international actors should engage in this situation. According to the HRS leader, Croats in B&H do not need anyone’s help. “HRS emphasizes that Croats do not need anyone’s help. Perhaps HDZ B&H needs help, but Croats do not. Croats in B&H are not only HDZ B&H” the letter reads. The letter was sent to High Representative Valentin Inzko, Head of the EU Delegation to B&H Johann Sattler, US Ambassador Eric Nelson and Head of the OSCE Mission to B&H Kathleen Kavalec.

Maric uses his first public address as President of Mostar City Council to put blame on BH Bloc and OHR for election of Mostar Mayor: OHR was again on the side of HNS or HDZ B&H (O kanal)

O Kanal carried a live broadcast of the first public address of the new Mayor of Mostar Mario Kordic and the new President of the Mostar City Council (MCC) Salem Maric. Maric used his first public address as the President of the Mostar City Council to put blame BH Bloc and the Office of High Representative (OHR) for the election of Mayor of Mostar. Maric started his address by congratulating Kordic and apologizing to the citizens of Mostar on his behalf and behalf of Coalition for Mostar for “unpleasant scenes in the MCC” during the last few days. Maric said that there was no explanation from those who asked for adjourning the session and who suggested the rotating position for the Mayor. Maric pointed out: “Coalition for Mostar accepted (the proposal) solely for the reason of removing any labels from the Coalition and SDA, that we sold out and made a deal with HDZ B&H. We tried to use every chance and offered opportunity given to us by BH Bloc. We thought we could have our candidate as the Mayor, as I am sure he is an excellent candidate. They did not find it appropriate to explain to us nor to the citizens of Mostar why they asked for more time and proposed the rotating position for the Mayor, but today they did not mention it. Of course, this will not undermine the election of the new Mayor and I am sure that we will work together successfully in the coming period. I have to use this opportunity to say, primarily because of Bosniaks of the City of Mostar, that this is the third election cycle, in 2004, in 2009 and in 2020, when Bosniaks and pro-B&H parties had the majority. Unfortunately, we could not win the position of the Mayor even once. This is our mistake. We need to ask ourselves and I will use this opportunity to call for one great unity as we never needed unity as we need it now.” Maric commented on the election process by calling it a football match in which they did not only play against “honest players such as Croatian National Assembly (HNS) and HDZ B&H.” Maric said: “I can freely say, no matter how it sounds, that we played against a lot stronger players we did not expect in the other team, against BH Bloc, that tried to gain the position of the Mayor in any way possible without legitimacy and election victory. We have suffered all of their strikes and labels and in the end, it is clear who advocates for what and how far we are willing to go.” Maric added: “The OHR was also against us. The OHR was again on the side of HNS or HDZ B&H. We are sorry this happened. Also, among those who were against us were the leaders of BH Bloc parties from Sarajevo, who used media every day to ruin and disintegrate the unity between the Coalition (for Mostar) and BH Bloc so we would not have the (position of the) Mayor of Mostar City.”  Maric proceeded to accuse the Serb representative: “Unfortunately, against us was also the representative who calls himself the legitimate representative of Serbs in the Mostar City Council. He also voted the way he voted. When you analyze all that, Bosniaks, meaning pro-B&H parties in the Mostar City Council, obviously stood no chance.” Maric concluded his speech by thanking Coalition for Mostar, primarily the councilors from other political parties instead of SDA, because they retained unity. Maric called on ‘Coalition for Mostar’ to stay united and preserve the coalition until 2022 elections. Kordic commented on the events during the election, which Maric mentioned, and said: “I think that Mostar elections and everything that has happened will be the topic of discussion for political analysts. It is important to keep the good spirit we have started with in the Mostra City Council and to work together on projects for the citizens of Mostar. Those who analyze everything may reach a conclusion and say who is guilty of what. I believe we are all winners because after all these years we have a City Council.”

Dreznjak: BH Bloc betrayed interests of Mostar and its citizens; We could have had 18 votes for election of Guzin (Hayat)

Guest of Hayat central news was SDA councilor in the City Council of Mostar Mirza Dreznjak. HDZ B&H Mario Kordic was elected a new Mayor of the City of Mostar. Dreznjak was asked to comment this election and the moves that were made by members of BH Bloc. In his comment on Kordic’s election, Dreznjak said Coalition for Mostar counted on the fact that alongside BH Bloc they had 18 councilors which were enough to have a Mayor that is not an HDZ B&H member. “However, in all this story of the election of Mayor, the leaderships of parties were dragged into all of it. Of course, we could have done everything different. The 18 hands that the so-called ‘pro-Bosnian’ bloc had; Coalition for Mostar had 11, and ‘BH Bloc’ with PMP, its partner, had seven; that is the number 18, a number which could have brought a new name of the Mayor”, Dreznjak points. He added that Kordic won in the third round of voting and the ratio was 17-16 in favor of Kordic. That means two councilors abstained from voting, Dreznjak concludes, adding that these were probably Our Party (NS) councilors. He noted that BH Bloc constantly spread the story of a previously made agreement between HDZ B&H and SDA, while SDA accepted all conditions of BH Bloc in regards to formation of authorities in Mostar. We accepted everything to ensure that our candidate Zlatko Guzin gets the necessary 18 votes, Dreznjak said. Coalition for Mostar was even open to accepting the model by which three candidates would rotate at the post of the Mostar Mayor. Dreznjak concluded that BH Bloc betrayed Mostar and its citizens with their choice made on Monday even though they constantly accused SDA of doing the same thing. Asked how he believes Kordic will run the City in the next four years, Dreznjak assessed that it would be the best if he turns to Mostar and the needs of its citizens, instead of trying to accomplish the goals that HDZ B&H set for the future period. “I hope he will turn to the real problems of citizens, that he will stay away from the daily political problems and of course, assume this post responsibly, a very ‘hot seat’ that was left by Mister Ljubo Beslic,” Dreznjak stated.

Dodik: Together with its coalition partners, SNSD is ready for repeated elections in Doboj and Srebrenica (ATV)

After the SNSD meeting held in Banja Luka on Sunday, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that SNSD and its coalition partners are ready for the repeated elections in Srebrenica and Doboj and they expect very good results. Commenting on the annulment of the election results in the two communities, Dodik said the situation had been politicized in cooperation between the opposition political parties from Republika Srpska (RS) and the Federation of B&H (B&H) authorities. “Bosniaks needed Srebrenica to become a problem, and then SDS and PDP accepted to vote for it under condition to include Doboj. Otherwise, it could not have been justified. The fact is that there have been far more objections to the elections in Mostar than in Doboj and Srebrenica together, and Mostar was accepted, as legitimately held elections,” said Dodik. Dodik stressed that he expects identical and good results as in the previous elections that were annulled in Doboj and Srebrenica.

SDS and PDP set to sign agreement on joint candidate for Doboj Mayor on Tuesday (BN TV)

SDS and PDP are scheduled to sign the agreement on a joint candidate for the Mayor of Doboj, on Tuesday. Namely, the local elections in Doboj are scheduled to be repeated next Sunday. According to announcements from SDS and PDP, their joint candidate will be Cvijan Filipovic. Filipovic himself dismissed the allegations that Srdjan Todorovic from SP RS is the candidate that the opposition will support in Doboj. Filipovic added that he is the joint candidate of the opposition for this post and he claimed that SNSD leader Milorad Dodik asked SP RS leader Petar Djokic for Todorovic to ask his electorate to support SNSD’s candidate Boris Jerinic. Leader of PDP’s candidate list for the Doboj City Council Slobodan Vasiljevic confirmed that PDP intends to support Filipovic’s candidacy.

Parties gathered around Initiative ‘My Address: Srebrenica’ unanimously decide to boycott repeated elections in Srebrenica on February 21 (Hayat/BHT1)

Parties gathered around Initiative ‘My Address: Srebrenica’ unanimously decided to boycott repeated elections in Srebrenica set to be held on 21 February. The B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) decided earlier to annul results of elections at 28 regular polling stations in Srebrenica. Representative of ‘Moja Adresa Srebrenica’ Sadik Ahmetovic stated that they are discontent with the fact B&H CEC failed to completely annul elections in this municipality, especially due to irregularities related to voting via mail. Ahmetovic added that they are prepared to submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H. He added that they will do everything in their power to prove that constitutional right to vote of Bosniaks living in Diaspora was violated. Ahmetovic emphasized that ‘My Address: Srebrenica’ is deprived of democratic opportunity to participate in local elections without votes via mail. Ahmetovic concluded that their decision on boycott came as they saw that “an illusion of democracy” would be staged in Srebrenica on the election day and Bosniaks would once more be made i fools and not allowed to exercise their rights properly. Ahmetovic underlines that the only fair thing after their boycott would be for the CEC to annul the complete elections in Srebrenica Municipality and to call for new elections, at which all people that are eligible to vote would be able to exercise their democratic rights. Abovementioned information was confirmed for BHT1 by pro-Bosnian bloc’s candidate for the post of Head of Srebrenica Municipality Alija Tabakovic. Tabakovic stressed that the decision to boycott the repeated elections in Srebrenica was made after consultations with all pro-Bosnian parties in B&H which supported the Initiative ‘My Address: Srebrenica’. “The B&H CEC, in advance, predetermined the victory of pro-Serb political parties, but also humiliated our citizens who vote by mail from the Diaspora for the umpteenth time,” Tabakovic underlined. Serb candidate for the post of Head of Srebrenica Municipality Mladen Grujicic told BHT1 that he hopes elections will be held in accordance with the law and that citizens of Srebrenica can no longer tolerate the blockade of the authorities. Grujicic stressed that announced boycott of the elections in Srebrenica will not benefit the Bosniak people in any way. “On the contrary, it will cause them more problems. We will implement the elections and elect representatives of the local authorities. I want Bosniaks to be part of those authorities,” Grujicic emphasized.  President of Srebrenica Board of SNSD Radomir Pavlovic said that leaders of pro-Bosnian bloc are carrying out absurd politics because “they first requested elections to be postponed and now they announce boycott. Essentially, they are trying to find a way to justify spending BAM 300,000 on elections without achieving results. I am convinced a high number of Srebrenica Bosniaks will not boycott elections and will go out and vote for people who are fighting for their rights”. Pavlovic claimed that even SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic “distanced himself from this group of people” and explained that this means Izetbegovic does not want to bear the responsibility for election defeat in Srebrenica. President of Srebrenica Board of SDS Momcilo Cvjetinovic said that Srebrenica Bosniaks are fed up with political brokers from pro-Bosnian bloc who proved that their personal interests are more important to them than interests of their compatriots from Srebrenica. Bosniak member of B&H Presidency and Vice President of SDA Sefik Dzaferovic expressed his support to Initiative ‘My Address: Srebrenica’ and the initiative’s boycott of the upcoming repeated elections in Srebrenica. Dzaferovic explained that there were irregularities with absentee voting, namely vote-by-mail ballots that were not counted. Dzaferovic stated: “I completely understand people of Srebrenica and I have been following the situation closely. There is a serious problem created by the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC). There are more than 2,000 people who voted on time, from abroad, during the local elections in 2020 in Srebrenica. They submitted their ballots by mail at the latest on the day when the elections were held. All of those ballots should have been taken into account and the B&H CEC only took into account those ballots which arrived 10 days since the elections were held. All of the ballots that arrived by mail after that period, which is around 2,000 of them, were not taken into account. The decision was made to repeat the elections in regular polling stations but not when it comes to this issue, related to (ballots) from abroad.” Commenting on whether he will support the boycott if it happens, Dzaferovic said SDA always followed, if it was possible, the stances of people in field. “I believe there will be understanding, but the decision has not been made and we will see what kind of decision will be made. I am not ready at the moment to say what will happen or will not happen. I can only say that I understand these people completely.”

Offensive of foreigners on Election Law (Glas Srpske)

According to the daily, B&H and its representatives ae under strong pressure of international officials who are demanding establishing of the new interdepartmental working group tasked to develop proposals for changes to B&H Election Law. B&H House of Peoples speaker Nikola Spiric convened a session of the Joint Collegium of B&H parliament on Tuesday to discuss the information of B&H House of Representatives Collegium regarding the initiative of Head of EU Delegation Johann Sattler, US Ambassador Eric Nelson, Head of OSCE Mission Kathleen Kavalec and High Representative Valentin Inzko who suggested that a new working group should be established.  Commenting the initiative of foreign officials, SNSD’s Lazar Prodanovic stated that the working group will probably be established. However, he warned, the matter of election legislation must be resolved by local political leaders, although any help from the outside is welcome. Prodanovic noted that there is a lot of work to be done regarding the Election Law, and he expects suggestions from B&H House of Peoples, House of Representatives, Council of Ministers and Central Election Commission. According to him, the main problem in the process will be the stalemate in the dialogue between SDA and HDZ B&H. “It is necessary to finish resolving the issue of Mostar, form new authorities in the Federation of B&H (FB&H) following the 2018 General Election and work on demands regarding the legitimate representation in B&H institutions,” said Prodanovic. The Joint Collegium of B&H parliament will also discuss the invitation of B&H Foreign Affairs Ministry to an online meeting about the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling. The daily reminds that HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic recently announced that changes to B&H Election Law would be agreed soon, after a new round of talks. On the other hand, SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic said that progress regarding B&H Election Law can be expected once FB&H authorities have been formed. The daily reminds that B&H Election Law has been amended some 20 times, but there are still many objections against it, and the European Court for Human Rights decided that the law is discriminatory in several of its rulings. Although there have been several interdepartmental working groups working on changes to the Election Law, the changes they proposed have been minor.

Botsan-Kharchenko, US Embassy and UK Embassy comment on appointment of new High Representative, other comments (BHT1)

Ambassador of Russia to Serbia and former Ambassador of Russia to B&H Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko stated that Russia does not approve the appointment of a new High Representative for B&H as it is not in accordance with the position of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and the plan of closing down the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Russia firmly believes that the role of the High Representative was important during the beginning of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA), but according to them, that role belongs in history now. “The current situation is different. In the sense that, at the moment, the position of the High Representative and their duties, gives absolutely nothing. Because he, with the formal preservation of the Bonn powers, is not capable of using the Bonn Powers,” said Botsan-Kharchenko. When Germany officially presented their candidate for the new High Representative Christian Schmidt, it was believed that this was an arrangement between all partners that was supposed to confirmed by the UN Security Council, added the reporter. In the meantime, the key players have confirmed that negotiations are underway, but they denied they reached a final conclusion. The US Embassy to B&H stated they still have a consistent attitude regarding the fulfillment of criteria for suspending international supervision. The US Embassy to B&H issued a statement: “The criteria ‘5+2’ are complementary to B&H’s path towards EU. It is now time to once again focus on fulfilling the set criteria and not for speculation. The transition of leadership is a normal part of functioning of any institution, which had happened in OHR earlier as well.” The UK Embassy to B&H also issued a statement: “We do not want to speculate about the appointment. Any appointment of a new High Representative in OHR would be the topic of the conversation with partners, as well as the appropriate procedures before making any decisions.” These kinds of attitudes show there are now common interests regarding B&H among the members of the PIC Steering Board, added the reporter.

Petritsch says if Schmidt were to be appointed without Russia’s consent, it would decrease HR’s legitimacy (Dnevni list)

Former HR Wolfang Petritsch said he was surprised with Germany’s move to nominate Christian Schmidt for a new HR because the OHR is now part of the problem and not part of the solution, since it is a post-war institution often abused by Russia which used veto power. According to Petritsch, Berlin’s initiative has to be seriously accepted and see what can be done, arguing that the current situation is completely different when compared to before, which is why the EU will have to change its strategy and focus not on changing the B&H Constitution, which would be pointless, instead it should focus on essential issues such as corruption in the country. Former HR went on to say that German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not nominate Schmidt ‘just like that’ and Petritsch wonders if this means that Russia has changed its mind regarding closing down of the OHR. At the same time, continued Petritsch, he hears that the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade has said there is no consent regarding Schmidt’s appointment, which led Petritsch to say it Germany continues to insist on its proposal without Russia’s consent, “it would dramatically decrease the legitimacy of the international representative”. In this context Petritsch says he hopes Berlin cleared the issue with Moscow, otherwise it would lead to Milorad Dodik increasing his rift with rest of B&H. “If Schmidt were to be appointed despite Russia’s veto, then the OHR’s legitimacy would be completely disowned. I hope this will not happen and that Berlin has experience in finding solutions in these kind of situations, but this situation is weird,” said former HR Petritsch. Asked to comment on ideas about the need to change the Dayton agreement, to organize ‘Dayton 2’ and whether the EU and the US have new instruments by which they would exert additional pressure, Petritsch stresses there is no way to the earlier situation because the situation has completely changed now. According to him, results of the current OHR are weaker than results of any OHR from before, which requires new instruments with new approach, “and it cannot be the OHR because it is a post-war institution”. “Maybe set up a new institutional framework that would replace the OHR, the basis of which would be the EU and the US, and everyone would be able to join, but with honest intentions,” said Petritsch adding that an exit strategy would have to be prepared and that Schmidt would have to strengthen the role of foreign judges in building the state and the rule of law as the core of it. “When I spoke to Schmidt, he did not say he would not use the Bonn powers,” added Petritsch. Commenting on a recent telephone conversation between new US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Merkel during which the Western Balkans was mentioned as one of six priorities in their future actions, Petritsch said the best the EU can get “is Washington’s support for its moves and not to be disturbed, which was the case during Trump’s term in office”. In this context Petritsch said Europe will have to deal with small, regional problems by itself, after which it could deal with global problems.

Dodik says RS expects US and EU to continue towards common goal, building unitary and centralized B&H (ATV)

High Representative Valentin Inzko has announced the third phase of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and changes in relations within B&H with support of the US. “I am sure that President Joe Biden, in cooperation with other members of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board (PIC SB), will bring a new dynamic and fresh perspective, that will help to start fresh, both in B&H and the region,” Inzko was quoted as saying. Commenting on this, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said the RS is expecting greater interference by the US and insistence on centralization of B&H. “It is very clear to us that the new US Administration and the EU will act here in a synchronized manner and will continue towards the common goal in B&H, i.e. building a unitary and centralized country with justification that it is a matter of the European integration,” said Dodik and noted the response of the RS is clear, i.e. such policies and goals are not accepted. Commenting on Inzko leaving the office, Dodik said that SNSD opposes the arrival of a new High Representative in B&H, the Office of High Representative in B&H should be abolished and that position is shared by Russia. Dodik repeated once again that the OHR must be closed down and welcomed Moscow’s clear standpoint on this issue which will in his opinion, put an end to speculations on election of the new HR. Dodik underlined: “Moscow clearly said that the office should be closed. If there is no Moscow in the election process, it is impossible to elect the new HR.” Dodik assessed that each and every decision of HR Inzko is unprincipled. RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic said that arrival of new High Representative means B&H is not ready to be a state. “As for the announcement that someone else should be coming, as long as we have High Representatives in B&H, regardless of their name and origin, we do not have a state B&H. We are under a protectorate of the international community,” said Viskovic. ATV reports that Inzko reiterated that the RS parliament has a three-month deadline to annul awards presented to the convicted war criminals, otherwise, sanctions are possible as well as imposing of the Law on Genocide Denial.

Politician sues Croatia at ECHR over former president Tudjman’s documents (Hina)

Croatian politician Vladimir Seks said on Monday he had sued Croatia at the European Court of Human Rights because he was not given access to documents of Croatia’s first President Franjo Tudjman, adding that it was in the national interest to reveal, not conceal that period in recent history. The documents in question are from the archives of the President’s Office. Seks had requested them during former President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic’s term. He was denied access to some with the explanation that they are secret, a decision later upheld by the Administrative and Constitutional courts. Speaking to Hina, Seks said those two courts “for some odd reasons found, completely wrongly, that the publication of President Tudjman’s transcripts would threaten national security” and damage national interests. He said he had no other option but to resolve the matter at European level. Seks said he was denied access to 29 transcripts of Tudjman’s talks with various statesmen and politicians from 1992 and 1993 which he said he needs for his memoirs. Among them are Tudjman’s talks with the leadership of the HDZ party’s Brod-Posavina County branch and an association of returnees, he said, adding that he could not see how they could be a threat to national security. Seks said the Administrative and Constitutional courts made their decisions arbitrarily, not based on law, and that they had made a mistake by closing those documents to the public. Seks’ lawyer Visnja Drenski-Lasan said Seks had filed an application at the ECHR, which has considered that application and decided that Croatia’s legal representative is required to respond to it by 20 May at the latest.

Knezevic: Meeting between the Foreign Affairs Minister and Kosovo Ambassador to Montenegro is treason (CdM)

One of the leaders of the Democratic Front, DF, Milan Knezevic, reflected on the meeting between the Foreign Affairs Minister Djordje Radulovic and Kosovo Ambassador to Montenegro Iljber Hisa, calling it a treason. Knezevic thus again started the story about the withdrawal of Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence. “To whom did we swear on 1 November 2020, that we would not betray Serbian Kosovo? All the conditions for dismissal of accidental Minister Djordje Radulovic are being met. Even Judas would envy such a betrayal,” Knezevic posted on Twitter. It’s unclear whether the leader of the DNP is trying to make a political pressure on the government again, just like he did when it comes to prosecutor’s office. We shall see.

Djukanovic will commit to implementation of agreement (CdM/Vijesti)

In line with his constitutional competencies, the President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic will commit to the implementation of the agreement reached with representatives of the government, concerning the recall of ambassadors, Tamara Brajovic, the President’s Advisor for Foreign Policy noted. In an interview for Vijesti, the leader of DEMOS and an MP Miodrag Lekic told that the President is now asking for the opinion of the parliamentary Committee on International Relations, ignoring decisions signed by the Prime Minister. Brajovic responded, explaining that it’s not usual to ask for the opinion of the parliamentary Committee when it comes to regular recalls. However, as she pointed out, respecting both the Constitution and the parliament as parts of the cohabitation government, Djukanovic in this specific case, when the proposal for the recall was pushed through the election of the new government, asked the competent parliamentary Committee for an opinion on the recall proposal. “In addition, in order to be precise about the matter – the president of the state is the one who seeks opinions of the competent Committee when it comes to the appointment or the recall of ambassadors, not the prime minister,” Brajovic concluded.

Zaev: Debate is over, census will be conducted 1 -21 April (Republika)

The census debate is over. The census will be conducted in our country 1 – 21 April. We are one of the few countries in the world that do not have had a census for 20 years and we should be even more responsible to conduct the census as soon as possible, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Monday. In the spirit of inclusiveness and the attempt to reach a consensus we had an understanding of all the proposals and everything that could be acceptable and reasonable, but the debate on the census is over, he added. Whatever the comments about a possible delay or not, they are over. The debate in our country has been going on since 2012, after the census failed, and that is how we have been debating the census for nine years. And, it was enough debating, let us sit down and finish that census, because it will neither change anything political in the country, nor will it cut or add certain advantages, rules, privileges or anything, said Zaev. The census, he stressed, will provide statistics as a statistical operation, which are so important to us for the future, any planning in the country. The methodology has already been published and all questions have been answered. It is the obligation of every citizen to register. There are serious sanctions for refusing, to register in the census. It is a civic obligation to the state and I believe that we will all fulfill it, said Zaev.

Zaev announced an agreement with Bulgaria (Republika)

The donation of vaccines by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic seems to have softened the Bulgarian authorities, especially Minister Zaharieva. Now, she talks about agreement, cooperation, economics. As if they forgot about the veto, the historical pretensions, the appropriation of the Macedonian history…. But what should scare the Macedonian citizens is the announcement of the Prime Minister Zoran Zaev that an agreement with Bulgaria can be expected soon. Experience teaches us that whenever Zaev makes an agreement with his neighbors, it is to the detriment of Macedonia. It is well known what is on the table in relations with Bulgaria – language, identity, history. It remains to be seen which “specialty” from the menu Zaev is ready to give up in the interest of the future and the EU, as he likes to say. To that end, Foreign Ministers Osmani and Zaharieva are due to meet next week to agree on a date for the second intergovernmental conference to adopt the Action Plan. Although Zaev’s government is trying to relativize that so-called Action Plan and that it envisages talking about the economy, culture, infrastructure, and not politics and history, it is clear that this is the Annex that the authorities in Sofia have submitted to Skopje and which was hidden. It contains conditions that Macedonia needs to meet for Bulgaria to allow the start of negotiations with the EU.

Zaharieva: Let Macedonia be friends with Serbia, but let them be friends with us as well (Republika/24 casa)

Misunderstandings with Macedonia must be overcome, and it is wrong in the 21st century to win elections by campaigning against neighboring countries, said Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, speaking about relations between Skopje and Sofia in an interview with 24 casa. We have no other choice. We have to get over it. We have always supported them even in the most difficult moments, we will continue to do so now. I did not want the talks to be held in front of the media so much, which led to heavy rhetoric, because then it is difficult to give up the words spoken. I understand that we often talk about our own audience, but it is wrong in the 21st century to win elections by campaigning against any of your neighboring countries. This cannot continue like this, says Zaharieva, answering a question about the tense relations between Skopje and Sofia and the possibilities for overcoming the misunderstandings. According to her, the root of the problem is “raising generations with hatred towards Bulgaria and Bulgarians”. Asked whether Serbia and Bulgaria were waging a Cold War on Macedonian territory, Zaharieva said no, but said it was no secret that Belgrade had a strong influence in Skopje. Bulgaria is not waging war for sure. Neither with the Republic of Macedonia nor with Serbia, nor with any other part of the world. But it is no secret that Belgrade’s strong influence on Skopje certainly tends towards the Serbian language, Serbian business and institutions. This trend has not stopped in the last 30 years, which is understandable. But Bulgaria’s goal is not to spoil their friendly relations. Let them be friends. We just want them to have a friendly relationship with us. Let us all be friends. To be connected, to build together. We can’t not have a railroad with the Republic of Macedonia. They can’t create administrative barriers for Bulgarian companies. The attempt to present Bulgaria as a historical revanchist of the 19th century is extremely unacceptable, because our problems are real. With Serbia, by the end of this year, we will finally have a highway from Sofia to Belgrade. We have good relations with Serbia. But, of course, we always raise the issue of the Bulgarian minority, access to education and textbooks in the mother tongue, Zaharieva said.

Albanian opposition parties accuse Zaev of allowing spread of Serbian influence in Macedonia (Republika)

The Alliance of Albanians and Alternative parties accused the PM Zoran Zaev government of paving the way for partnership with Serbia, and against Macedonia’s national interest. According to the two opposition ethnic Albanian parties, Serbia is buying influence in Macedonia on the cheap, with the delivery of nearly 5,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines it made today, as Zaev was unable to procure vaccines from the west. The arrival of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Tabanovce border crossing and the accompanying media storm sent a message that “the big brother won’t leave us alone”. It is to be expected from Zaev’s party as the heir of the Yugoslav idea, but it was strange to see that the welcoming ceremony was arranged by Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi, the two parties said, accusing Zaev’s Albanian coalition partner DUI and its representative Grubi of accepting the rapprochement with Serbia. The two parties say that it is understandable that Serbia and Vucic want to be patrons of smaller Balkan countries, but that the problems is in the Zaev Government and its inability to effectuate its ties with the West into specific healthcare arrangements, not to mention its lack of EU integration.

Meta: Congratulations to Kosovo for excellent example of trust in free voting (ADN)

President of the Republic of Albania Ilir Meta has congratulated the citizens and the political class of Kosovo for the excellent example of trust in democracy and free voting, following the process of snap general elections held on February 14. President also applauded the high turnout of citizens who challenged the harsh weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic to take matters into their own hands and decide their future. “Congratulations to all citizens and the political class of Kosovo for the excellent example of trust in democracy and free voting, as well as for the successful standards achieved in yesterday’s parliamentary elections. I applaud the high turnout of citizens who challenged the harsh weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic to take matters into their own hands and decide their future. Kosovo opened a new page in its European path and the consolidation of the democratic state. We hope that the new institutions, which will be formed through cooperation, will successfully lead the state of Kosovo to win the challenges of the future,” stressed Meta.

Socialists wish success to LVV for winning elections in Kosovo (ADN)

Shortly after the meeting of the Electoral Staff at the Socialist Party (SP) headquarters in the framework of the 25 April elections, the head of the SP parliamentary group Taulant Balla congratulated the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV), which will form the new government of Kosovo. Balla stressed that these elections were very good while congratulating the political parties in Kosovo that accepted the result. He wished success to Albin Kurti, adding that he cannot wait to cooperate with him. “I want to start with congratulation for Kosovo for holding elections with a high standard, for admirable participation in the elections. We discussed at the Staff meeting the elections in Kosovo. We are pleased to note that this election went very well. I take this opportunity to congratulate all political parties in Kosovo on the spirit and standard of the elections. I want to wholeheartedly congratulate Vetevendosje, our friend Albin Kurti for winning this election. I wish the formation of the new government takes enough time. We look forward to cooperation,” said Balla.

CAA praises election process in Kosovo (ADN)

The Council of Albanian Ambassadors (CAA) has reacted after the parliamentary elections of 14 February 2021 in Kosovo, saying that this country proved once again that the democratic processes there are progressing in their fortunate tack. In a public statement the Council said that the people of Kosovo went to polls calmly, the political leaders conceded the result and the legitimacy of the winners now passes on to responsibility, so that they can prove worthy of the trust endowed upon them. “The Movement for Self – Determination (LVV) as the winner of these elections is facing the much expected challenge and moment to build a new consensus in Kosovo, as a functional state relying on democratic processes. The Council of Albanian Ambassadors expresses the confidence that all the parties that will go in opposition will make a healthy analysis of the result and learn from the necessary guiding lessons. Democracy in Kosovo needs a strong and constructive opposition in view of pushing state – building there ahead. Democracy in Kosovo needs a strong and constructive opposition in view of pushing state – building there ahead. We hope that the new government will be invested towards the Euro – Atlantic Kosovo, as a developed state, with the primacy of social justice and the rule of law,” says the statement. Kosovo’s economy is also in need of new oxygen – according to CAA – for an attractive relationship with the neighbors, based on mutual partnership and benefit. “We are fully confident that with vision and commitment, LVV and its partners in the coalition will be standard bearers and inspirers of the people interests, whose ballots charged them with a responsibility never seen before. We do also wish that Albania, which is on the eve of its general elections will show a high political and democratic level compliant to European standards, so that the free will of Albanians would be expressed towards their European future,” ends the statement.

Basha: We will start accession talks with EU within 6 months after being elected (Tirana Times)

In the European Forum organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies, the leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha made public the program of the Democratic Party toward the integration in the EU. During his speech as the keynote speaker, Basha promised that his government would make possible within 6 months after being elected the launch of the EU accession talks between Albania and the EU. “Within the first 6 months we will make a reality the intergovernmental conference, and we will start for real the process of the negotiations for the integration in the European Union. We will start a new prosperous chapter, which will have as a result the finalization of the integration of Albania in the EU,” said Basha. Basha vowed personally that Albania under his leadership would become a full member of the European Union, and that the future of Albania towards the EU and the Euro-Atlantic partnership was “irreversible.” The leader of the opposition stated that once he will be in power, his government will create a dedicated Ministry of Integration, that will be a key player in the integration process, and that will try to bring together some of the best qualified Albanian professionals from inside and outside the country. Basha accused the current government that in the last 8 years had destroyed some of the traditions related to the Albanian foreign policy. “We have seen this in the attacks made against the EU for the failures of the Tirana’s government,” said Basha, who considered also the support made to the idea of the exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia by Rama, as going against the “delicate peace architecture” that was built by the United States, NATO and the EU. Recalling his experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Basha said that he would continue on the same path once in government, trying to respect the consolidated traditions of Albanian foreign policy, toward a good neighbor policy. During the conference, the opposition leader talked about the incapacity of Albania to use EU funds: “The EU has allocated to Albania 450 million Euros in the past 8 years, and Albania has disbursed only 120 million Euros. Is there any explanation for these numbers?” asked Basha, adding that instead of benefiting from the EU’s help, Rama’s government “has chosen to set aside those funds, often burn them, and with the funds of Albanian taxpayers to carry out dubious procedures. The 7 years of this government, according to the State Supreme Audit Institution, have marked a record figure of abuses in 30 years of Albanian transition, of 7.2 billion Euros.” The leader of the opposition accused Rama also of not making a full transparency on how the EU funds dedicated to the earthquake of 2019 and to the pandemic were being used.