LOCAL PRESS 

Vucic after talks with Lajcak: Ready for dialogue, we understood Kurti’s messages (Tanjug/RTV/RTS) 

In a statement to Tanjug, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pointed out that there are many problems, primarily in energy, and that these are things that must be resolved promptly, due to different interpretations and the desire of some to demonstrate, as he said, muscles in northern Kosovo. “What I pointed out to Miroslav Lajcak today is the fact that Albin Kurti brags that he voted in Albania, whereby he de facto says that it doesn’t matter whether you are in Tirana or Pristina, that it is the same country. Imagine, even though Kosovo is Serbia according to the Constitution, if I had voted in Gracanica, or some other place in Kosovo. It would have been a scandal of world proportions, although the two things are not comparable and according to the Constitution and Resolution 1244, Kosovo is part of Serbia,” Vucic stressed. Vucic pointed out that if someone does that without referring to any legal document and publicly says that they are moving towards unification, they will get mild reactions and astonishment. He said that this is proof of double standards of the entire international community, which we have learned. “What is important for us is to guarantee the safety and security of our people. I insisted here on fulfilling the obligations from the Brussels agreement, on the Community of Serb Municipalities, and freedom of movement, flow of goods and services, everything we signed in Washington, because it is good for Belgrade, Pristina and the whole region,” he said. Vucic, who had dinner with the EU Envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak in Brussels that night, reiterated that the Belgrade delegation will come to the dialogue whenever it is scheduled.

On Kurti’s voting in Albania 

Vucic emphasized that he understood all the messages that Kurti sent with his statements and actions, from voting in the elections in Albania, to the request for war reparations from Serbia, but that this was by no means a constructive approach, and that he was not fascinated by those messages. When asked what his positions and Kurti’s goal are, Vucic answered that he does not have to explain anything and attack Kurti or anyone, because it is enough to put all words and deeds on paper. “You are voting in Albania. A good signal. It is clear to everyone, both to us and to the world, what you want to say. You say you want war reparations from Serbia, we understand what you want to say. You say you will file a genocide lawsuit, although you can’t because you are not a sovereign state, maybe through Albania, or some third country, that message is clear to us,” said Vucic. According to him, if someone wants to say that this is a constructive approach – it is not, but he adds that we should not worry too much about it. “We have a lot to do, to do for the country. Apart from energy, I don’t see any serious problems, also in terms of the security of our people and other things. And their political stunts, for internal political use … Nobody is particularly fascinated by that,” said Vucic.

Tight regarding formation of government in Tirana 

Vucic stated that whatever the results of the parliamentary elections in Albania, Serbia wants to improve partnership relations with Tirana and to have the best possible relations with the Albanian government and state. “Serbs do not like to hear that, but that is the only rational and smart behavior, everything else would be stupid and meaningless,” said Vucic. Vucic said that he would be “tight” regarding the formation of a new government in Tirana, but that he did not want to declare himself until the final results of the elections are announced.

Von der Leyen: EU ready to support Belgrade-N. Macedonia railway (Tanjug) 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday the EU was ready to support the construction of a railway line between Belgrade and North Macedonia. She made the announcement after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels.

“We discussed the fight against COVID-19, economic recovery, the accession process, where we need to continue to see positive developments in rule of law, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and the Belgrade-North Macedonia railway, which we are ready to support,” von der Leyen posted on her Twitter account. Ahead of the meeting with von der Leyen, Vucic announced the possibility of reaching an agreement on “one of the largest infrastructure projects” that would completely transform Serbia.

Drecun: Continuation of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue not disputable, the agenda is (RTS) 

The Chair of the Serbian parliament Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that Albin Kurti is one of the contemporary Greater Albanian ideologues, and he uses every opportunity to demonstrate his strategic goal, which is the unification of Kosovo and Albania, that is, the creation of an Albanian ethnic state. The continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is not disputable, the agenda is disputable, says Drecun. According to Drecun, Kurti’s vote in Albania is a brazen provocation, and he lets everyone know that his political path is the creation of a greater Albania. “Apart from certain condemnations of EU officials, as von Cramon did, I do not believe that there will be any other reactions,” Drecun says, adding that Kurti hinted that he would vote because he has dual citizenship. According to him, Kurti constantly is saying that Kosovo and Albania will be united in a peaceful way. “I am surprised that a surprise was not the statement by Edi Rama, who is terribly sorry that he cannot hear the voice of detained Hashim Thaci. I am surprised that he does not regret not being able to hear the voice of hundreds of Hashim Thaci’s victims,” Drecun noted. Speaking about the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Drecun said that after the elections and the formation of the government in Pristina, conditions were created for the Pristina side to participate in the continuation of the talks. “I think that the EU is creating conditions for the continuation of talks on the Brussels-Belgrade and Brussels-Pristina relations, and that the continuation is not disputable,” says Drecun, adding that the agenda is disputable, i.e. whether there will be progress in the talks. He believes that Pristina leaves no room for agreement.

Vucic: I don’t expect pressures in Brussels but talks on Serbia’s future (RTS) 

Guest of RTS Friday evening news was Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who, among other things, spoke of his meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and what he expects from the upcoming talks in Brussels. Asked to comment on the fact that Maas stated in Pristina that dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia should continue, that it is important to achieve normalization of relations and that one element of that dialogue and reaching an agreement is the recognition of Kosovo, Vucic said that this has been a German wish from 2008 and that it is no secret. “They have all accepted the narrative of Pristina, both the US and Germany, and that is the recognition of Kosovo and that is important for them,” Vucic said, adding that Serbia has a different approach. Asked whether Maas’ response to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani’s statement that the Brussels agreement should practically be reset and that everything that has been agreed so far should be annulled and that one should enter new talks, Vucic said that “we must be aware that Germany is one of our key partners, the most important trade partner, and there is no doubt that we have to be careful of every word”. “They will unequivocally be on the side of Pristina when it comes to essential and strategic issues on the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. The same is the case with the US, and with 22 of the 27 EU countries, there are no big surprises for us there,” Vucic underlined. He said that he is worried about the statement of Osmani and many others in Pristina that they want to reset the dialogue, that they will not respect what was signed in 2013, that they are dreaming of genocide lawsuits against Serbia and do not understand that compromise is something else. “We will oppose this with knowledge, fighting spirit, responsibility, energy and protect the national and state interests of Serbia,” Vucic pointed out. Speaking of his upcoming visit to Brussels and meetings with top EU officials, Vucic said that he does not expect pressure, but talks on the European future of Serbia. “I expect talks with Lajcak about the continuation of the dialogue, which I believe will be in the middle of May,” Vucic said. He stressed that he believes that the coming days are important for Serbia. “Brussels and the continuation of the dialogue are terribly important,” Vucic said.

Godfrey: Unresolved Kosovo issue main obstacle on EU path (Beta/Tanjug) 

The unresolved status of relations with Pristina remains the biggest obstacle to Serbia’s EU, US Ambassador to Serbia Anthony Godfrey said today. Godfrey said that the US policy that normalization of Serbia and Kosovo should be based on mutual recognition is constant, regardless of the change of administration. “The US supports the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina led by the EU and is keeping pace with it,” Godfrey said at the online conference dubbed “Serbia, the Western Balkans and Western Integration in Times of Challenge”, organized by the Center for Foreign Policy with the support of the US Embassy. He said that Serbia is a European country both geographically and historically and in terms of European values such as tolerance, freedom, the environment, rule of law and innovation. “The alternative to all that is the malignant influence that wants to block Serbia on the EU path,” he said. Godfrey said that “the many people in Serbian society who are not convinced that the EU path is in its national interest are the constant challenge”. According to Godfrey, prosperity, freedom and peace in Serbia is crucial to the peace and stability of the region. He said that the United States wants Europe to live in peace and freedom and that means that the all the countries that share EU values should be part of the EU because the alternative are constant division which make both Europe and the Balkans weaker, poorer and less stable, he said. Godfrey said that the US interest is to see Serbia, as the political and economic leader in the region, to continue developing as a democratic European state at peace with its neighbors. He said that a lot has to be done to consolidate rule of law, fight corruption, save the environment and provide fair and transparent business operations which he said Serbia can achieve.

Vucic likely to attend dialogue with opposition that is not mediated by MEPs (Beta) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he is likely to accept the invitation to join the dialogue on election conditions between the authorities and the part of the opposition which objects the mediation of the European Parliament. This meeting has been set for 28 April, and Vucic said that due to the obligations he has he is not 100 percent sure he would attend the talks “where the foreigners are not the bosses”. “The other one will be led by the foreigners, and that’s where the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will be represented. It makes no much sense to have the President of Serbia attend it,” Vucic told reporters on Saturday. He said he expects rational talks on the improvement of electoral rules. “There are those who believe someone else will bring them to power under the pressure of money and media they control – they won’t. All in all, we believe in the good intentions of foreigners. We’ll see how all this will develop,” he added.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Slovenian government issues statement on disputable non-paper (BHT1) 

The Slovenian government Office for Communication issued a statement on the disputable non-paper and stated that they neither took note of nor discussed the non-paper mentioned in the reports over the past few days, which caused a storm of reactions in the region. The talk of war and borders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) are still active topics even after 25 years after the war in B&H, which raised the question who benefits from such topics, added the presenter.

BHT carried the statement of SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic which was broadcast on O Kanal on 20 April, when Izetbegovic said that his father was blamed for saying that there will be no war and then the war happened. Izetbegovic had stated that he will not say that there will be no war as that does not depend on him only. Izetbegovic said: “I would rather die today, than let the genocide perpetrators rule a part of B&H”.  Serb member and Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik stated on Saturday while addressing the press: “We will not lead a war to gain independence for the Republika Srpska (RS). We will defend the RS if needed, in every possible way. But before that, we want to say that we are in favor of peace. We have our rights and this is the RS which belongs to us and other people who live here”. This topic was brought forward by the non-paper document which advocates re-drawing of borders in the Balkans, which was allegedly submitted to the EU by Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa, added the reporter. Analyst from Mostar Martin Mikulic commented that such scenarios should not even be mentioned in a society as divided as the one in B&H. Mikulic said that Izetbegovic is the one who is ‘rattling weapons’ the most. “I believe there is a significant reason for that, which is to stop all reforms that B&H needs to fulfill on its path to EU, which is the goal of the Bosniak policy. They are the political bloc in B&H which advocates maintaining the status quo, i.e. many types of discrimination that exist in B&H,” stated Mikulic. Izetbegovic’s statements on war in B&H and genocidal people came at the time when Sarajevo is shaken by the ‘Respirators’ affair and the biggest part of the Federation of B&H citizens only have the opportunity to receive vaccines against COVID-19 in Serbia, added the reporter.

OHR: Entities do not have right to secession (Glas Srpske/RFE) 

The OHR has told Radio Free Europe that, according to the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA), the entities in B&H have no right to secession, nor the DPA leaves possibility for peaceful dissolution. The OHR further stated that instead of getting engaged in insults, inflammatory rhetoric and investing huge energy in barren initiatives, it would be far better if the politicians invested the energy into finding a way to improve the economic situation.

SDA: Dodik hides responsibility for secessionist policy with lies (Hayat) 

SDA issued a statement on Friday saying that President of SNSD Milorad Dodik is trying to avoid responsibility and find an excuse for secessionist policies by repeating false claims and lies. SDA stressed that the policy of Dodik is the only real threat to the stability and peace in B&H, as well as the whole region. SDA believes that the continuous attacks of Dodik against the state, laws and Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) are presented by him as a conflict with SDA or the Federation of B&H. The party stressed that Dodik is in a conflict with the DPA, B&H, its laws and institutions.

Osmanovic writes to EP, expects from EP to condemn the non-paper (Oslobodjenje) 

The Head of the SDA Caucus in the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Adil Osmanovic has addressed heads of caucuses in the European Parliament (EP) on the occasion of the controversial non-paper that promotes the idea of retailoring of borders in the Western Balkans. Namely, Osmanovic is requesting from the EU institutions to impose sanctions against people who advocate ideas and policies that represent threat to security and stability of B&H. Osmanovic stressed this is the moment when democratic forces in the EU must raise their voice and make concrete action to send clear message to people who want to undermine Europe’s principles and endanger stability on the continent that such ideas are unacceptable. Head of the SDA Caucus underlined he is expecting from the EP to condemn the non-paper and initiate sanctions at its next session.

Dodik: It is clear that concept of unified B&H under principles of SDA and international community has not succeeded (RTRS) 

Serb member and Chairperson of the B&H Presidency and leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik, asked if war, mentioned by individual political officials in B&H on several occasions in the past days, could be a real threat for B&H, said: “With war, one cannot resolve anything, neither Bosniaks, nor Serbs or Croats, but with political views, political dialog and political dynamic we can.” Dodik added it is clear that the concept of unified B&H “under principles of SDA and the international community has not succeeded and has no chance in succeeding. Another concept could possibly succeed, but in my view, the most certain is that in future those will be three different states’’. Dodik reiterated that the Republika Srpska (RS) will not go to war for its independence, and stressed that the RS will defend itself if necessary. He said that SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic calls for war because he is facing issues in the Federation of B&H (FB&H), at the cantonal level, and has problems within SDA political party, nothing I am not interested in that. I am interested that a politician is as weak as possible, the same way he wants me to be weak in the talks. I understand that Muslims will probably not accept the RS, Croats maybe will. Dodik said the dissolution will be the fact, but learning from the experience with the dissolution of Yugoslavia we should not do anything to have war here. Asked what he expects with regard to the platform at the RS parliament and negotiations with the FB&H about the future of B&H, Dodik said that the FB&H will never accept the RS, the FB&H and three constituent peoples as parties to the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), noting that all new solutions should be agreed by the parties to the DPA and then be referred to the institutions of B&H to be formalized. Dodik said the idea behind the platform is to make clear position of the RS and to have a negotiation team, a “combination of institutional and political factors’’ that will request specific issues to be discusses. If rejected “we will offer the discussion in three months, six months, or six years if B&H lasts that long, until it is clear that this is impossible’’. Dodik added that, according to the platform, the letter of the DPA needs to be respected until the parties to the DPA agree to change it. Dodik said that, according to the definition, the state is territory, the people on the territory that wants the state and the government supported by the people, the RS fulfils all the requirements, unlike B&H with no power, some territory not accepted by everyone and population being divided. The only option for the states to survive is to respect the constitution to the letter, and in B&H that is not the case. Dodik said that the only element currently present is international ignoring the situation and the sick desire of the Bosniak people that B&H survives. He said the RS does not oppose keeping some form of B&H, but that is not the current B&H. For us, the minimum is B&H under the B&H Constitution. If we can go back to the constitution, without interventions by the High Representative, bring back our competences, i.e. military, judiciary, indirect taxes, and everything envisaged by the Constitution, we may stay in such B&H. Asked if the situation related to the ‘non-paper’ helps or is counterproductive for the RS and relations in B&H, Dodik said it helps in understanding the existing situation, and added that Europe is in crisis because imaginary situations, instead of realistic are discussed, and reminded of the UK leaving the European Union, which caused the disruption in the EU. Dodik said that advocates of the existing B&H wanted to try the concept, without necessarily making it permanent. “We have no use of B&H, we are victims of the impossibility of functioning and development,” said Dodik. He said that the success of the RS at the London Stock Exchange was possible because no one believed the RS can be recognized, otherwise Bosniaks would protests across Europe. Commenting on the situation with Bosniaks insisting on B&H, Dodik said he does not understand that having in mind that Bosniaks represent Serbs “as genocidal people’’ and aggressors which is not true. He reminded that Slobodan Milosevic accepted Yugoslavia consisting of Serbia and B&H and offered Alija Izetbegovic to be the first president, after which Radovan Karadzic and other Serb representatives “accepted B&H on the principle of the Cutileiro’s plan’’, and then Serbs were killed at the Old Town in Sarajevo. Dodik said that the story created by Bosniaks about Srebrenica is not true. “Then foreigners came to cover it with their stories and courts’’ said Dodik. He reminded that Serbs managed to survive in the region due to the myth about Kosovo, and added Bosniaks have attempted to create a false myth about Srebrenica. There are even Muslims who say it was organized. Dodik reminded that former B&H President Izetbegovic withdrew leadership, including Commander of the B&H Army Naser Oric from Srebrenica when the conflict started, and people were left on their own because Alija wanted that. Dodik stressed that the issue of Srebrenica was raised only in 2002, with the arrival of then High Representative Paddy Ashdown.

Ivanic: It is obvious that non-paper most of all benefited Dodik and Izetbegovic; Constitution changes are not possible; CoM is not inefficient as if it does not exist (Oslobodjenje) 

Oslobodjenje daily carried interview with former member of the B&H Presidency and honorary President of PDP, Mladen Ivanic who was first asked whether B&H can honestly respond to invitation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to build economy together or B&H leaders prefer the talks about nationalism. Ivanic noted that second alternative is much clearer and asks in return what would Milorad Dodik and Bakir Izetbegovic do without their stories about independence and defending of B&H’s unity. He stressed that it is necessary to change B&H’s image, as B&H does not need much: “Only if there were no for these stories, B&H would be interesting to many investors because of the position and series of other reasons”. Asked about recent meeting of opposition parties on Mt. Jahorina, agreed joint participation in general elections and whether this is only way to defeat SNSD, Ivanic said that it is first necessary to reach agreement about priorities and what is new that this structure can offer. He underlined that key aspect should be strengthening of institutions and not individuals, which is completely opposite from what SNSD and Dodik are doing. Ivanic underlined importance of fight against corruption and strengthening of judiciary, as the most vulnerable aspects and stressed that if the opposition parties agree on these issues, then they need to select joint candidates and he believes this will not be an issue, because there are enough of moral people who can present a true alternative to Dodik and SNSD. He reminded that he won elections for B&H Presidency six years ago, without huge fuss, nationalistic rhetoric, which shows that there are people in the RS who would prefer different system and the recent elections for Banja Luka Mayor confirmed this. Asked about the “infamous non-paper” drafted by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Ivanic stressed that two persons in B&H took the most advantage from this non-paper that nobody knows where it came from or who drafted it. Reminding of Dodik and Izetbegovic’s statements which followed publishing of the non-paper, Ivanic stressed that this shows that this most of all benefited Dodik and Izetbegovic i.e. those who are already in power. “I am convinced there is some form of agreement between Dodik and Izetbegovic and as for the real world, we do not care about high number of people who are dying daily and that there are no vaccines, that we depend of charity coming from Turkey or Serbia. Non-paper got the importance in B&H only because this serves these two”. Asked about possibility of constitutional changes in B&H, Ivanic said that he does not believe this is a possibility not only now but in next 30 years. He elaborated that there are two ways to carry out constitutional changes, first one being reaching of agreement between leaders in B&H, which he finds to be impossible being that Izetbegovic would insist on B&H without entities, Dodik on independent RS and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic would insist on special constituency or third entity. Second way is for the international community to reach agreement about some different organization, but he finds it unrealistic to expect that Russia, USA, EU and China would reach an agreement that would be supported by Turkey, Serbia and Croatia. Asked about efficiency of state level authority, Ivanic said that nothing would change if this composition of the Council of Ministers would not exist: “I cannot see that they have any kind of role or that they are doing anything, it is my stance that it is if they do not exist. I cannot even say that they are inefficient, but simply as if they are not there”.

Radmanovic: Non-paper goes in favor of creating of Greater-Albania and there is no doubt it was created in Albanian kitchen (Glas Srpske) 

Commenting the current situation regarding the ‘non-paper’ which raised huge fuss in the region in recent days, deputy speaker of B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Nebojsa Radmanovic (SNSD) said that this document, which stipulates change of borders in the Western Balkans, is detrimental to Serbia and covers up the fact that it aims to create ‘Greater-Albania’. He noted that there is a chance that that the “document was stirred in Albanian kitchen”, stressing that only Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama admitted that he saw the document: “Only one man said he saw that. We seem to have forgotten about that. So, we are talking about Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is heading to elections now on April 25th and who has Greater-Albania as a program goal. There is no doubt that the non-paper if it is a non-paper, is created in Albanian kitchen with assistance of certain intelligence structures”.

Radmanovic underlined that according to this document, only Albania is benefiting and that this document is being used for attacks on Serbia and the RS. “According to these maps the Greater-Albania was created. Miraculously, someone turned this story against Serbia. Paper said that part of the RS belongs to Serbia, but we do not know which part. The RS has 25,000 square kilometers, Kosovo has little over 10,000 and if we would to add Bujanovac and Presevo that is almost the same territory. So, who is wining here? What Greater Serbia!,” underlined Radmanovic.

Niksic: Ethno-nationalist leaders in B&H have lost touch with reality and they are either trying to persuade everyone that everything is good or to increase tensions with warmongering (Face TV) 

SDP leader Nermin Niksic, NiP leader Elmedin Konakovic and ‘Nasa Stranka’ leader Predrag Kojovic discussed possibility of peaceful dissolution of B&H and change of borders in the region as proposed in non-paper allegedly sent by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa to the European Commission, as well as possible formation of a state-level coalition by ‘The Three’ (SDP, NiP, Our Party) and the opposition in the RS. Asked about possibility of peaceful dissolution of B&H and change of borders in the region as proposed in Jansa’s non-paper, Niksic stated that ethno-nationalist leaders in B&H have lost touch with reality and they are either trying to persuade everyone that everything is good or to increase tensions with warmongering. He deems that unlike Chairman of the Presidency of B&H and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik who is calling for peaceful dissolution of B&H, many others saw Jansa’a non-paper as another opportunity for warmongering. He emphasized the importance of cooperation between political forces that are willing to agree over certain issues, adding that the parties in ‘The Three’ may have ideological differences but they have great cooperation when it comes to the rule of law or the fight against crime and corruption. He claims that there is no reason for ‘The Three’ not to talk to other parties and find more partners from entire B&H. He stressed that Dodik and SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic obviously agreed to pretend to engage in made up conflict in the media but they seem to have no problems agreeing to form the Council of Ministers of B&H (B&H CoM) or local authorities in Srebrenica Municipality. Commenting on possible formation of a state-level coalition by ‘The Three’ and the opposition in the RS, Niksic stated that it is too early for confirmation but ‘The Three’ has vowed to seek alternative to ethno-nationalist parties and anyone willing to work on strengthening of the state institutions, the rule of law and the fight against crime and corruption are welcome as partners. He underlined that caution is required because there will be many ideological differences between ‘The Three’ and the opposition in the RS but messages conveyed in statements of the opposition leaders from both entities have opened up a possibility to form a wide opposition bloc or a platform at the state level. He pointed out that the opposition leaders maintain regular communication but he cannot make any predictions since nothing has been agreed so far. He claims that ‘The Three’ and the opposition in the RS definitely have opposing stances regarding the Srebrenica genocide and many other issues and it will take time to overcome this but their disagreements should not stop them from cooperating. Niksic noted that ‘The Three’ closely cooperates with Croat parties as well, in particular with the Croat Party of B&H but other parties are also welcome to join talks.

Dodik: Position of RS is clear, High Representative in B&H is not welcome (RTRS) 

Guest of RTRS was Serb member and Chairperson of the B&H Presidency and leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik. Asked to what extent the financial stability is an issue for those who want to weaken the RS, Dodik said that in his view it is a big issue for such people. Dodik referred to the criticism by former B&H Presidency member and PDP member Mladen Ivanic, saying Ivanic had the opportunity to do better during his mandate, and stressed “everything he does, he does it against the RS’’. Dodik said if the past year or two were to be analyzed, the analysis would show “whenever there was a political disagreement or dispute between Sarajevo and Banja Luka, (PDP leader Branimir) Borenovic, (SDS leader Mirko) Sarovic, (PDP Vice President Jelena) Trivic, and (Mayor of Banja Luka and PDP member Drasko) Stanivukovic, and Mladen Ivanic, they always supported Sarajevo, even when this time when we talked about the High Representative (HR). I do not say that the story regarding the HR was destroyed, but it has been brought into question’’. Dodik added that by the session of the RS parliament, everyone talked that new HR would come. “We said that if the HR with the power of Germany supporting him comes, who would do the same as it has been done in the past 25 years, and with that power we may have problems, then, it is better to have this sterile (Valentin) Inzko, than to have the German (Christian Schmidt),” said Dodik, and added that it was tried to find the best possible course of action to try to dispute such situation. Dodik reminded that the opposition left the RS parliament’s session when the issue was discussed and said the discussion is an attempt to hide the issues within the RS, and compared Dodik to SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic. Asked if that situation was related to allegations that Dodik asked Izetbegovic to request sanctions to be imposed against Dodik, Dodik answered affirmatively, noting that people from Sarajevo are saying the same thing. He said that the RS now has a mechanism, and according to the RS parliament conclusions “we said we will not accept anyone who comes, with such intentions. Because they are trying to do the same as in 1995, all over again. People from the West do not want to understand that their concept is wrong, it conflicts with the history, the present and the future of life on the B&H territory’’. All activities are reduced to criticizing former and current RS officials, ignoring history that is difficult, the conflicting identities, that B&H is completely illusory thing that cannot succeed. Dodik reminded that the position of the RS is clear, the HR in B&H is not welcome, noting that now they have formal issue, because according to Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), the parties to the Agreement, and we are the party, Serbia is party, as well as are the Federation of B&H and B&H and Croatia is the party to Annex 10, at the proposal of the parties to the Agreement, appointment of the HR is confirmed by the UN Security Council which has never happened. Dodik added that when the officials from the RS said they would not accept the new HR in B&H then Inzko stayed here for 11 years, because they do not know what to do. He said that additional issue is Russia not supporting appointment of new HR, after which the session of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) to discuss candidate for the post of HR in B&H, but the candidate has never been proposed.

Opposition from FB&H and RS could form coalition at state level/reactions (Dnevni list/ Klix.ba)

SDS President Mirko Sarovic commented for Klix.ba possibility of the opposition parties from both the RS and the FB&H creating a big political platform at the state level. Sarovic said that SDS is prepared to talk to everyone whose goal is to develop economy, fight against corruption and work on securing better life of citizens in each part of B&H. According to the SDS leader, it means that big and hard issues should be left aside because each attempt to open a big issue would result in losing time and creating additional rifts among us. “A message could be that there is really no need to draw new borders, new entities, new maps,” said Sarovic adding that we should not call for war because it would lead to B&H becoming even poorer. PDP President Branislav Borenovic said it is important that the opposition blocs work strongly in both entities i.e. in the parliament of the FB&H and the RS parliament, arguing that “we have correct cooperation with the opposition from the FB&H, which is best reflected in activities in the Parliament of B&H”. According to the PDP leader, changes to the Law on Elections of B&H, cost-cutting measures, reducing privileges to people in power and judicial reform should be dominant issues in the future in order to create conditions for normal and dignified life for all people in the country. Our Party (NS) President Predrag Kojovic stressed that their cooperation has been correct on many issues so far and that he has always advocated alliances based on a concrete program, on building and strengthening mutual trust, which would secure peace and progress for all citizens of B&H. Kojovic further noted that he and SDP President Nermin Niksic have talked to SDS President Mirko Sarovic and PDP President Branislav Borenovic about this on several occasions in past couple of months. “They say there is no stronger force than the idea whose time has come” added Kojovic. “These talks and cooperation were very correct and they established basis for trust and belief that we could perhaps reach an agreement on many more issues that are crucial, existential, for all citizens of B&H” said Kojovic.

Dodik: Opportunity to bring additional funds from Serbia to Banja Luka ruined by Mayor Stanivukovic’s behavior (Nova BH) 

Chairman of the B&H Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik was bothered by the fact that Mayor of Banja Luka Drasko Stanivukovic (PDP) carried a microphone on his jacket during a recent meeting of the RS leadership and the delegation of the Serbian authorities led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Banja Luka. Dodik accused Stanivukovic of attempting to record the meeting. Dodik said that the meeting was an opportunity to secure additional multi-million-worth assistance for Banja Luka but that Stanivukovic ruined this opportunity with his behavior. “After the microphone was discovered, the meeting did not yield any results,” Dodik noted. According to Dodik, there are attempts to present Banja Luka as “a case city” and that is the reason why the good atmosphere, which could have brought additional funds to the city, was undermined.  RS President and SNSD Vice-President Zeljka Cvijanovic referred to the microphone incident as “huge embarrassment”. Cvijanovic stressed that it is sad that Stanivukovic acted that way, regardless of whether that happened due to his immature behavior or lack of experience in terms of not knowing what the meeting format was.

Istraga.ba publishes NATO’s document sent to B&H which clearly shows that B&H is aspirant to NATO membership and has activated MAP (O kanal/Istraga.ba) 

Istraga.ba portal has published a document that was sent to B&H authorities by the NATO Headquarters in Brussels in mid-April, which clearly shows that B&H is an aspirant to NATO membership and has activated the Membership Action Plan. The document mentions several times that the Annual National Program B&H has submitted to NATO and the Reform Program are the same thing. NATO representatives delivered this document to B&H Ambassador to NATO Mitar Kujundzic. The document was delivered to B&H institutions in order to inform them that NATO is introducing new process named ITPP (Individually Tailored Partnership Program) which will be complementary and added to ANP/MAP. ITPP will enable NATO to discuss with the partners the priorities of cooperation and asses their joint performance in that endeavor.

Komsic confirms authenticity of NATO document (N1) 

Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic has confirmed authenticity of a NATO document published by the media, according to which the Reform Program is the Annual National Plan (ANP), i.e. the Membership Action Plan (MAP) has been activated. Commenting on this, Komsic said it is a political victory of B&H and its citizens. “Now, the reforms are ahead of us that need to be implemented by our country to become a full member of this Alliance,” Komsic was quoted as saying. N1 reports that the President of the Commission for Cooperation with NATO of B&H (Josip Brkic) said for N1 he would not comment on the published document until he is certain of its authenticity and what is stated in the document. Spokesperson for SNSD Radovan Kovacevic said for N1: “There is no NATO path. Adoption of the ANP was requested, but the ANP was not adopted. Instead, the document titled the Reform Program was adopted’’. Kovacevic added that all documents since 2005 stated that B&H wants to become NATO member state, and now this document states that NATO membership is not prejudged. N1 reports that former B&H Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak accused Chairperson of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik of trying to hide the fact that B&H sent the ANP, not the Reform Program, and brought B&H to the doorstep of NATO, which is opposed by the Serb people.

Honorary President of PDP and former Serb member of the Presidency of B&H Mladen Ivanic stated that the Program of Reforms is indeed the ANP regardless of how Dodik wants to present it. Ivanic criticized Dodik for being fully aware of this and deceiving the Serb people by claiming the opposite, saying that the truth always comes out sooner or later. He claims that Dodik was the one making all the fuss about the Program of Reforms because Dodik promised to Russia that he will do nothing regarding B&H’s path to join NATO and he has to justify himself somehow. According to Ivanic, he would not be opposed to sending the ANP to NATO HQ but only after adding another clause by which B&H would not be allowed to join NATO unless all other countries in the region join as well, first and foremost Serbia.

Cikotic at own initiative stops deployment of B&H police officers to UN Mission in South Sudan (RTRS) 

B&H Minister of Security Selmo Cikotic at own initiative stopped deployment of contingent of police officers to B&H to the United Nations (UN) Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The Office of Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik stated that it is an irresponsible action, since such decision can be made only by the B&H Presidency. RTRS reports that out of six police officers in the new rotation, five are from the RS, due to which RS Minister of Interior Dragan Lukac requested explanation from Cikotic about suspension of the mission. In his response, Cikotic stated: “During the preparation for the latest rotation of the police officers in the aforementioned mission, the B&H Ministry of Security received information that the political and security situation in South Sudan has worsened, which poses a threat to the police officers’’. RTRS reports that in an exclusive interview for RTRS, B&H Contingent Commander at UNMISS Dmitar Vracar said that all 14 police officers in the mission zone are safe. “Security situation in South Sudan can be characterized as satisfactory, as I have informed the B&H Ministry of Security in my regular monthly reports. In the continuity since our arrival in February 2020, no serious violations of ceasefire have been registered and in some parts of the country tensions and conflicts that have local character are still present, which have not endangered lives and security of our members’’ said Vracar. RTRS reports that Cikotic said the information of worsened security situation in South Sudan had been received from the Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) of B&H. Commenting on this, Deputy Chair of the Joint Commission for Supervision of the Work of Intelligence and Security Agency of B&H Sredoje Novic said for RTRS via telephone: “I really cannot believe that we have found ourselves in the situation that, on one hand the OSA B&H allegedly knows the data regarding the situation in South Sudan, and it does not know what is happening in Bihac, Tuzla, or in another part of B&H.” RTRS reports that a final decision on the participation of police officers from B&H in the UN Mission in South Sudan is expected to be made by the B&H Presidency, at its next regular session.

President: Croatia flag removal from ambassadorial residence in Belgrade could not happen in Zagreb (Hina) 

Commenting on an incident in Belgrade where the Croatian flag was removed from the residence of the Croatian ambassador, President Zoran Milanovic said on Friday that such a thing, Croatia flag removal, could not happen in Zagreb. “I thought an ambassador’s residence was a protected building, and this is the case in Croatia. So, I think that it (what happened in Belgrade) could not happen here. Croatia’s law enforcement authorities would prevent it,” Milanovic said. Croatian Ambassador Hido Biscevic said on Thursday it was no accident that the Croatian flag was taken down from his residence in the Serbian capital city and that the incident reflected part of the atmosphere in Serbia’s society, which he said continued to feed on hate speech. Milanovic said that Biscevic was an experienced diplomat and “I hope that he knows what he is doing.” The president went on to say that Croatia and Serbia have several outstanding issues, and Croatia is generally ready to shelve all of them except the issue of people who went missing in the 1991-1995 war. Milanovic also accused Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his cabinet of a stalemate in the process of the appointment of new Croatian ambassadors. He said that it was Plenkovic who turned down the model of a 50/50 quota whereby half of the nominees for diplomatic missions are proposed by the head of state and a half by the government and added that such a model had been applied in the past during the presidential term of Stipe Mesic and the governments led by Ivo Sanader and Jadranka Kosor. He complained about a lack of communication with the premier and added that this adversely affected the state affairs. Milanovic also criticized the government for disbursing extremely small outlays for the Croat ethnic minority in Serbia, which is why local Croats depend on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and (Serbian) Radicals.

Djukanovic: Montenegro ready to share experiences with Kosovo for progress on EU and NATO path (CdM) 

President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic received the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Montenegro Ylber Hysa, with gratitude for the initiative and interest of the Ambassador for current events in Montenegro, as well as his commitment to strengthening cooperation between the two countries. Djukanovic stressed Montenegro’s readiness to share experiences with Kosovo important for progress on the path to the EU and NATO, Djukanovic’s cabinet has stated. Djukanovic expressed satisfaction with the relations between Montenegro and Kosovo, which are traditionally exemplary and additionally strengthened by new contributions of mutual respect and interstate cooperation in this time as well.  Hysa thanked Djukanovic for the reception and informed him about the current situation in his country. The interlocutors exchanged information on the current epidemiological situation and the immunization process, which needs to be accelerated in order to create conditions for the normalization of life and economic recovery.

Protesters demand release of the imprisoned patriots and early elections in October (Republika) 

The organizers of the protests held in downtown Skopje on Sunday demanded the urgent release of all political prisoners and early general elections. “It is not acceptable that the protesters of the movement for United Macedonia are tried as terrorists, while the actual terrorists from the 2001 war hold the legislative, executive and judicial power. Our patriots are not terrorists. On the anniversary of 27 April 2017, Macedonians from home and the diaspora are united to demand their release” said actress Arna Sijak, who addressed the protest. Sijak read out the names of the imprisoned protesters like Jane Cento, Igor Jug, Vilijam Mihajlovski, Vlatko Trajkovski, Oliver Popovski and many others. In the name of the protest organizers, she said that Macedonia badly needs early general elections, to dismantle the Zaev regime which imprisoned the protesters. Because of the high treason of change of the name of Macedonia, because of the Zaev – Borisov treaty, the Dimitrov – Kotzias treaty, because of the abolition of the 1991 referendum and of the 2018 referendum, because of the crime and corruption, the poverty, the pervasive mafia, the emigration, the hostile transformation of a sovereign state into a criminal territory, because of all this, we need early general elections in October, along with the local elections, added Sijak.

No progress in the latest round of talks between Macedonian and Bulgarian historians (Republika) 

Historian Dragi Gjorgiev, who leads the Macedonian team in the joint commission with Bulgaria, stated that there was no progress at the latest meeting. The commission was formed as part of the 2017 Zaev – Borisov treaty and it is tasked with looking for shared historic narratives between the two countries – its failure means that Bulgaria will likely continue to block Macedonia from opening EU accession talks. In the past three meetings I’ve seen no desire for progress among our Bulgarian colleagues. That is due to the political situation in Bulgaria, Gjorgiev said, hinting at the inconclusive outcome of the general elections there. He said that during the last meeting, the commission didn’t even discuss the most difficult issue – the nationality of legendary VMRO hero Goce Delcev, and this was done on Bulgarian demand. There is currently no political Government in Bulgaria and its absence in noticeable among our Bulgarian colleagues and their lack of will to achieve more in our work. Either way, in principle I don’t think that Bulgaria will change its position on the historic legacy of Macedonia. There is a high degree of consensus and unanimity in the mainstream Bulgarian politicians. But I believe what can change is the treatment of this commission and of the problem in Macedonian – Bulgarian relations. If the commission is removed from the list of bilateral problems, we could achieve resolution on some of the issues more quickly, Gjorgiev said. He also welcomed the proposal to introduce third party experts into the commission, but said that previous such proposals were rejected by Bulgaria.

Macedonian diplomats plan a mass vaccination trip to Serbia (Republika/MKD.mk) 

The union of Macedonian diplomats has made an arrangement with their counterparts in Serbia to conduct mass immunization in Vranje on 8 May. A number of Macedonian trade organizations reached such agreements with their colleagues in Serbia, which is awash with vaccines, but the practice is especially jarring when a vital institution of the Macedonian state resorts to it. It’s estimated that some 15,000 Macedonian citizens have received the first dose of the vaccine in Serbia so far. Due to the nature of their work, employees in the Foreign Ministry have been frequently exposed to the virus, MKD.mk reports. The Ministry tried to introduce online working wherever possible, but that didn’t prevent several outbreaks among its employees.

Preliminary election results (Tirana Times) 

While Albania is holding its breath and waiting for the results of the 25 April parliamentary elections to be over, in the last hours 1,317 polling stations from 5,199 in total have closed their counting process. So far, the Socialist Party has received the majority of the votes, 50,8%, or 74 seats, more than the 71 needed to form the majority for the next parliament. The Democratic Party comes second, with 38,9 of the votes, or 56 mandates for the next parliament. The Socialist Movement for Integration has received 7,2% of the votes or 7 seats in the next parliament. The Social Democratic Party has received 1,9% of the votes or 3 mandates for the next parliament. The results will be update periodically. The Central Elections Commission (CEC) announced that the voting turnout in the parliamentary elections was 47.94%. The data were collected from 642 voting centers, while in total are 5199 nationwide. Tirana and Dibra are the two counties with the highest percentage of the people who use their right to vote. Head of CEC Ilirjan Celibashi said that “The voting process was in accordance with the electoral code”. He said that now the task of commissioners to administer the votes starts all across Albania. Celibashi called on the parties to wait patiently for the result. Within 48 hours the result is expected to come out which party or coalition will be the winner of these elections.

First reaction of the Socialist party after the closure of voting stations (Radio Tirana) 

Just a few minutes after the official closing of voting station at 19:00, came the first reaction from the Socialist Party. The spokesperson of this party Bora Muzhaqi thanked all the people who took part in the voting process. “Thank you very much to everyone who voted, it was a long day, but beautiful and not only from the sun, but that we had a civic manifestation from Tropoja in Konispol. Now the will of the people has been expressed. It is time to read with high civic and legal responsibility On behalf of the Socialist Party and the Edi Rama, a very special thanks to all the electoral coordinators, all of you can follow the result from your homes, this is the moment of the counters who are asked to very high responsibility,” she said.

Opposition leader announces victory (ADN) 

The leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha announced the victory of the opposition just two hours after the voting process ended. From the blue headquarters, Basha said that: “The victory is clear! I thank all the citizens that voted the change,” said Basha. He expressed his belief that citizens voted massively for the Alliance of Change, and that in the end Albania will win. “I believe that commissioners will end the counting process with patience, based on the law,” underlined Basha.

Kim and Soreca: Be patient and accept the election result! (Radio Tirana) 

US Ambassador Yuri Kim, accompanied by EU Ambassador Soreca, watched closely the voting process in Durres. Kim in a statement to the media said that the process is running smoothly and called on political leaders and all candidates to accept the election result in the end. “We are very pleased to be in Durres. We have visited many cities and seen high turnout. This shows that Albanians are interested in their country. I know some incidents have been reported, but now the authorities need to investigate. Prosecutors to investigate to the end. Citizens are doing their job. Now it is the time for candidates and political leaders to wait for the results and accept the judgment of the people,” said Kim. Meanwhile, Soreca was in Durres where he watched closely the voting process in a polling station. Soreca called on citizens who have not yet voted to fulfill this right of theirs, but also a constitutional obligation. Among other things, he urged political leaders to calmly await the election result after the closing of the voting process. “Voting went smoothly despite several different things that will be investigated. There are still 3 hours so our call is for citizens who have not yet voted. We know today is a beautiful day but you have to come and vote. After the vote, wait patiently for the result and for the political leaders, be patient to see what this result will be,” said the EU Ambassador.