Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 327 new cases, five deaths (media)
• Kurti will not be part of 11 May dialogue meeting (media)
• Kurti kicks off Brussels visit by meeting Belgian PM (media)
• Germany reiterates it has not authored latest non-paper (media)
• Kosovo needs systematic vetting process, U.S. Embassy says (RFE)
• Thaci congratulates Albania’s Rama on projected election win (media)
• Kosovo to take part in multinational military exercise (media)
• Following petition, Netflix includes Kosovo to the list of countries (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Kurti: A new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will not be held on May 11 (N1)
• Freedom House says situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate (N1)
• Serbia donated to North Macedonia additional 13.000 vaccines (Kosovo-online)
• Office for KiM: Pristina cannot attribute non-paper to Belgrade (Beta, Novi Magazin)
• Vucic on non-paper, Osmani’s statement, Netflix (Kosovo-online)
• Jeremic: Non-paper trial balloon for Serbian Orthodox Church (KoSSev)
• Stojanovic: Non-paper on Kosovo not acceptable for Serbian citizens (N1)
• The idea of the autonomy of the North close to both Berlin and Paris (Danas)
• Trial to former minister Rikalo and others continues (Kontakt plus radio)
• Army of Serbia donates anti-Covid equipment to EU missions in Africa (N1)
• Djuric with Reeker: Confirmation of Serbia-US partnership (RTS)
• Kandic: ”Why is the Special Court of Kosovo controversial?” (Kosovo Online, Twitter)

Opinion:

• Dangerous map games in the Balkans (ekathimerini.com)
• The baleful phantom of border changes haunts the Balkans (Financial Times)

International:

• Kosovo recalls war victims on National Missing Person’s Day (AP)
• Kosovo War Survivors Nervous About Participating in Guerrillas’ Trials (Balkan Insight)
• Serbia’s Vucic ‘treating the EU as if stupid were its middle name’ (euractive.com)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 327 new cases, five deaths (media)

327 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo.

508 persons recovered from the virus during this time. 

Kurti will not be part of 11 May dialogue meeting (media)

Radio Free Europe reports that Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said he would not be attending the EU-hosted meeting on 11 May to discuss the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. 

“I cannot attend a meeting for which I have not previously confirmed participation. What I can confirm is that I will be in Brussels for a working lunch or dinner organised by Commissioner Borrell, sometime mid May, where Western Balkans leaders will participate,” Kurti is quoted as saying.

Koha meanwhile reports that Kurti said in a press conference today that while ‘no comment’ would be the best response to the circulated non-paper on the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Kosovo will not agree to the revival of projects whose goal is land swap or ‘Bosnianisation’ of Kosovo. 

Kurti kicks off Brussels visit by meeting Belgian PM (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti started his official two-day visit to Brussels with a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo.

Kurti said he presented in the meeting the priorities of the Government in employment and justice and that he also reiterated calls for visa liberalisation.

The two officials also talked about Covid vaccines, the efforts of the Kosovo Government in securing it and the possibilities of Belgium’s support in this direction. “We agreed to increase economic cooperation,” Kurti added in a Twitter post. 

Germany reiterates it has not authored latest non-paper (media)

Following the rebuttal of the German Ambassador Jorn Rohde of the authorship of the recent non-paper about the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, the German Foreign Ministry has also rejected the document originates from the German government.

“Foreign Minister Maas underlined yet again during his visits in Pristina and Belgrade last week that ‘our full support goes to the dialogue for normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, facilitated by the EU, under the leadership of the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. The goal of this dialogue for normalisation is a sustainable, comprehensive agreement that contributes to regional stability, includes mutual recognition and thus enables the two countries a real EU perspective and EU membership,” Deutsche Welle reported, quoting the Foreign Ministry of Germany.

Kosovo needs systematic vetting process, U.S. Embassy says (RFE)

Legal advisor to the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo Lana Morton-Owens said that the public in Kosovo wants to see a vetting process of the judiciary but noted that this law, alongside that on confiscation of unlawfully acquired wealth, need to be cautiously drafted.

Morton-Owens said the vetting process needs a systematic approach to ensure that any person holding a public post can be trusted. “However, you need to work together with the institutions you have, strengthen those mechanisms and, I agree, maybe you will need a new mechanism, I don’t think it needs to be an international mechanism,” she said, adding that the process ought to be led by Kosovo and the international community can lend expertise. 

The U.S. Embassy representative argued that the vetting should not only focus on the judiciary but also encompass the anti-corruption agency, the police, tax administration, financial intelligence units. “You need to verify them all. This is a huge challenge but if you want to do it right, you need to plan well and if you manage to achieve something that is systematic, you will see big changes in the rule of law in Kosovo and only progress.”

Thaci congratulates Albania’s Rama on projected election win (media)

Former President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci, currently awaiting trial for war crimes at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, congratulated Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama for his party’s projected victory in Sunday’s elections.

“The narrow rooms and walls of the cell at The Hague cannot contain the burst of my enthusiasm for your victory – an enthusiasm that is difficult to accommodate at the bleakness and loneliness of the prison days. But, as never before in recent times, today I am happy and at peace for your victory, my brother,” Thaci said in the letter which Rama published on his Facebook account.

Thaci added that he, together with his KLA fellow fighters, had sworn to fight for liberation of Kosovo and ‘unification of Albanian lands’. “I fought for this ideal with Kosovo inside Albania but when the possibilities became limited, I fought for Kosovo as a country – the pride of my life. I worked so hard for Kosovo, but also made mistakes – sometimes with the enthusiasm of an idealist and later with arrogance of a man in power. But, Edi my brother, I was never wrong about the relationship we created together.”

“Today, Albania won! Today, Albanians are okay. Take care of Albania, brother, and don’t forget to also take care of Kosovo. When you take care of Kosovo, you take care of Albanians too,” Thaci concluded. 

Kosovo to take part in multinational military exercise (media)

Kosovo will be part of Defender-Europe 21, an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO and partner militaries.

More than 28,000 multinational forces from 26 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in a dozen countries, with Kosovo joining the event for the first time.

Following petition, Netflix includes Kosovo to the list of countries (media)

The global streaming company, Netflix, has added Kosovo to the list of countries it is providing services to following a petition calling on the company to list Kosovo independently from Serbia. 

The news was announced by the initiator of the petition, Sovran Hoti. 

Earlier in the year, then acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani had written to Netflix asking it to put Kosovo on its map.

Serbian Language Media

Kurti: A new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will not be held on May 11 (N1)

A new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will not be held on May 11, as previously announced, said Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti, answering the question of N1 in Brussels.  

Kurti said that he would certainly not be in Brussels that day, but that he would participate in the summit a few days later, at which all the leaders of the Western Balkans would be present.

As he said, when it comes to dialogue, speed is not important, but that he is better prepared.

He added that it is necessary to set the principles of dialogue, and not to base it only on the past and individual interests.

Bilcik: “Ball” in the yard of Pristina, Serbia showing patience (RTS, Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

The rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee for Serbia, Vladimir Bilcik said today that he hoped that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina would continue and agreed with Serbian Parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic that the “ball” was currently in Pristina’s yard, not the Belgrade’s, reported Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

At the session of the Committee for European Integration, at which the resolution of the European Parliament on the reports from 2019 and 2020 was discussed, Dacic said that it was unclear, when it comes to the issue of Kosovo, why that resolution says “that everyone must fulfill their obligations “.

Dacic emphasized that equalization of responsibilities was not good and reminded that the dialogue stopped every time exclusively because of Pristina, never because of Belgrade.

At the session of the Board, Bilcik agreed with Dacic that the ball was currently in the yard of Pristina, and not in Belgrade’s

He said that ”the dialogue was important and that the citizens of Serbia and the citizens of Kosovo should benefit from reconciliation”, stating that their future should have a European perspective, reported RTS.

“The best answer to that would be a comprehensive and legally binding agreement between Belgrade and Pristina,” Bilcik said.

According to Bilcik, Belgrade approached the dialogue actively and in good faith and will, emphasizing that the patience shown by Serbia was appreciated, and added that the European institutions were also focused on achieving results, reported RTS.

Freedom House says situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate (N1)

Freedom House said in its latest report that the state of fundamental freedoms and democratic institutions in Serbia continued to deteriorate in 2020, with no sign of improvement and the coronavirus pandemic disrupting elections and bringing new restrictions on individual freedoms.

The Nations in Transit report warned that Serbia is among the countries where the anti-democratic alternative is spreading. “Incumbents and ruling parties in central and southeastern Europe are corrupting governance and spreading anti-democratic practices. In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic has overseen the mainstreaming of smear campaigns and pro-government propaganda,” it said. Looking ahead to 2021, Serbia’s political system may find itself at a crossroads between continued democratic regression and the strengthening of its democratic institutions, the section of the report on Serbia said.

“For most of the year, political life—and indeed all other life—unfolded in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said and added that the parliamentary elections were moved from April to June because of the pandemic which led the authorities to impose a state of emergency. The report said that there were concerns about the vote because of the mixing of large numbers of people during the pandemic but that the boycott of the elections by most opposition parties claiming that conditions for a free and fair political competition did not exist proved to be a much bigger problem. Freedom House said that the authorities amended the electoral law and lowered the threshold to win seats in parliament from five percent to three percent of the vote to entice smaller opposition parties to field candidates. It said that the changes to the election law were introduced with almost no public debate.

“In the run-up to the elections, the electoral playing field remained firmly skewed in favor of the ruling party,” the report said. “The creation of the governing coalition that enjoyed the support of almost all Serbian legislators served to highlight the monolithic nature of the National Assembly, as a sizable number of citizens opposed to the ruling SNS were effectively unrepresented. Moreover, the monolithic nature of the parliament seriously curtailed its ability to scrutinize the executive in practice,” the report said.

The report said that authorities initially downplayed the dangers of the pandemic and then declared a state of emergency which included a curfew and severe restrictions some of which were disputed by lawyers, including the president’s right to declare the state of emergency instead of parliament. “The sidelining of the parliament on the state-of-emergency proclamation is just one example of the personalization of power in Vucic’s hands, which contributed to the degradation of Serbia’s democratic institutions,” the report said.

It said that independent media came under additional pressure over their reporting with the arrest of journalist Ana Lalic over her reporting on working conditions at the Vojvodina Clinical Center as the most extreme example. Media outlets also noted that the authorities had underreported the number of COVID-19 deaths.

The report said that Serbia is among countries where civil society shines brightest. “Through persistent protests, activists in Serbia have elevated environmental issues to the national agenda, leading the state to scrap plans for destructive hydroelectric power plants,” it said and added that medical staff critical of the authorities organized the United Against COVID-19 group.

No real progress was made in fighting corruption during the year. A worrying sign in this respect was the adoption of a new law in February that allows the government to exempt projects deemed to hold “strategic importance” from existing public procurement regulations.

See at: https://bit.ly/3gM0SYe

Serbia donated to North Macedonia additional 13.000 vaccines (Kosovo-online)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said today Serbian donated additional 13.000 Sputnik V vaccines to North Macedonia, adding thus far a total of 48.000 vaccines were donated to this country, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Brnabic also said there are sufficient vaccines for the citizens of Serbia, and should the need arise, Serbia would be ready to support friends and partners in the region.

“We can’t return to normal life, if anyone else around also doesn’t return to normal life. This is an investment in joint safety and security”, Brnabic said. 

Office for KiM: Pristina cannot attribute non-paper to Belgrade (Beta, Novi Magazin)

The Office of the Government of Serbia for Kosovo and Metohija announced today that Pristina’s efforts to attribute the alleged “non-paper” about Kosovo to official Belgrade “are just a perfidious attempt to cover up its real author”.

The statement reads that “such a document did not appear in any Belgrade media, but in the Pristina media, that is, the day after it was announced when the Brussels negotiations would continue” between Belgrade and Pristina.

“That is why it would be better for Pristina to prepare well for dialogue, and for Albin Kurti to lead today’s talks in Brussels in the spirit of normalizing relations with Belgrade, than to waste energy on false news. Belgrade remains firmly in the position that negotiations and dialogue are the only way to finding a lasting and sustainable solution, which cannot be achieved by any secret documents or anyone’s wish list. Just as no one can force President Aleksandar Vucic to recognize the so-called Kosovo through pressure and blackmail,” the statement said.

Yesterday, after the announcement of “non-paper”, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani wrote on her Facebook profile that it was “an old strategy of Serbia, but also of Russia”, in order to ”normalize such an approach and that it become part of the daily debate and then the dialogue agenda”, assessing that the demands made in the “non-paper” were “dangerous and destabilizing”.

She stated that “no ‘non-paper’ could change priorities or fair demands in relation to Serbia – clarifying the fate of missing persons, justice and war reparations”.

Vucic on non-paper, Osmani’s statement, Netflix (Kosovo-online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and institutions in Pristina should not even dream that Serbia will recognize Kosovo, Kosovo-online portal reports.

He made these remarks after being asked to comment on Osmani’s statement that Serbia was behind all non-papers, adding it was a lie and falsehood.

“If they now hope that Serbia would accept such recognition of Kosovo, I would tell them not to even dream (about recognition), let alone that Serbia stands behind something like that”, Vucic said, adding he would not even comment on Osmani’s statement but was asked so.

“I see they celebrate all day long because Netflix included them on its list of states. Netflix included you on the list, what do you need UN and Interpol for, watch movies, kick the ball”, Vucic said, Kosovo-portal reports.  

Jeremic: Non-paper trial balloon for Serbian Orthodox Church (KoSSev)

“Non-paper by which Serbia should recognize Kosovo as an independent state is a sort of a trial balloon, primarily for the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC)”, leader of Serbian opposition People’s Party (NS) Vuk Jeremic said, KoSSev portal reports.

He added the non-paper has “certain significance”, however, it doesn’t represent any encouragement for the Serbian Orthodox Church.

“This non-paper has no new moments apart from the special status for the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is the largest obstacle to signing an agreement that would include a legal act of recognizing international and legal sovereignty of Kosovo, and that is why, unlike in other papers, lots of attention was dedicated to the future status of the church”, Jeremic said.

He noted that in the latest non-paper, same as in all other before, Prstina membership in the UN was the most important.  

“When you open the way to Kosovo membership in the UN, you are losing any control on what would happen in the future in that area. There is no international legal custom that would prevent two sovereign states from making a decision on unification, something that Albania and Kosovo could do in case Kosovo gets UN membership”, Jeremic said.

Jeremic also said back in 2006 when Montenegro declared independence no one could even think that 15 years later the Serbian Orthodox Church could face “an existential problem”.

“This could happen tomorrow at some independent Kosovo that ended up in some great Albania but it would not be possible to organize processions for the defense of the Serbian Orthodox Church there”, he added.

Jeremic, a former President of the UN General Assembly and former Serbian Foreign Minister said he spoke with “his important contacts in Europe” and agreed with them “that this non-paper was not prepared at some PR agency, but that crucial capital cities of the EU certainly had their share in it”.

Asked if he could anticipate who “the smart woman” President Vucic mentioned as the author of the paper could be, Jeremic said he could guess, but he would rather not speculate.

He also said he thinks it was not German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she would “not dedicate that much time to write such a detailed paper of this kind”.  

Stojanovic: Non-paper on Kosovo not acceptable for Serbian citizens (N1)

Political scientist Boban Stojanovic assessed in the N1 ‘Novi Dan’ show that the non-paper document that appeared in Kosovo was a “test balloon” in order to see the reaction of “statesmen, primarily from Serbia”. He pointed out that such a document is not acceptable for the citizens of Serbia, because “the public of Serbia has shown in all public opinion polls that it is not ready to accept or recognize the independence of Kosovo.” When asked which woman he suspected of writing the document, Stojanovic answered: “I don’t know who it could be except Angela Merkel.”

N1 recalled that Koha Ditore published the content of the alleged non-paper in which it was stated, among other issues, that “Kosovo and Serbia will respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and there will also be an autonomous region of Northern Kosovo.” 

Commenting on the fact that this is the second document of its kind that has appeared in the last few weeks, he said that it was an “invasion or flood of something that most likely 99 percent of Serbia has no idea what it is about”.

“Obviously, in some centers of power, it was decided to ‘feel’ the terrain and the situation in the Balkans a bit. For them to see how the statesmen of Serbia and Kosovo will react, but it is most likely intended primarily for Serbia. First, we talk about the first one, which appeared a few weeks ago, and now comes the second. Of course, everyone distanced themselves, and it is not an official position. However, I don’t know why anyone would think about whether it is an official position, when nothing new has appeared. This is not a new proposal that has been put on the agenda, so we have to think about it,” said Stojanovic.

Speaking about the document published in the Pristina media, he notes that more or less everything is already known, and that it is possible that this is “an attempt to feel the pulse and Kurti and the opportunity to go a step further than the previous government and fulfill the signed part of the agreement with Belgrade”.

“We have been talking about other things for sure for twenty years,” he pointed out and added that despite everything, this document is not acceptable for the citizens of Serbia.

“We often talk about what reality is. Whether Serbia has some sovereignty in Kosovo or not, whether we will ever have executive power in Kosovo again, however, it seems to me that public opinion in Serbia has not changed. Although the current government, and above all Aleksandar Vucic, has been working for years to prepare the public opinion of Serbia, with his narrative that Serbia has nothing there and that we are fighting to get anything there. But, the public of Serbia in all public opinion polls is not ready to accept the independence of Kosovo or to recognize independence,” emphasizes Stojanovic and adds that it is most likely that it will remain so.

According to him, in the past, Vucic, in agreement with Western countries, “tried to prepare the ground for the final decision”.

“I think he will never do that because he is aware that it would mean the end of his political career in Serbia. Now, he is balancing, and Pristina helped him in a good part of it. For the past two or three years, I no longer remember how many elections there were in Kosovo, and how many different politicians came and went. Kurti is quite “tough” and he imposed some attitudes, among the last ones the unification with Albania, which I don’t think anyone in the West likes too much,” Stojanovic believes.

Regarding the dialogue in Brussels, he states that both sides have their own goals, which are focused primarily on domestic policy.

When asked which woman he suspected of writing the document, he answered: “I don’t know who it could be except Angela Merkel.”

“It is possible that this is her last attempt to end this situation with the Balkans,” Stojanovic said.

The idea of the autonomy of the North is close to both Berlin and Paris (Danas)

The basic ideas contained in the alleged Franco-German non-paper on the solution of the Kosovo problem are close to the views of those two countries, although there is no evidence that official Berlin and Paris really designed the paper, German and British experts on the Western Balkans told Belgrade based daily Danas, commenting the content of an unofficial document published by Pristina daily Koha Ditore, the authenticity of which has not yet been proven.

According to the Pristina paper, the concept implies that Kosovo and Serbia will “respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, there will be an autonomous region of northern Kosovo”, the Serbian Orthodox Church will have a special status, and Mitrovica (Kosovska Mitrovica) will be a joint economic zone.

Also, it is claimed that it is planned to implement all the agreements reached so far between Belgrade and Pristina, and that the final agreement will be reached by February 2022.

German Ambassador to Pristina Jorn Rohde stated that the so-called German French non-paper was “fake news”.

“I had an insight into this non-paper, which, of course, is called so because the parties involved do not want it to be endangered from the very beginning, which might be the case if France or Germany recognized the authorship,” an independent German academic Franz-Lothar Altmann told Danas, commenting the content of the unofficial document.  

– These days, I am not close enough to the official policy of Berlin to confirm whether the content of this non-paper really reflects the policy of Berlin towards Kosovo and Serbia. However, I assume that there are constant talks between Paris and Berlin on this issue, because both sides want things to move forward. And I also think that, in principle, solutions have been proposed in line with the basic ideas discussed in political circles in Berlin. Germany has recognized Kosovo and continues to support Ahtisaari’s plan to resolve the Kosovo issue. On the other hand, Berlin knows very well that full recognition of Kosovo’s sovereignty is a very difficult nut to crack for Belgrade, and that the final establishment of a quasi-independent community of Serb municipalities is equally difficult for Pristina. Therefore, this non-paper clearly states the conditions crystal clear, and unequivocally informs both parties that the most politically convincing arguments on the domestic field are needed to reach an agreement. The only truly powerful tool, or lever, in the upcoming negotiation process is to set an ultimate goal for both sides, for Serbia and Kosovo, and that is EU membership. Otherwise, the final agreement is unthinkable, he believes.

In Altmann’s opinion, “this non-paper is very important, because once again it clearly shows what is at stake and what are the basic difficult positions that must be overcome”.

Speaking on the same topic, Timothy Less, the leader of the “Disintegration Studies” project at the Center for Geopolitics at Cambridge University, told the daily: 

“I have no insider information about this non-paper, I don’t know where it comes from, or even whether it’s real; what I do know is that Koha Ditore says it’s a Franco-German paper and the German ambassador that it is not.”

– Judging by the language and content, this paper was almost certainly created in Western Europe, and according to my assumptions, it came from Lajcak’s office (Miroslav Lajcak, EU Special Representative for Dialogue on Kosovo), because he leads the mediation process. That would be in line with the comment of the German ambassador. This non-paper seems to be an attempt to consider the objections of Kosovo Albanians to the community of Serb municipalities, by limiting it territorially to the north. Therefore, I do not see how Serbia would agree to such a proposal. As for Germany, there is nothing in the mentioned paper that contradicts its position, which reads: Serbia must recognize Kosovo and there can be no border changes, but that, of course, does not confirm that the Germans wrote it, he states.

Less points out that “there is an interesting amount of non-paper about the Balkans circulating in Brussels these days; Croatian non-paper about Bosnia, Slovenian non-paper, and now this one – which suggests that European leaders have recognized that the existing EU approach to the Balkans is being demolished”.

Danas daily recalls that the political dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should continue May 11, with a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, under the auspices of Miroslav Lajcak in Brussels. After that meeting, talks on the normalization of relations between the two sides are expected to be held in Paris, hosted by French President Emanuel Macron.

Trial to former minister Rikalo and others continues (Kontakt plus radio)

Former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Nenad Rikalo and seven other former officials accused of corruption entered their plea at the court in Pristina, Kontakt plus radio reports.They pleaded not guilty.

Apart from Rikalo, it is suspected that Kapllan Halimi, Shefki Zeqiri, Ekrem Gjoka, Shkëlzen Morina, Leon Thaçi, Lindar Krasniqi and Albana Zeqiri – as former employees of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development – caused damage to the Kosovo budget in the amount of EUR four million. 

In her opening remarks, representative of the prosecution, special prosecutor Habibe Salihi, informed the court and the parties about the witnesses and the material evidence supporting the indictment against the aforementioned individuals. She emphasized that she would prove that the accused caused significant material damage to the Kosovo budget.

In addition, Bedri Krasniqi, representing the Kosovo Ministry of Justice, said that he would submit a property-legal request for compensation for the damage caused by the defendants. 

After hearing the allegations of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the attorneys, the defense of all the accused stated that they would prove the innocence of their clients. The defense called the indictment unfounded, deficient and with weak evidence.  

Army of Serbia donates anti-Covid equipment to EU missions in Africa (N1)

Representatives of the Army of Serbia (VS) in European Union missions in Somalia and Central-African state (RCA) donated the missions’ commanders medical equipment for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Serbian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

VS representatives are members of the EU training missions in Somalia (EUTM Somalia) and the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA)

Djuric with Reeker: Confirmation of Serbia-US partnership (RTS)

Within the regular political dialogue with the State Department, Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric met with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker, RTS reports.  

Ambassador Djuric said Serbia will always advocate for the peace and stability in the region, and it demonstrates constantly by its serious and wise approach that it has been a reliable and credible US partner in this part of Europe.

During the talks a particular significance was placed on the 140 years long history of diplomatic relations between Serbia and US, alliance in both world wars, and more intense cooperation in all the areas of mutual interests, we bear witness over the last years. 

Kandic: ”Why is the Special Court of Kosovo controversial?” (Kosovo Online, Twitter)

The founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Law Center, Natasa Kandic tweeted today asking why the mandate of the Special Court of Kosovo was controversial, as some non-governmental organizations assessed it.

Kandic wrote on Twitter that this court would try KLA members for crimes against Albanians.

“Special Court of Kosovo will try KLA members for crimes against Albanians – including members of Rugova’s party, associates of Serb forces, but also ordinary people who sold wood, cattle or saw them occasionally. What’s controversial in the mandate of this court, as some NGOs assess it?” Kandic tweeted.

Opinion

Dangerous map games in the Balkans (ekathimerini.com)

A “ghost” of a non-paper that is said to outline changes to the borders of the Western Balkans has come along to revive nightmare scenarios at a time of heavy geopolitical turbulence in the broader region of Southeast Europe, the Black Sea and, of course, the Eastern Mediterranean.

No one has officially seen this document – brought to light by a Slovenian website with the claim that the government in Ljubljana was among its authors – which is said to contain territorial shifts that will radically change the current map by dissolving Bosnia-Herzegovina and creating a “Greater Albania,” “Greater Serbia” and “Greater Croatia.”

See more at: https://bit.ly/3xsWNhj

The baleful phantom of border changes haunts the Balkans (Financial Times)

Instability and antagonisms pervade the region a quarter of a century after the Yugoslav wars

Changing state borders in the western Balkans is usually considered one of the most dangerous ideas in contemporary European politics. So why has a mysterious document been circulating in Brussels this month that proposes far-reaching changes to the borders established following the wars of the Yugoslav succession in the 1990s and their aftermath? The fundamental reason is that the western Balkans — an area that contains Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — has been trapped in a strategic no man’s land for a quarter of a century. One useful way to calm the region’s tensions would be to admit all six countries into the EU. But this project, ostensibly an unwavering objective of the 27-nation bloc, is proceeding so slowly as to render it increasingly irrelevant as an answer to the region’s troubles.

See more at:https://on.ft.com/3sTgPy4

International

Kosovo recalls war victims on National Missing Person’s Day (AP)

Kosovo’s prime minister urged Serbia on Tuesday to help bring to justice any individuals suspected of responsibility for genocide during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War.

April 27 is Kosovo’s National Missing Person’s Day, when the small Balkans nation remembers ethnic Albanians and Serbs still unaccounted-for from the war. More than 10,000 people died during the two-year conflict, most of them ethnic Albanian civilians and fighters pursuing independence from Serbia, and 1,639 people are still classified as missing.

On April 27, 1999, Serb army troops and paramilitaries dragged at least 377 Albanian men ages 18-36 from a refugee convoy and executed them along the road in Kosovo.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3eD01pZ

Kosovo War Survivors Nervous About Participating in Guerrillas’ Trials (Balkan Insight)

Some war crime survivors have applied to join an innovative scheme to allow victims to get involved in trials at the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers, but others remain hesitant, fearing violent retribution if their identities are revealed.

When Kosovo war victim Gani heard that former guerrilla Pjeter Shala had been arrested and extradited to The Hague to face trial, all he could think of was the detention centre where he was held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA in May 1999.

Gani alleges that Shala and another man assaulted him and other Kosovo Albanian prisoners at the detention centre, with Shala using an iron bar to beat him, while another prisoner was beaten with a baseball bat covered in rubber.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3tVeiES

Serbia’s Vucic ‘treating the EU as if stupid were its middle name’ (euractive.com)

Serbian President Alexandar Vučić has deflected criticism from the EU on the worsening situation for rule of law and media freedom in his country, with the help of docile media which preferred to focus on an uneventful infrastructure project. EURACTIV takes a closer look.

Vučić was invited to physically visit Brussels on Monday (26 April), in sign of the importance of EU-Serbia relations at a time when other geopolitical players, including Russia and China, are investing heavily in bringing the region into their sphere of influence.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3sZiHoX