• Von Cramon: I have information that Government has proposal on Association (Koha)
• Vucic Vows to Protect Kosovo as ‘Integral Part of Serbia’ in Swearing-In Ceremony (Exit News)
• Hovenier reunites with Kosovo unity team; meets Kosovo Serb community leaders (media)
• Konjufca for an official visit to Greece today (RTK)
• Bulgaria offers support for Kosovo’s membership in NATO (media)
• Krasniqi: Formation of Specialist Chambers was necessary; dialogue has degraded (RTK)
• Kraja: In dialogue with Serbia, only Kosovo has made concessions (T7/G. Express)
• Draft resolution submitted to U.S. Congress to honour activist Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman (VOA/media)
• Kosovo Seeks Satellite Images of Suspected War Grave in Serbia (BIRN)

Von Cramon: I have information that Government has proposal on Association (Koha)

European Parliament member and rapporteur, Viola von Cramon, said that the Government of Kosovo has a proposal for implementation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities but did not reveal details as to what this proposal entails. Von Cramon said that it is not that the Government of Kosovo will change position on the issue but that it could come up with its own proposal concerning the way forward.

“What I have heard is that this is recently changing and this is good news because this is what is needed. We need a formed concept of the Kosovo side on the Association,” she told Koha.

Von Cramon said that before the final agreement is reached, the parties need to implement the previous agreements, including that on the Association.

Vucic Vows to Protect Kosovo as ‘Integral Part of Serbia’ in Swearing-In Ceremony (Exit News)

Aleksander Vucic vowed to protect Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia’s territorial integrity as he was sworn in for a second term as President of Serbia.

The oath read by Vucic is enshrined in the Constitution of Serbia and lays out that the President must “dedicate all [his] efforts to preserving the sovereignty and the entire territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as its integral part.”

In a speech to Parliament following the ceremony, Vucic added that “Since Kosovo’s case in tied to the crisis in Ukraine, it will be even harder for us to solve,” without elaborating further.

Vucic touched on the subject of Kosovo even before the ceremony, as he addressed a crowd of supporters gathered in front of Parliament.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3agOApz

Hovenier reunites with Kosovo unity team; meets Kosovo Serb community leaders (media)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier met members of the Kosovo’s Unity Team that negotiated the final status of Kosovo during Vienna talks led by then UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

“While we reminisced about the past, Martti Ahtisaari’s superb leadership, and Kosovo’s many achievements since then, our discussions focused on our shared desire for Kosovo to realize its European and Euro-Atlantic future,” Hovenier said on Twitter.

Earlier yesterday, Hovenier, met with Serb community leaders in Kosovo – Rada Trajkovic, Nenad Rasic, and Nenad Radosavljevic. “Kosovo’s diversity is among its greatest strengths. Great to hear from diverse voices representing the Kosovo-Serb community and discuss how community leaders working together can ensure Kosovo delivers for all its citizens,” he wrote.

Konjufca for an official visit to Greece today (RTK)

The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, will visit Greece today. He is expected to meet members of various Greek parliamentary committees.

According to the news portal, Konjufca will initially attend a meeting of the General Committee for Economy, Infrastructure and Energy. He will then meet with the General Committee for Social Development as well as with the General Committee for Justice and Home Affairs and Cooperation in the field of Security. Konjufca is also expected to meet with senior Greek state officials.

Bulgaria offers support for Kosovo’s membership in NATO (media)

Bulgaria will provide support for Kosovo’s membership in NATO and other international organizations. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, Dragomir Zakov, during the reception given to the Minister Armend Mehaj.

Mehaj stressed that Bulgaria, as a member of NATO and the EU, remains an important partner aimed at strengthening relations, and that a memorandum of cooperation is expected to be signed soon. “Also, this state will provide assistance in the field of security in the education of cadets and training of members of the KSF,” added Minister Mehaj.

Krasniqi: Formation of Specialist Chambers was necessary; dialogue has degraded (RTK)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said that it is true that the party did vote in favour for the creation of the Specialist Chambers at The Hague but that the court is not dealing with what it set out to originally. “In the context of that time, there was no way for this court not to be set up.”

“Those MPs voted for it but did not expect it to turn out the way it did,” Krasniqi said, adding that the court is not accountable to anyone, “not the president, not the Assembly, not the KJC (Kosovo Judicial Council), no one.” Krasniqi continued: “The right is on our side because the KLA defended the doorstep of its home.”

Commenting on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Krasniqi said the process has ‘degraded’ and that not a single step forward has been made since Albin Kurti took the post of prime minister. “It is the first time in the last five years that a statement of a U.S. official does not mention the mutual recognition,” he said in reference to a statement of the U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Kosovo.

Krasniqi further said that Kurti’s visit to the U.S. was a failed one. “He met no one at the White House. Sullivan as a security advisor to President Biden is certainly an important man. But he did not meet Kurti at the White House.”

Kraja: In dialogue with Serbia, only Kosovo has made concessions (T7/G. Express)

Mehmet Kraja, head of the Academy of Arts and Science of Kosovo, said that in the dialogue with Serbia, Kosovo has been the only party to make concessions while Serbia has remained staunch in its positions. He said that those leading the dialogue are responsible for the situation.

“You cannot blame the international community, but we have said one more thing. Brussels has not maintained a principled stand. No question about it. Because the constant pressures on the dialogue have gone in the direction of Kosovo and never in the direction of Serbia. This is seen from the documents. Take the Association for instance. There has been pressure to have a vote in the Assembly on this matter. But this did not happen on the Serbian side. Our rapport in dialogue has not been fair, but this is also attributed to Brussels and its position,” Kraja said.

On the Constitutional Court ruling on Decan Monastery land, Kraja said Kosovo authorities have no alternative but to enforce it and that it is too late for any attempts to reverse it. With regards to the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, he underlined that such a mechanism can be established as it is a product of Vienna negotiations. “The Association does not present a problem if Serbia recognises you, it is that simple. If Serbia recognised Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity then we could form any type of Association because it would not undermine our territorial integrity.”

Draft resolution submitted to U.S. Congress to honour activist Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman (VOA/media)

Member of the US House of Representatives Colin Allred on Tuesday introduced a draft resolution honoring human rights activist Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, a survivor of sexual violence during the Kosovo war, Voice of America in Albanian reported.

The document also calls on the United States to work to ensure that the Serbian government investigates and prosecutes all those responsible for sexual violence during the Kosovo war.

Kosovo Seeks Satellite Images of Suspected War Grave in Serbia (BIRN)

The Kosovo government told BIRN that more satellite images are needed of the Stavalj mine near Sjenica in south-west Serbia, where Kosovo Albanian victims of the Kosovo war are suspected to have been buried, in order to reach a definitive conclusion about whether excavation work at the site should continue or stop.

“Through satellite images, in recent years, it was possible to specify the location of the mass grave in Rudnica [in southern Serbia in 2013] after at least four years of excavations, and the location of the mass grave in Kizevak [in southern Serbia in 2020] after more than five years of excavations,” said Rozafa Kelmendi, a spokesperson for the Kosovo government.

Excavations at the Stavalj mine for human remains from the Kosovo war were halted this month, 13 days after they started. The Serbian government’s Commission for Missing Persons said on May 25 that no war victims’ remains were found.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3aA1UWb