• Escobar and Lajcak to stay in Prishtina and Belgrade this week (media)
• Escobar to have working dinner with opposition leaders tonight (RTK)
• Office of Kosovo President denies Vucic’s claims (RTK)
• Kurti to talk about meetings in Brussels on Wednesday (media)
• Rexhaj: Reciprocity towards Serbia to be implemented from Sept 1 (media)
• Serbian List with another threat to leave Kosovo’s institutions (RTK)
• Lavrov: Vucic, Putin talking about “harmonizing the next steps” (media)
• Serb official visits Moscow, calls sanctions EU ‘hysteria’ (AP)
• Maliqi for Danas: An armed resistance by Serbs is possible on Sept 1 (media)
• Delawie: Serbia is a threat to peace, not Kosovo (media)
• Pineles: Investigation of only one ethnic group damages credibility (VoA)
• Picturing War: Kosovo Refugee Mother Gives Son a Haircut (BIRN)
• In sign of support, US bombers fly over Dubrovnik, Balkans (AP)

Escobar and Lajcak to stay in Prishtina and Belgrade this week (media)

The U.S. and European envoys for the Western Balkans and the Kosovo-Serbia talks, Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak, will stay in Pristina and Belgrade this week.

A spokesperson for the European Union told VOA that their visit is in the wake of efforts to make progress towards an agreement that would avoid tensions on the ground, which followed Serbian reactions to the Kosovo government’s decision to implement reciprocity on the use of identification documents and car plates.

“Following last week’s meetings, the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Borell, has asked the EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak to travel to Kosovo and Serbia (on August 24 and 25) to mark progress in reaching an agreement with which both sides agree, to avoid the return of tensions on the ground. In his mission, Mr. Lajcak will be accompanied by the American envoy for the talks, Gabriel Escobar,” says the response of the European Union official.

Escobar to have working dinner with opposition leaders tonight (RTK)

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Gabriel Escobar, will have a working dinner on Tuesday night with leaders of opposition parties in Kosovo. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) confirmed that their leaders will meet with Escobar at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Prishtina.

Office of Kosovo President denies Vucic’s claims (RTK)

Blerim Vela, chief of staff at the Office of the President of Kosovo has reacted to the claims of the President of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, that the Chechen and Circassian forces were conspiring to kill the Serbs of Kosovo.

“Serbia’s pro-regime media are amplifying disinformation promoted by Vucic during yesterday’s press conference: ‼️ No Albanians from Kosovo joined the war in Ukraine ‼️ No Chechens or Cherkess have plotted to assassinate Kosovo Serbs. This disinfo serves Russia’s narrative,” Vela tweeted.

Kurti to talk about meetings in Brussels on Wednesday (media)

Koha Ditore reports on its front page this morning that on Wednesday Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will talk about last week’s meetings in Brussels and the topics discussed there. “Prime Minister Kurti will talk about the August 18 meeting on Wednesday in his address at the start of the government meeting,” a spokesperson for the government said on Monday. The daily also quotes political commentators as saying that he lack of transparency by the Kosovo government is leaving room for misinformation on certain issues by Serbia.

Rexhaj: Reciprocity towards Serbia to be implemented from Sept 1 (media)

Arber Rexhaj, MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, said that the overnment of Kosovo postponed the decision on reciprocity measures towards Serbia until September 1 because this was a direct request from the Government of the United States of America. However, he stated that from September 1 onwards, the decision on reciprocity measures towards the Serbian state in the issue of documents and license plates will be implemented.

“We already have a decision on the issue of license plates and documents, and you will see that it will be implemented”, emphasized Rexhaj in an interview on Kanal 10. He said that he trusts Prime Minister Albin Kurti that he will make the decision on this issue by September 1.

Serbian List with another threat to leave Kosovo’s institutions (RTK)

The Serbian List on Monday once again threatened to leave Kosovo’s institutions if “a compromise solution is not reached for the license plates and the entry-exit document of Kosovo”.

“First the politicians, and then everyone in turn, the prosecutors, the judges, and the police,” said Goran Rakiq, chairman of the Serbian List, during a speech to certain Serbian media in northern Kosovo.

“In this way, there will be a total dissolution of the Brussels dialogue,” he added.

The Serbian List reiterated that it has given full support to the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to find a compromise solution in the next 10 days, but with the guarantee that the “persecution and pogrom” of the Serbian people will not be allowed.

Lavrov: Vucic, Putin talking about “harmonizing the next steps” (media)

The Russian chief diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, has stated that the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, are talking on the phone, “comparing their positions, harmonizing our next steps.”

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, it is said that Lavrov and Vulin discussed the situation in Kosovo. Lavrov stated that the dialogue between Serbia and Russia is gradually developing at all levels, “regardless of the complex international situation.”

“Taking into account the recent deterioration of the situation in Kosovo and the tensions that are still present there, it was emphasized the necessity of regulating the situation in the province on the basis of strict compliance with the norms of international law, relying on Council Resolution 1244 of UN Security, and with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity, rights and legitimate interests of Serbia.” the announcement states.

Serb official visits Moscow, calls sanctions EU ‘hysteria’ (AP)

Serbia’s interior minister met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday in Moscow in a rare visit by a state official from Europe, highlighting Belgrade’s refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who is known for his pro-Russia and anti-Western stance, said he told Lavrov during their meeting that “Serbia is the only state in Europe that didn’t introduce sanctions and was not part of the anti-Russian hysteria.”

Serbia, which formally seeks European Union membership, has for years been drifting away from its EU path and toward traditional Slavic ally Russia, as well as China.

Vulin is considered “Moscow’s man” within the Serbian government.

Vulin has been advocating the creation of “the Serbian World” that would unite all Serbs in the Balkans under one flag led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Rl0TS3

Maliqi for Danas: An armed resistance by Serbs is possible on Sept 1 (media)

Political commentator Shkelzen Maliqi said in an interview with Belgrade-based Danas that on September 1 when the Kosovo government starts implementing the reciprocity on license plates and documents, there could be an armed resistance by Serbs. “The Kosovo government has announced the start of reciprocity at the border crossings on September 1 and this will again incite an armed resistance by the Serbs. Kosovo’s reciprocity measures clearly have the backing of the West, so Vucic has not been left room to seek another solution,” Maliqi argued.

Delawie: Serbia is a threat to peace, not Kosovo (media)

Former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said in a Twitter post on Monday “warmongering in the Balkans from Vucic.  Make no mistake, Serbia is the real threat to peace here, not Kosovo.  KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping force, will do its job.  This is a well-written story that does not ‘both sides’ the situation.”

Pineles: Investigation of only one ethnic group damages credibility (VoA)

Former U.S. EULEX judge Dean Pineles told VoA on Monday that the Special Court’s treating of war crimes committed by only one group of Albanians damages its credibility.

Pineles, author of the recently published book “Odyssey of a Judge,” where he analyzes the work of the Special Court, emphasized in this extensive interview that if Special Court’s decisions are not trusted by the people of Kosovo, then the court would not reach one of the key goals, that of reconciling people.

“The Special Court has employed 250 people from 25 countries. There is no Kosovar employed in the court. It is a completely international organization. If in the end, this court, which has no representative from Kosovo, convicts these high-ranking heroes of the KLA, I do not think that this would bring reconciliation among the public in Kosovo,” Pineles said.

Picturing War: Kosovo Refugee Mother Gives Son a Haircut (BIRN)

In the first of BIRN’s series of interviews with Balkan war photographers, Ridvan Slivova revisits a picture he took in 1999 in the Kosovo mountains showing a mother and child attempting to maintain normality in desperate circumstances.

Ridvan Slivova has been assigned to shoot hundreds of events during his career as a photographer, but the best picture that he ever took was shot while he was involuntarily off duty.

During the Kosovo conflict in April 1999, the newspaper he was working with was shut down after NATO started its campaign of air strikes against Yugoslav forces and Slobodan Milosevic declared a state of war, which meant the closure of all independent media.

Many thousands of Kosovo Albanians fled their homes to avoid attacks by Milosevic’s forces around this time and ended up seeking refuge in remote villages. In one of these villages in the Gollak region of north-east Kosovo, Slivova captured a mother cutting her son’s hair as the boy knelt on the ground in front of her.

The mother’s face is gloomy and her grim expression reflects the fear she is feeling. A less-than-half-full bottle of water stands beside her to wash the child’s head.

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

In sign of support, US bombers fly over Dubrovnik, Balkans (AP)

A pair of U.S. Air Force B52 strategic bombers on Monday flew low over the Croatian resort of Dubrovnik and three other NATO-member states in the region as a sign of support amid the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

In addition to the walled Croatian tourist resort of Dubrovnik, the aircraft flew over the government headquarters in Skopje, North Macedonia, the downtown Skanderbeg Square in the Albanian capital, Tirana, and up the Adriatic coast of Montenegro.

The Balkans and the Adriatic Sea have lately seen increased military, intelligence and propaganda activity by Moscow, which considers the region of its strategic interest because of its access to the Mediterranean.

“The purpose of each flyover is to demonstrate U.S. commitment and assurance to NATO allies and partners located in southeastern Europe,” the U.S. Air Force said in a statement. “Additionally, this will provide citizens an opportunity to take photos, videos, and enjoy the aircraft flying overhead.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3QLNH8A