Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti meets with Lajcak in Pristina (Telegrafi)
• Kurti: Dialogue with BSPK not a problem; but blackmailing is not good (Koha)
• Abdixhiku: Sole responsibility for crisis falls on Prime Minister Kurti (Klan Kosova)
• Haradinaj calls on Kurti to act on the energy: Move, don’t be scared (media)
• Kurti: Norway is an important partner of Kosovo (RTK)
• Sarrazin talks about visa liberalisation and dialogue (RTK)
• The director of public television resigns (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• The Report on the negotiation process with Pristina adopted in the Assembly of Serbia (Politika, media)
• PM Brnabic: EU membership remains Serbia’s foreign policy priority (N1)
• Hill: Dialogue must go through several critical points, including ZSO (Kosovo Online)
• Krasniqi on agreement with Serbia, Visoki Decani Monastery land (Kosovo Online)
• Vucic meets with Zuroff (Tanjug)
• Day of Serb Unity marked in Serbia, RS (N1, Tanjug)

International:

• Victims’ Lawyer Urges Jailing of Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla (Balkan Insight)
• Ambassadors of leading NATO countries in BiH and Serbia: Active presence of the EU and NATO is important for the stability of the region (EWB)

Humanitarian/Development:

• The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight: WHO (news.un.org)
• PCI media award competition simultaneously presented in Pristina and Belgrade (Radio KIM)   

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti meets with Lajcak in Pristina (Telegrafi)

The spokesperson of the government, Perparim Kryeziu, has announced that the reason the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti left today’s session of the Assembly before it ended, is that he is meeting with the Special Representative of the European Union for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Mirsollav Lajcak.

“From 2:00 p.m. Prime Minister Kurti is holding a meeting with the Special Representative of the European Union, Lajcak, who is staying in Kosovo. Then he continues the daily agenda of official meetings. This is the reason why he could not stay longer in the Assembly,” he wrote on Facebook.

Kurti: Dialogue with BSPK not a problem; but blackmailing is not good (Koha)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said in today’s session of the Assembly that there is no problem with engaging in social dialogue with the Trade Workers Unions (BSPK) who are on strike but that there is a basic disagreement with them. Kurti told MPs that the government tried to take into account all the demands of the unionists and to accommodate them in the draft law on wages.

“We had meetings with leaders of unions and there was no lack of social dialogue. We had over 30 meetings. The Minister of Education meets with the heads of SBASHK [Union for Education, Science and Culture] and I met with the heads of the BPSK. There are no problems of communication, arrogance, or grudges, but we have a basic disagreement. We cannot say that we run state finances in a democratic way if we meet the demands of only a certain group. Blackmailing, saying we want this much money until the law on wages is adopted, is not good,” Kurti said.

Abdixhiku: Sole responsibility for crisis falls on Prime Minister Kurti (Klan Kosova)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku in his address to the Kosovo Assembly today criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti for the current crisis. He said that the failure to start the school year is a national emergency. “This emergency requires dialogue and then compromise. Today there is nothing more important than to discuss and find a solution for our pupils and our teachers,” he said. “The Prime Minister has chosen another path, he has chosen polarisation, first by communicating with them [unions] from a distance, and then by attacking the union representatives and portraying them as servants of Serbia. He calls the teachers illiterates and refers to his political opponents as organisers of the strike aiming to bring down the government.”

Abdixhiku further argued that Kurti bears the sole responsibility for the crisis and that “he needs to engage in dialogue and find a solution”.

Haradinaj calls on Kurti to act on the energy: Move, don’t be scared (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj accused the government and Prime Minister Kurti of trying to resolve the energy crisis “by surfing on the internet”. Haradinaj recalls an advice that he gave to Kurti. “Seeing that the energy situation is still grave and could head toward a total collapse, I had asked the Prime Minister to send his ministers to the Kosovo Power Corporation and to ‘freeze’ seeking a solution; to review the Kosova e Re project; to review the project of the Skopje-Prishtina gas pipeline; to reach agreements for purchasing energy before it is too late … But from all these and other emergency and long-term measures to overcome an eventual energy collapse, he and his ministers decided to surf on the internet and find energy saving models and to present them to the people,” Haradinaj wrote in a public letter.

Kurti: Norway is an important partner of Kosovo (RTK)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti met today with the Norwegian Ambassador to Kosovo Jens Erik Grondahl, thanking him for Norway’s continuous support for Kosovo and saying that Norway is an important partner. Kurti also said that Kosovo’s institutions have outstanding cooperation with the Norwegian Embassy “which continues to contribute to the development of the country and the increased well-being of our people through joint initiatives and projects”. 

Sarrazin talks about visa liberalisation and dialogue (RTK)

Germany’s special emissary for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin has given an interview to the news magazine “Lajmet e Fundi”. He said that he is very optimistic regarding the liberalisation of visas for Kosovo soon.  

Asked about the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, the German emissary stated that the framework and standards are clear, because they are Brussels agreements, but also the decision of the Constitutional Court.

As for the reach of an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia based on the German-German model, Sarrazin said that there are time differences even in the structure.

“I don’t believe in just taking the model and copying it and making it work,” Sarrazin said. He said that he does not believe that Kosovo’s independence can have any kind of comparison with Ukraine.

“It is not comparable at all and we will not allow ourselves to enter into such discussions at all,” Sarrazin said.

Speaking about the negative opinion of the Serbian people about Serbia’s EU membership, according to Sarrazin, in each enlargement process, it has been clear that it must be attractive to attract other countries.

“I believe the EU is better with the six Western Balkan countries in it.” He said that European integration is a good form against Russian influence, but the EU offers reforms in all areas and this is the best fight against Russian influence.

Sarrazin cites Chancellor Scholz-agreement with recognition at the centre

Manuel Sarrazin stated that Germany has recognized the independence of Kosovo and they have asked everyone to do so. “Up to a certain extent, each side should concentrate on what they can do themselves in the dialogue,” he said. 

He said that what member states can do is to make Lajcak’s job easier, entrusting him with the dialogue process. “Member countries have entrusted him with this work and we encourage the parties to be constructive.”

Sarrazin stated that the German adviser who helps Lajcak is an excellent expert and that for now he cannot talk about his agenda. He said that he should be asked if there is a new framework for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, as stated by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

The German emissary said that in every dialogue, each party and each country decides what to have on the table. “Kosovo’s position is very clear in this regard. But I can’t say anything now, but the Brussels agreements must be implemented,” said Sarrazin, adding that each side must give proposals.

“Kosovo is a democratic, sovereign and normal country that should have a debate and it is beautiful how the society in Kosovo will make this decision”.

He said that Chancellor Scholz, when asked by a Serbian journalist, if there will be mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia, he publicly said that if he says that this recognition should be at the centre of the agreement between the two countries, then he does not know why there should be doubts about it. “Scholz is a man of principles and says what he thinks.” Sarrazin stated that in the “Berlin Process”, there is no knowledge of any other meeting between Kurti and Vucic, apart from the one within the “Berlin Process”.

Manuel Sarrazin stated that the dialogue process has been going on for ten years and now we are coming to the situation where results are required.

“There is no higher degree of seriousness in this direction and we are including everything in this direction,” Sarrazin said. He said that now in Germany there is a new government and it is a kind of continuation of the previous government, but there are some emphasis on foreign policy.

“Lajcak is the cook and we are the helpers to contribute as much as possible,” Sarrazin illustrated the current situation with the emissaries assigned to Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

“I believe it is clear the progress that needs to be made in the talks. We have some agreements that are not final. We need to face the problems that have been addressed in the Brussels agreements. In the end we need the agreement for full normalisation signed by both parties,” said Sarrazin. 

“Sometimes the Serbian side talks about recognition on the negative side, but it has become completely clear from Chancellor Scholz’s visit to the region that recognition is the goal and we expect Kosovo to talk about the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority,” Sarrazin said, and added that it has been very clearly stated that this does not pose a threat to Kosovo’s citizenship.

“But there is no taboo topic in the dialogue,” he said adding that it is necessary to talk and come up with proposals. “I have the feeling that there is a will in Kosovo society that these topics should be talked about and for the Serbian side I have the feeling that they want to talk about recognition.”

Germany’s emissary in Kosovo, talked also about preparations for the “Berlin Process”

“We want to push this format forward and this is a process in which many positive things can be achieved,” Sarrazin told RTK. He said that it should be clarified that Germany supports Mr. Lajcak for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Sarrazin said that even in the coalition within the German government, dialogue is a priority for the German government.

The director of public television resigns (media)

Festim Kabashi has announced today that he has submitted the request for release from his duties as director of Kosovo’s public television. 

“Notice of resignation! A finding of the ZKA, which is not at all related to my professional work, (turned into a fictitious cause by certain elements), has been used by the Board for months as a means of pressure on the general director of RTK, in order to find a solution to remove me from the position of director of Television. Seeing that such a situation is making it impossible to push projects forward, and as a result it is reflecting in many aspects on the operation of RTK, I inform you that I have submitted to the general director, Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj, the request for release from duty, as I cannot allow my professional and human integrity to be violated at any price,” Kabashi wrote on Facebook.

He has called his decision necessary to pave the way for the processes for the selection of the editors-in-chief of RTK 1 and RTK 3.

He said that his decision “does not mean surrender, but a refusal to live together in the same environment, where the tendency to violate the dignity of the other in exchange for sheltering certain persons in the leadership of RTK, dominates.”

Serbian Language Media 

The Report on the negotiation process with Pristina adopted in the Assembly of Serbia (Politika, media)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, in his final speech after a total of 25 hours of the session of the Assembly on Kosovo and Metohija, stated that “in no way, directly or indirectly, will the independence of Kosovo be recognized”, as well as that “the fight will be until victory”, wrote Belgrade based daily Politika. 

The report on the negotiation process with Pristina in the Serbian Parliament was adopted with 148 votes in favour. 

The report on 50 pages listed “activities within the framework of the preparation and implementation of negotiations”, from the Community of Serbian Municipalities, police, judiciary, energy, to the dialogue of chambers of commerce and the transport of dangerous goods, as well as about the missing.

President Vucic said that he from ”Macron, Scholz and Michel, after the conversation with Putin, received information that the Russian president withdrew the argument of seizing Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia”, reported Politika.

“I expect different initiatives regarding the Berlin process. The coming weeks will be very difficult and serious for us. I do not know if you got to see the reports from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan… It is enough to hear the words of the Belgian Prime Minister that the European economy will fall. If the European economy falls, then you can imagine in what state our economy will be. What you propose is so far from what the reality is, from what Albanians want, and even further from what they want in the west. And when I say things like this, I will fight stronger and stronger than all those who beat their chests. The next six, a little more than six and a half months will be the most difficult for Europe after the Second World War as a whole. For us, perhaps not the most difficult, but it will be one of the most difficult years for the citizens of Serbia since 1945. I am not at ease, and I expect that after the basic pressures will come the heavier categories. I believe I will be able to talk more about this when I return from New York, because I have 22 bilateral meetings with heads of state and government. Busy days within front of us and, unfortunately, political actors did not understand it enough, and neither did our social scene. Everyone only looks at their share, I do not mean in a particularly negative sense, few people were interested in the state. I was begging that we did not need any noise about the parade. It was not in public. No one wanted to budge on their position. It is easiest for everyone to blame the state”.

It was the state that “must come out to meet everyone,” said Vucic in his final speech.

According to Vucic’s opinion, the Russians were waiting for a new Yalta, and the others wanted to avoid it, reported Politika.

Also, he clearly said that he would not recognize Kosovo’s independence either directly or indirectly.

He pointed out that it implied that Europe’s plan would be for Serbia to agree to ”the so-called Kosovo joining the UN”.

“We are between a rock and a hard place,” said Vucic. 

He pointed out that he discussed the import of oil with the President of Venezuela, because the European ban on the import of Russian oil also affected Serbia.

He said that although none of ”the Serbs applied to Kurti for license plates, they do not want to give up the idea”, reported daily. 

“They expected two or three thousand people to sign up, and only one person signed up. They experienced a debacle and that will increase their nervousness, it will increase their pressure, it will increase their passion to change things through violence on the field. Whatever they do wrong, they will always have the support of their political parents,” said Vucic. 

He said that “no one likes us because we lead an independent policy”.

“There is no magic wand and easy solutions, but we have to fight with smart, rational and serious politics. Fight, fight until the final victory. Long live Serbia! Long live Kosovo and Metohija!” said Vucic at the end, reported Politika daily.

PM Brnabic: EU membership remains Serbia’s foreign policy priority (N1)

Full membership in the European Union (EU) remains one of Serbia’s foreign policy priorities, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told Wednesday Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, N1 reports.

Brnabic said she believes that support and cooperation with partners from the EU will continue to yield visible results, especially in concrete areas, such as the Green Agenda, said a Government press release.

When it comes to energy security, Brnabic said that the deadline for the construction of the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria is next year, but that other projects in the field of energy are also planned.

The press release quoted Giaufret as saying that the new gas interconnector with Bulgaria will significantly increase the amount of gas and secure a cleaner environment and that, by implementing this project, the EU will continue to support Serbia and the Western Balkans, with the aim of further improving energy infrastructure and security.

Speaking about matters related to the media and the safety of journalists, Giaufret said it was very important that the Working Group for the Safety and Protection of Journalists, as well as the entire media community, reacted quickly in the case of threats sent to the editor-in-chief and reporters of OK Radio in Vranje. Brnabic said that the government’s priorities in the next mandate will be the adoption of a set of media laws, first and foremost the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media, as envisaged by the Media Strategy.

Hill: Dialogue must go through several critical points, including ZSO (Kosovo Online)

US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill said that an agreement on establishing the Community of Serb Majority Municipalities (ZSO) must be reached, adding that Serbia and Kosovo may be specific but the problem, as the one they have, has been seen many times in Europe, Kosovo Online portal reports. He also said that each party in the dialogue must gain something. According to him there are many models similar to ZSO in Europe.

Hill noted the US fully supports efforts of the European Union to mediate in the dialogue. “It is great that Europeans are involved in this because they know very well those models”, he said.

Asked if Pristina was ready to implement an agreement on ZSO, Hill said that at the end “there will be some sort of the agreement” and that stakeholders know it must be achieved in a manner that each party gains something. “At the end we shall witness progress and reconciliation”, he added.

He emphasised that in the new framework of the dialogue there were plenty of old elements and one of the main issues is what the future of Serbs in Kosovo will look like. The US stance, he continued, is that “recognition of Kosovo would be good for everybody” but that at this moment the dialogue is important.

“The dialogue must go through several critical points, including the ZSO issue. The aim of the EU is to achieve a complete normalisation of relations, so that people continue their lives normally and economy and other factors can progress. It is encouraging that Serbia thinks of this, in particular that a session on Kosovo was held at the Assembly. This is a difficult topic, in particular in Serbia. No one can say this is easy, in particular for the people here”, he said.  

Krasniqi on agreement with Serbia, Visoki Decani Monastery land (Kosovo Online)

Leader of PDK, Memli Krasniqi said he doesn’t expect agreement with Serbia to be reached soon, adding decision of Constitutional Court on Visoki Decani Monastery land must be respected, and that the Community of Serb Municipalities can only be within the framework of the constitution, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He also said the interest of the US, EU, Germany and France in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue had increased which was ‘significant and good sign’. He added all agreements must be included into one package and that Kosovo made many compromises.

Talking about the Visoki Decani Monastery land case, Krasniqi said the stance of PDK was clear, but that decision of the Constitutional Court must be implemented.

“If we are for the rule of law, we must respect institutions”, he said. Krasniqi pointed out that implementation of the Constitutional Court  decision was also a request of international partners.

“I said it on several occasions that each decision of the Constitutional Court must be implemented. Those decisions are not a buffet table, so that you can choose from there what you want”, he said.

Vucic meets with Zuroff (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director Efraim Zuroff on Wednesday to discuss concrete initiatives aimed at preserving the memory of the victims of the Nazi regime and a project to build a memorial complex at Belgrade’s Old Fair Grounds that would be modelled after the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance centre in Jerusalem, Tanjug news agency reports.

Vucic thanked Zuroff for his consistent and tireless struggle and his dedicated work on shedding light on the crimes committed in WWII, as well as for his enormous commitment in the fight for a clear condemnation of Croatia’s Ustasha crimes.

Vucic said Zuroff’s struggle made an immeasurable contribution to the justice the victims deserved, as well as to preventing dangerous occurrences of historical revisionism, which he noted were increasingly evident.

“The reputation of your institution and your own reputation contribute to a more serious assessment of historical facts and a more cautious approach by those who are constantly working on diminishing and even denying the suffering of Serbs”, Vucic noted.

He added that the mutual compassion between the Serbs and Jews was also a reminder to never forget what had really happened in WWII.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3xs2gqh

Day of Serb Unity marked in Serbia, RS (N1, Tanjug)

The Day of Serb Unity, Freedom and the National Flag is being marked on Thursday in Serbia and the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, N1 reports.

The governments of Serbia and the RS decided two years ago to mark the anniversary of the day that the Serbian army and its allies broke through the Salonika front in 1918.

Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that the holiday is “a way to show strength and unity to everyone who wants to demean and divide us”.

The main event is in the city of Bijeljina in the RS and is being attended by top RS officials and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“The challenges we are facing are not much smaller than those once faced by the generation that triumphed in the Great War, and this moment in history requires us to unite under a flag of peace and life and triumph together over a madness that can transform this region into a bloody slaughterhouse”, Vucic said in Bijeljina.

We, too, can lose what they lost at one point – freedom, their country and their lives, Vucic said at a ceremony marking the Serbian Unity, Freedom and National Flag Day. Calling for unity, Vucic thanked everyone who understood how important the day was for the Serbs.

International 

Victims’ Lawyer Urges Jailing of Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla (Balkan Insight)

The victims’ legal counsel at the Hague trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army unit chief Salih Mustafa, accused of illegally detaining, torturing and killing prisoners in 1999, backed the prosecution’s call for a 35-year sentence.

In her closing statement at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday, victims’ counsel Annie Puess told the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army unit commander Salih Mustafa that she agrees with the prosecution that the defendant deserves a 35-year prison sentence for wartime crimes.

“The accused must receive a fair punishment,” Puess told the court.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Ug8Yd0

Ambassadors of leading NATO countries in BiH and Serbia: Active presence of the EU and NATO is important for the stability of the region (EWB)

BELGRADE/SARAJEVO – The ambassadors of the leading NATO countries visited Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina this week. During the separate meetings in Belgrade and Sarajevo, the ambassadors sent a message that an active presence of the EU and NATO in the Western Balkans region is important for maintaining stability in the region.

The NATO delegation was led by the ambassadors of France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, and Italy, as well as the US ambassador to NATO, Julian Smith.

“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists during his regular weekly press conference.

The UN health agency’s Director-General explained however, that the world is “not there yet”.

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

Humanitarian/Development

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight: WHO (news.un.org)

As the number of weekly reported deaths from COVID-19 plunged to its lowest since March 2020, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the end of the pandemic is now in sight.

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

PCI media award competition simultaneously presented in Pristina and Belgrade (Radio KIM)

The Peace Change Initiative (PCI) based in the UK opened a competition to award the second in a row annual reward to the media reports on multi-ethnic coexistence in Kosovo and Serbia, Radio KIM reports.

The first reward for the journalists amounts to 2000 euros, and there is also a reward to the media outlets for the original product or an article. The competition has been presented simultaneously in Belgrade and Pristina, and last year’s laureates and members of the jury spoke at the event. The award is granted for two categories – audio/visual and written format.

Member of the jury, who will evaluate reports submitted in Albanian language Violeta Hiseni Kelmendi, former journalist, said people know very little about the lives of other communities.

“They have prejudices, they do not communicate on a regular basis. It could be that economic, judicial, social, educational problems are the issues taking all the attention, regardless of ethnic background. I think that rewards awarded will encourage journalists and media to report on the topics linked with the lives of people”, she said.

A journalist and jury member, Violeta Oroshi said the competition could serve as an encouragement to the journalists to deal with true topics related to the multiethnic coexistence in Kosovo.

Member of the jury who will evaluate the reports submitted in Serbian language, Jelena Obucina also said “the reward is a good way to encourage the media to deal more with mutual cooperation and coexistence in Kosovo”.