Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: We managed to make French-German proposal part of dialogue (media)
• Stano: Kurti and Vucic will soon meet in Brussels (Albanian Post)
• Hovenier: Agreement enhances security, advances efforts to normalise relations (media)
• UNMIK chief Ziadeh welcomes agreement reached in Brussels (media)
• Rohde on agreement: Good news, and good sign for further talks (media)
• Varhelyi welcomes Kosovo-Serbia agreement on licence plates (media)
• Tajani: Agreement on licence plates, an important step towards peace (Zeri)
• LDK’s Abdixhiku welcomes agreement; criticises Kurti (media)
• PDK’s Krasniqi welcomes deal; slams Kurti for “making Vucic a party” (media)
• Tahiri: Kurti should not dare make an agreement without mutual recognition (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: Pristina had better deal two days ago (Tanjug)
• Stano: EU expects establishment of ZSO and return of Serbs in institutions (Tanjug)
• RTS at Jarinje says it is peaceful, reprimands no longer issued (RTS)
• Drecun: Important the crisis was stopped, but the problem unsolved; Serbs will not return to institutions without ZSO (RTS, Blic)
• Serbian List welcomes agreement on licence plates in Brussels (Tanjug)
• Petkovic on licence plates agreement (Tanjug)
• SRSG Ziadeh welcomes agreement reached in Brussels (Kosovo Online, media)
• Trajkovic: Current KM plates “preserved” until they expire (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic refutes Trajkovic’s remarks on licence plates (Kosovo Online)
• Miscevic: The EP resolution non-binding and without freezing funds (Tanjug, RTS)
• Bilcik: EP Resolution a signal for Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia (RFE, N1)
• Vucic says Serbia is not interested to recognize Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Aliyev: Belgrade, Baku support each other on territorial integrity (Tanjug)
• Women stage protest in Mitrovica North yesterday (N1)

Opinion:

• Licence Plates For Sovereignty (Kosovo 2.0)

International:

• Serbia Claims ‘KM’ Plates Remain Valid in Kosovo Despite Deal (BIRN)
• ‘Tale of Two Sophias’ Portrays Hope for Albanian-Serb Relations (BIRN)
• For Kosovo, the Football World Cup is More Than a Game (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Russians fleeing Putin prepare for life in Serbian exile (france24.com)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: We managed to make French-German proposal part of dialogue (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in today’s session of the Assembly that Kosovo achieved its goal to make the French-German proposal a part of the process of dialogue with Serbia. He argued that the French-German proposal was not included in the document that was presented on Monday during negotiations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“Our goal was to make the French-German proposal for normalisation part of the talks in Brussels toward reaching an understanding … It was clear from Borrell’s statement that this [the French-German proposal] was not included in the discussions on Monday. Now it is included with a clear status in the first paragraph. Whereas, this was not included on Monday in the text that I was offered in the end. I think this is a great achievement because for the first time the process of dialogue has entered a phase of negotiations on the overall framework that will be legally binding”.

Kurti said August 18 marks the most important date in the last two years in terms of the dialogue. “On August 18, Borrell made a precious contribution because he structured the dialogue with the first point on the overall framework of the agreement and this is the most important date in the last two years in terms of the process of dialogue. We cannot avoid point two, current issues, even though sometimes they seem technical. I agree that the issue of the licence plates is technical and administrative, but at the same time I must say that in September last year we started not seeing it as a technical issue, the moment that the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade came to Jarinje and Bernjak to inspect the gathering of Serbian troops and a MIG29 plane was flying above.”

According to Kurti, the agreement with Serbia on licence plates was reached after EU High Representative Josep Borrell changed his position, and not the Kosovo side. 

“On Monday I was offered a document as a joint understanding that had 95 words, and the words France and Germany were not there, and it did not refer to the French-German proposal or the EU proposal, except for the issue of licence plates. It said that the issue of plates would be solved according to that proposal, without saying French-German. What was agreed upon contains 194 words, and it is completely different.”

“Those who say that that which was not accepted on Monday and was accepted on Wednesday, don’t know what they’re talking about. It is not an agreement; it is an understanding. It is a statement by Borrell. What happened last night was that Borrell’s statement changed, we didn’t change our position. Borrell changed his statements,” Kurti said.

Kurti also said: “we don’t agree with the past, but the legacy of previous governments has become a position of the EU. Changing this will take time and needs to be as part of a bigger plan, the French-German plan. Our proposal will be for an international, legally-binding agreement centred on mutual recognition”.

“Serbia has accepted for the first time that the denominations of Kosovo’s cities are part of the territorial jurisdiction of the Republic of Kosovo. This is a fundamental step in dissolving the criminal structures in the north”.

Kurti also said that his government needs the help of the Assembly. “The government needs your help and cannot manage without the Assembly. We need your support, you need information from our side, and we all need discussions, and I am ready to do this, both in plenary sessions and in meetings with the leaders, because I don’t want to walk alone”.

Kurti also said he feels bad that “cannot manage to protect Kosovo Serbs from criminals”. He said that in addition to the dialogue in Brussels, there is an ongoing dialogue with local Serbs in Kosovo. “As far as the dialogue with [Kosovo] Serbs is concerned, I met yesterday with ten Kosovo Serbs that head different organisations. But you need to understand one thing, they don’t want photos from the meetings. But dialogue with the Kosovo Serbs is happening. But I still cannot protect them. I feel very bad that six vehicles of Serbs were set on fire, and I was not able to help them. I feel very bad.” 

Stano: Kurti and Vucic will soon meet in Brussels (Albanian Post)

The agreement reached yesterday in Brussels on the licence plate issue between Kosovo and Serbia, according to the spokesperson of the European Union Peter Stano, is not the end of the process. According to him, Kurti and Vucic will be invited to Brussels very soon to start discussions on the normalisation of relations based on the French-German proposal.

“The agreement reached yesterday is not the end of the process. This is the beginning of the work that we hope will get us out of this permanent situation of crisis resolution and will allow us to start a new phase of dealing with issues,” Stano stated in a press conference.

The return of Kosovo Serbs to institutions and the creation of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority in Kosovo, according to Stano, are the basic requirements of the EU.

“It is important to fulfil all the agreements reached within the dialogue, this is also the consistent message of the European Union to the parties,” he added.

Hovenier: Agreement enhances security, advances efforts to normalise relations (media)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, said in a Twitter post today that the agreement reached on Wednesday enhances security and advances efforts to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “Appreciate the constructive approach and flexibility that resulted in this important agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. The agreement enhances security and advances efforts to normalise relations,” he tweeted.

UNMIK chief Ziadeh welcomes agreement reached in Brussels (media)

Most news websites cover a statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK Caroline Ziadeh welcoming “the agreement reached in Brussels on measures to de-escalate tension, which should bring the focus back to the much-needed normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade”.

Ziadeh said “this was made possible thanks to the responsible approach displayed by both sides and their commitment to the EU-facilitated dialogue.”

She also commended the efforts of international partners to maintain stability and ensure peace.

Rohde on agreement: Good news, and good sign for further talks (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, shared a Twitter post by EU High Representative Josep Borrell, announcing the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. Rohde wrote: “Good news indeed and also a good sign for the further upcoming talks on outstanding issues.”

Varhelyi welcomes Kosovo-Serbia agreement on licence plates (media)

EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi welcomed the deal on licence plates reached on Wednesday. “Welcome the news that an arrangement facilitated by the EU between Belgrade and Pristina was successful to avoid further escalation. Negotiations need to continue towards normalisation of relations,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

Tajani: Agreement on licence plates, an important step towards peace (Zeri)

The Foreign Minister of Italy Antonio Tajani has assessed the agreement reached last night in Brussels between Kosovo and Serbia, on the licence plate issue as an important step towards peace.

“During my visit on Tuesday to Belgrade and Pristina together with Gudio Crosetto, we heard the positions of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. I asked them to ease tensions. Reaching the agreement yesterday at EU level is an important step towards peace. Congratulations to Josep Borrell,” Tajani tweeted.

LDK’s Abdixhiku welcomes agreement; criticises Kurti (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, welcomed the agreement reached between Kosovo and Serbia with the mediation of the EU and support from the United States. “As we have said continuously, the only path that guarantees Kosovo’s success is close and permanent coordination with strategic partners, especially with the United States of America,” he said.

Abdixhiku also criticised the Kurti-led government for the drama caused about the licence plates arguing that this shows lack of seriousness. “The LDK finds as totally unnecessary and damaging all the populist drama caused by the main institutions of the country in the last days and weeks. Going back and accepting the same agreement, after all the drama, shows the unseriousness of the current heads of state … This approach, in addition to hurting Kosovo’s relations with international institutions and allies, has also blocked the main integration processes of our country,” he added.

PDK’s Krasniqi welcomes deal; slams Kurti for “making Vucic a party” (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that the PDK welcomes the deal reached between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels, but slammed Prime Minister Kurti “for making Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic into a negotiating party on a matter that is the competency of Kosovo’s Prime Minister”. “You [referring to Kurti] could have this done by yourself in Brussels, while agreeing with the United States, and based on the conversations with Escobar and the Secretary of State Blinken,” he said.

Krasniqi mentioned five pillars around which the PDK conditions its support for a final agreement with Serbia: safeguarding the unitary character of our state according to the Constitution, formal recognition by the five non-recognising member states of the EU, starting the process of membership in NATO, getting the candidate status for EU membership, and mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

Haradinaj: Deal avoided risk of having victims, but doesn’t solve situation in north (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that the agreement on licence plates helped avoid the risk of having victims, be it among police officers or Serb citizens in the north, but that it does not resolve the situation in the north.

“The challenge that awaits us is the return to institutions of those that left their workplaces or filling those workplaces with order and law.” 

“I knew that we were to reach such an agreement because I listened to Escobar and Lajcak say that the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and constitutionality are non-negotiable. We should not experiment with any ideas that another arrangement will save us from the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities] … If we want to save ourselves from the Association, let us meet and discuss together, but not by jeopardising our territorial integrity.”

Tahiri: Kurti should not dare make an agreement without mutual recognition (Kallxo)

The former chief negotiator of Kosovo in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Edita Tahiri has reacted after the agreement on the licence plate issue which was reached last night in Brussels. Tahiri said that upon reaching this agreement, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti “gave in”. 

“The agreement on licence plates was reached, Kurti gave in, now it not known how long the illegal licence plates will circulate in the north of the country, since the agreement has no deadline. If the Americans were listened to, the deadline would be 10 months. The agreement was not made public again, we do not know what other compromises Kurti has made as in the past. But we know one thing, Kurti and his government should not dare to make an agreement without mutual recognition with Serbia. If he gives in, he will have to face the people of Kosovo, whom I know well because they are exemplary people who know how to protect national interests,” Tahiri wrote on Facebook.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic: Pristina had better deal two days ago (Tanjug)

Commenting on a Belgrade-Pristina agreement on vehicle licence plates, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday Pristina have had a “better deal” on the table two days ago but had misjudged the situation, adding the most important thing was that the agreement stipulated implementation of past agreements, Tanjug news agency reports.

He said the agreement – under which there will be no penalties for drivers using Serbian licence plates in Kosovo and Metohija – was the first precondition for a return of Serb representatives to Pristina’s institutions and that the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities was the second one.

“Once a Community of Serb Municipalities is formed, we will move on to something else”, he said.

“In my opinion, two days ago they (Pristina) had a better deal than the one they got yesterday. I do not know why they did that to themselves, and I do not understand them – it was the wrong judgement and the wrong tactics, but that is their problem. For us, it is important that the statement (released by the EU following the conclusion of the agreement) unequivocally states a necessity to fulfil and implement past agreements, which is crucial”, Vucic said.

“That will be the main trap they will insist on, and that is why I insisted on that sentence, and on it being in that statement – respect of all previously reached agreements. That is the most important for us”, he added. The most important thing is that our people will not be harassed and that Serbian KM licence plates will be retained, he said.

Vucic also said he was pleased that peace was preserved. “I am pleased that we preserved the peace for our people, I am pleased that those wonderful women who turned out for protest in high numbers (yesterday) deserve peace and that their children and all other children can go normally to Serbian schools (…)”.

He pointed out that the situation among the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija was “heated and literally boiling”. “People had enough of the terror of Pristina authorities, and this is not for political arguing, it is something that worries me as well”.

Stano: EU expects establishment of ZSO and return of Serbs in institutions (Tanjug)

EU Spokesperson Peter Stano said today the agreement reached on Wednesday is not an end to the process, but rather beginning of work and announced that High Representative Josep Borrell will soon invite leaders of Belgrade and Pristina to the new meeting in Brussels.

Asked by Tanjug what could be expected further given that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today Serbs will return to the institutions once the second condition is fulfilled – establishment of Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and if the EU works on that, Stano replied that “return of Kosovo Serbs to institutions was one of the fundamental EU’s expectations and the same goes for establishment of Community of Serb Municipalities”.  

RTS at Jarinje says it is peaceful, reprimands no longer issued (RTS)

RTS press crew reported from Jarinje crossing point saying that members of Kosovo police no longer issue reprimands to the owners of vehicles with KM licence plates, which has been the practice until now. According to RTS the procedure is usual and there were no crowds or long delays at the crossing.

RTS correspondent from North Mitrovica also reported the news on agreement between Belgrade and Pristina being reached in Brussels will certainly affect the defusing of tensions in the north of Kosovo and Metohija.

“This means that the first of the two demands of the Serbs who left the institutions since the beginning of November has been fulfilled. Revoking the decision on re-registration is the first request, and the second one refers to the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities”, he said.

“Serbs have shown that months of efforts by the government in Pristina to convince them to re-register their vehicles have failed, and owners of vehicles with Serbian plates with abbreviations of the cities in Kosovo and Metohija now expect to see how much longer they will be able to use them”, RTS correspondent pointed out.

“All these months they have demonstrated the stance that they don’t want change and they don’t want “RKS” plates”, he said.

“In Pristina, they are no longer concerned with the plates and the possibility that, as the director of the Office for KiM Petar Petkovic announced, they will be able to continue to be used, but emphasise that intensive discussions can now begin on the complete normalisation of relations with Belgrade”, he concluded.

Drecun: Important the crisis was stopped, but the problem unsolved; Serbs will not return to institutions without ZSO (RTS, Blic)

Milovan Drecun, the president of the parliamentary committee for Kosovo and Metohija, considered as important that with the agreement reached last night in Brussels regarding the plates, the escalation of the crisis was stopped in Kosovo. But he emphasised that the problem has not been solved.

Drecun stated that it was important that this crisis was stopped from further escalation, because ”we already have the accumulation of Pristina police forces in the north of Kosovo”.

– Our side would have to insist on the withdrawal of all special parapolice forces from the north of Kosovo. Without the approval of the commander of KFOR and the president of the four municipalities from the north, they have nothing to look for there. All this creates a dangerous environment for the Serbian people – said Drecun for RTS, reported Blic.

Drecun reminded that KM plates will remain in use and registration will be extended, but no new ones will be issued.

“It is a temporary solution because the problem has not been solved, both the plates and the issue of the Community of Serbian Municipalities remain, without the establishment of which the Serbs will not return to the institutions,” he said.

Drecun said, commenting on the role of the US, that its influence was always crucial, and believes that the biggest problem was the German position.

– The USA has a more flexible position and is politically more rational, which does not mean that they will give up Kosovo’s independence. Our proposal was sent to Brussels, it clearly states that we will not accept the fake state of Kosovo and that we will not allow it to be admitted to the UN and other international organisations – said Drecun and added that it remains to be seen what steps Borrell would take, who announced new meetings with delegations from Belgrade and Pristina.

– If Kurti continues to insist on talks on recognition, it will lead to further escalation and tensions – said Drecun.

Borrell said that we should return to the normalisation of relations, which were obviously understood differently in world centres.

“It seems that Pristina, in agreement with some countries, deliberately created a problem with the plates in order to force us to discuss the topic. It is not a problem to discuss, but the initial basis was wrong in discussing the recognition of the fake state of Kosovo, and will not be accepted from our side,” said Drecun.

“Germany has its own proposal”

He said that actions need to be seen not words when it comes to the formation of the CSM (ZSO). 

“Germany obviously has some of its own proposals, and a vision of what it should look like. The difference is in the competences that the CSM (ZSO) should have. We will not agree that the ZSO has no importance as Pristina wants,” says Drecun.

Commenting on yesterday’s gatherings of the Serbian people in Kosovo, he said that they sent a clear message that they will resist ”further terror from Pristina”.

“Protests have great political weight and neither Pristina nor the international community can ignore them. It cannot be ignored that there is a whole nation completely disenfranchised and oppressed,” said Drecun.

Serbian List welcomes agreement on licence plates in Brussels (Tanjug)

Serbian List welcomed today the agreement reached in Brussels, confirming that KM licence plates will remain in use, no one will confiscate them or issue fines to the owners of the vehicles with those plates, Tanjug news agency reports.

“We wish to inform citizens that all owners of the vehicles with KM licence plates would be able to function normally, also when their current registrations expire they will be able to extend the validity of KM licence plates as it was the case until now”, Serbian List said in a statement.

“We recall our position was for KM plates to remain, citizens’ properties not to be confiscated, no fines to be issued, nor their freedom of movement be prevented. We asked that KM plates remain, and not for their number to increase”, Serbian List added.

Petkovic on licence plates agreement (Tanjug)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic commenting on the licence plates agreement reached in Brussels last night said it also means that all owners of the vehicles with KM licence plates would be able to register their vehicles normally and extend their validity, Tanjug news agency reports.

He also said the agreement means that there is no punitive policy of the Pristina institutions headed by PM Albin Kurti against the Serbs with KM licence plates, adding Kurti “has accepted everything he kept refusing over the previous days”.

“By this agreement as of 8.00 hrs today there are not any fines in amount of 150 euros that Albin Kurti has planned, there is no any punitive policy in all other phases that were part of Albin Kurti’s decision related to the process of re-registration. By this agreement we preserved the peace and managed to preserve our people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija”, Petkovic said.

SRSG Ziadeh welcomes agreement reached in Brussels (Kosovo Online, media)

Head of UNMIK Caroline Ziadeh welcomed the agreement reached in Brussels on measures to de-escalate tension, which should, as she said, bring the focus back to the much-needed normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“This was made possible thanks to the responsible approach displayed by both sides and their commitment to the EU-facilitated dialogue”, Ziadeh emphasised, UNMIK said in a statement.

She also commended the efforts of international partners to maintain stability and ensure peace.

Trajkovic: Current KM plates “preserved” until they expire (Kosovo Online)

Serb European Movement from Kosovo president Rada Trajkovic said today that by agreement on licence plates in Brussels the office for registration and re-registration of the vehicles in Raska has been closed, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Trajkovic said on Twitter that current KM plates have been preserved until they expire.

“By this agreement in Brussels the office for registration and re-registration of vehicles in Raska has been closed. There are no new registrations with KM licence plates for new vehicles. And current KM plates are “preserved” until they expire”, Trajkovic wrote in a post on Twitter. 

Petkovic refutes Trajkovic’s remarks on licence plates (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic refuted remarks of Rada Trajkovic that current KM plates were preserved until they expire, by saying “she regrets that KM licence plates were preserved”, adding that “registration for KM plates functions normally in Raska”, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He also accused Trajkovic of, as he said, fabricating and lying. “(…) Serbs will be able to register and extend KM plates. Registration in Raska for KM plates functions normally. This that you regret we preserved KM plates and for taking part in Kurti’s information was, should go in your honour”, Petkovic said.

Miscevic: The EP resolution non-binding and without freezing funds (Tanjug, RTS)

Minister for European Integration Tanja Miscevic said that the resolution on the EU enlargement, adopted yesterday in the European Parliament, part of which demanded Serbia to align with the EU’s foreign policy and to introduce sanctions against Russia, was not legally binding and there was no freezing of EU funds for Serbia. She explained that it was “just a recommendation contained in a resolution which is a non-binding document, and which does not even initiate any activity”.

She told Tanjug agency that this was the position of members of the EP, the most diverse political groups from the extreme left to the extreme right, some of whom are great supporters of the integration process, the enlargement process and those who are absolutely against any European integration.

“A resolution that we listen to and read very carefully, but a resolution that does not bring any reactions from any other EU institution,” Miscevic said.

To the journalist’s statement that the resolution did cause some damage to Serbia, Miscevic replied that the Resolution was actually the result of a wrong perception of Serbia in the EU, because it was only focused on harmonisation in percentages with the EU’s foreign policy positions.

“Even more specific, restrictive measures, to translate it, sanctions against the Russian Federation. We tried to explain, even today at this Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association, in which representatives of the National Assembly of Serbia and the EP sit, that our commitment to EU integration is unquestionable and that is constantly confirmed. That so much has been done in Serbia, in relation to the common security and foreign policy,” Miscevic emphasised.

She recalled that Serbia made so many joint moves with the EU in the UN by adopting resolutions related to the condemnation of aggression, to the non-recognition of the referendum in the Ukrainian regions that held the referendum, to the fact that Serbia, just a few days after the February 24, fully supported the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine as such, offering assistance.

“Our appeal is – count on progress in the common foreign security policy, taking into account all these elements, not just the percentage (alignment in percentage with the EU’s foreign policy positions),” Miscevic concluded.

Bilcik: EP Resolution a signal for Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia (RFE, N1)

The European Parliament (EP) resolution was a strong political signal for Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, said EP Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik following the adoption of the Resolution on Wednesday, reported N1, citing RFE.

Over 500 MEPs voted in favour of stipulating the introduction of sanctions against Russia and progress on EU-related reforms as conditions for advancing negotiations with Serbia.

The document was not legally binding for European institutions and member states but gives European Parliament’s recommendations for European Union’s (EU) future enlargement policy.

Bilcik said the requests set forth in the Resolution were not new. Formulated in this document was  what the EU has been asking of Serbia since February 2022, when Russia’s aggression on Ukraine started, he said.

Aligning with the EU’s foreign policy has always been an important requirement, the importance of which has been particularly emphasised since Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Bilcik told Radio Free Europe.

He stressed that no one was suspending or slowing down the accession process, but that the EU was clearly saying that ‘negotiations can advance only if it sees clear steps towards the strategic goal that Serbia has set for itself’.

Vucic says Serbia is not interested to recognize Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday European Parliament recommendations to Serbia also urged a mutual recognition between Serbia and Kosovo, but that this was hidden from the public, Tanjug news agency reports.

Asked by reporters to comment on an EP resolution making Serbia’s progress on the EU path and access to pre-accession funds conditional on introducing sanctions on Russia, Vucic responded it was not a resolution but recommendations, and that the essence was that it was hidden that the recommendations also contained a reference to a mutual recognition by Serbia and Kosovo.

He said he was not particularly worried by the recommendations and that Serbia was not interested in recognising Kosovo.

“It is not just about sanctions. I know there is a part of the public that would like to discipline the president and the government and to explain to us that we must urgently impose the sanctions because it is in the best interest of our country, while everything else is a bad policy for Serbia that will leave us without the EU path. But they skipped the part saying that we need to recognise Kosovo as independent, so I am asking all those people who want to talk to us about someone’s good intentions why they are hiding that”, Vucic added.

Aliyev: Belgrade, Baku support each other on territorial integrity (Tanjug)

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday in Belgrade, Serbia and Azerbaijan were strategic partners cooperating in many areas, as well as friends, and noted that Belgrade and Baku backed each other on the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty.

He said bilateral agreements signed earlier in the day represented a legal foundation for further developments of relations.

“The documents on strategic partnership are of enormous significance. We are strategic partners in every sense because we cooperate in many areas”, Aliyev added.

He noted that Serbia and Azerbaijan had always supported each other in the international arena. “The territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries are mutually supported and that position is clear and will not change”, Aliyev said.

He added that his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had addressed many bilateral issues, regional and international affairs as well as energy.

Women stage protest in Mitrovica North yesterday (N1)

A protest of women who, as previously announced, wished to voice their discontent and to protect their children, was held yesterday in Mitrovica North. In addition to the criticism addressed to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the protesters also invited the international community to hear and understand Serbs from northern Kosovo, N1 reports.

The assembled women marched through the main city street to a stage set up near the main bridge over the Ibar River that divides the city into the Serb-dominated north part and the south part  populated by Albanians.

The banner at the head of the column read – Mothers of Kosmet Against Kurti’s Ghetto. Before the speakers addressed protestors, the song Just Let There Be No War was played.

The women also carried banners saying United Women Free the Ghetto, It’s not a whim, I Want Peace, Kurti, I Won’t Give You My Children, and others.

Gordana Savic, the head of the Mitrovica Health Center health prevention department, addressed “her sisters“, as she said. Savic is also a former councillor of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly who resigned this month along with other councillors from the Serbian List.

Savic said the women assembled Wednesday to send out a message “We will no longer put up with Kurti’s terror”. She added many of the women who gathered there have the same goal, “The goal is to ensure peace, freedom, a carefree childhood for our children, so they too can live like all other children of this world. Unfortunately, they are denied this (…)”.

Savic also addressed international community representatives, asking them “to help, to do something, to at least hear what we have to say here today, that our children are no different from their children and from the children in their countries. They have to hear our voice”.

She sent greetings to fellow citizens south of the Ibar River, stressing that they did not divide and that they are all the same.

A teacher, Slavica Radosavljevic, said this day should be remembered as the day when women said “Enough to Kurti”. There was noticeable EULEX presence during the protest. 

Opinion 

Licence Plates For Sovereignty (Kosovo 2.0)

Vetevendosje’s confrontations with the U.S and EU are nothing new. 

The issue of licence plates has returned yet again to exemplify the ongoing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. A recent decision that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called a “gradual implementation of the policy for illegal licence plates” means that since November 1, Kosovar Police have been issuing reprimands to drivers still in possession of Serbian-issued plates for Kosovo cars. Starting April 1, 2023, the cars will be required to have Kosovar-issued plates.

The decision was evidently not to the liking of the U.S. State Department. Days before implementation, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeff Hovenier said that his country’s preference on the matter is to postpone the issue to avoid tensions.

When Kurti went ahead with his plans, the U.S. State Department issued a letter expressing their disappointment and concern that the government of Kosovo was not doing as requested. Their disappointment became clear on November 10, when an official visit to the U.S. by Kosovo’s Justice Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs planned for December was abruptly postponed. 

On November 21, another request from international partners for a one month postponement to parts of the implementation — which called for fines to be issued to drivers with illegal license plates beginning on November 22 and which precipitated mass resignations of Kosovo Serbs from jobs in the Kosovo system in the north of the country — again was not accepted. EU High Representative Joseph Borell had particularly harsh words for Kosovo, saying the government showed a “lack of respect for their international legal obligations.” At the last moment the U.S. intervened and suggested a 48 hour postponement, which Kurti quickly accepted.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3V3JU8X

International 

Serbia Claims ‘KM’ Plates Remain Valid in Kosovo Despite Deal (BIRN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said existing “KM” number plates issued for Kosovo Serbs in the northern town of Mitrovica, and used throughout Serb-majority northern Kosovo, will remain in use despite the agreement reached between Serbia and Kosovo with EU officials on Wednesday night in Brussels. 

“KM plates, as far as new cars are concerned, there are up to 90 of them per year, and as far as renewals are concerned, they run normally and there is no obligation anywhere in this regard,” Vucic told media in Belgrade on Thursday.

Vucic said that there are around 7,000 such vehicles in Kosovo and some 2,000 in Serbia and that their owners will “continue to drive those cars without any problems and without any fines”.

EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday stated that the deal between Serbia and Kosovo means “that Serbia will stop issuing licence plates with Kosovo cities’ denominations, and that Kosovo will cease any further actions related to re-registration of vehicles”.

The dispute about Serbian-issued licence plates triggered mass resignations of Kosovo Serbs from institutions in Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo at the beginning of November.

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‘Tale of Two Sophias’ Portrays Hope for Albanian-Serb Relations (BIRN)

A historical drama by young Albanian film director Eduart Grishaj suggests that shared culture and human understanding can offer Albanians and Serbs a counter-narrative to prejudice, hatred and ethnically-motivated violence.

Although more than 70 years apart in time, two women called Sophia are connected through an incident dating from one of the darkest moments of their respective nations’ history.

The first Sophia is an elderly Albanian woman living in a remote village in the mountainous north of the country during World War II.

The second Sophia is a young Serbian girl living in contemporary Belgrade, studying the Albanian language and dreaming of going to Albania in a quest to explore an old story that her grandfather told her. When she gets there, she falls in love with a young Albanian man.

This is the basic outline of director Eduart Grishaj’s recent film ‘Sophia’, a romantic historical drama that takes a sensitive human approach to the differences and animosities between Albanians and Serbs.

The film is based on a real story from World War II. Grishaj told BIRN in an interview that he was inspired by reading about it in a book by well-known Albanian priest At Zef Pllumbi, who spent 25 years in Communist prisons during the period when religion was banned in Albania.

“When I read this story, it seemed so inspiring and extraordinary and I said, ‘I definitely have to make it into a movie,’” Grishaj told BIRN.

“And through the film, I wanted to give a message and I wanted to show that regardless of history, regardless of prejudice, hatred and war, we are two countries that, with love, can move forward and leave these things behind,” he added.

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For Kosovo, the Football World Cup is More Than a Game (BIRN)

Kosovo’s international integration is still a work in progress, but when it comes to sport, the country is already well-established. The impact is felt far beyond the football pitch or martial arts dojo.

The latest edition of the FIFA men’s World Cup began on Sunday in Qatar. But football – and sport in general – is more than just a game.

When individuals or teams represent a state in organised sporting competition, the people watching learn which states exist and what they look like.

That’s why Kosovo put so much stock in securing membership of FIFA, of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, and other sport governing bodies as the young country sought to grow its international standing following its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

There are 32 national teams vying to lift the World Cup in Qatar, but 207 national federations took part in the qualification stages, including Kosovo. 

Having joined both FIFA and Europe’s football governing body, UEFA, in 2016, this was the second time Kosovo had tried to qualify for the biggest stage.

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Humanitarian/Development

Russians fleeing Putin prepare for life in Serbian exile (france24.com)

A group of Russian children clamour cheerfully in a Belgrade apartment, proudly shouting out the new Serbian words they’ve just learned to their teacher.

These kids all have one thing in common. Their parents fled after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and are now preparing to stay in the Balkan country for the long haul.

Just as over a century ago, when thousands of Russians fleeing the Bolshevik revolution settled in Serbia, the country has once again become a haven for Russians fleeing repression, uncertainty and the real possibility of being drafted to fight a war they don’t consider their own.

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