Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Serbia has unanimously rejected the Franco-German plan (Ekonomia Online)
• Kurti to mayors: Focus on budget expenditures to be transparent (Express)
• Tahiri: Kurti is appropriating merits of independent institutions (media)
• Gashi: Main responsibility for wounding in Shterpce falls on security institutions for not stepping up police presence (Kallxo)
• Hamiti: Any attempt to diminish independence must be strongly rejected (Nacionale)
• Somalia refutes Vucic, the African state wants to deepen relations with Kosovo (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Djuric: Kurti has no carte blanche support from US (Tanjug)
• Borko Stefanovic: “Perfidious ethnic cleansing, Kurti wishes to push Serbs to Raska” (N1, FoNet, Nova S)
• Hungary to vote against Kosovo membership in European bodies (RTV, Kosovo Online)
• Vorgucic: Incident near Strpce shows situation in enclaves (KoSSev, N1)
• Dacic: Serbia-Hungary relations at highest level in decade (Tanjug)
• Dacic: Three red lines for Serbia regarding Kosovo (Tanjug, media)
• Brnabic: Free trade agreement with UAE (FoNet)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: Serbia has unanimously rejected the Franco-German plan (Ekonomia Online)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, announced that Serbia unanimously rejected the Franch-German plan.

Kurti gave this answer when asked if the French-German plan approximates with the final agreement.

“We have seen the European plan supported by France and Germany as a good basis for negotiations, while Serbia has rejected it at the meeting of the National Security Council in Belgrade, held on October 27, 2022, with a unanimous decision,” he said.

Kurti to mayors: Focus on budget expenditures to be transparent (Express)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met today with mayors of municipalities and asked for increased quality in the provision of municipal services. “For the municipal level, there is a budget increase of €100 million, compared to last year. This needs to be reflected in the increased quality of municipal services for our citizens, well-being, education, health, sports, youth and culture, and social and economic development. You also need to focus on making the budget expenditures open and transparent, and to be accountable to the citizens,” Kurti said.

Tahiri: Kurti is appropriating merits of independent institutions (media)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti of appropriating the merits of independent institutions in the fight against crime and corruption.

Tahiri argued in a Facebook post: “what merits does Kurti have in the operational matters of the police, prosecution, and other agencies, when these institutions are independent in investigating and prosecuting crimes? What role did the Kurti-led government play in the 854 police operations? For information’s sake, in 2019, there were 1,156 police operations and this was a merit of the professional work of the police, prosecution, and other law enforcement agencies. Both then and now, ever result in the fight against crime is a merit of law enforcement institutions and agencies”.

Gashi: Main responsibility for wounding in Shterpce falls on security institutions for not stepping up police presence (Kallxo)

Kreshnik Gashi, managing editor at Kallxo, said on Monday that the main responsibility for the wounding of two Serb youths near Shterpce by a member of the Kosovo Security Force falls on the security institutions because there was no plan to maintain the level of security at a time when Serbs took to the streets to celebrate Orthodox Christmas.

“They were not prepared to handle the situation. I would say that the situation caught the Kosovo Police asleep, and they had to prevent such incidents which can lead to interethnic conflicts,” he argued.

Gashi highlighted the fact that there was no increased police presence in the region and there were no plans by the police during the St. Vitus Day in June or during periods when there are more visits by Serbs in Kosovo.

Hamiti: Any attempt to diminish independence must be strongly rejected (Nacionale)

Member of the chairmanship of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Muhamet Hamiti, said in a Facebook post that any attempt to diminish Kosovo’s independence must be strongly rejected by all parties. “Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence and sovereignty must be a precondition for the normalisation of relations between the two nations. Any attempt to diminish Kosovo’s independence, to undermine its sovereignty, and to make it more pleasing for Serbia, must be strongly rejected by all parties,” Hamiti wrote.

Somalia refutes Vucic, the African state wants to deepen relations with Kosovo (RTK)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo in its Twitter account, announced the meeting of the Ambassador of Kosovo to Turkye,  Agon Vrenezi with the Ambassador of Somalia.

 “They exchanged views on regional and international developments”, the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads.

“I am honored to receive his excellency Agon Vrenezi, Kosovo ambassador to Turkey. We have a productive discussion in enhancing our bilateral relationship and exchanged information, views about the current issues in the region,” the Somali Ambassador wrote. 

The president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic claimed in his annual address at the end of last year that Gabon, Somalia, Saint Lucia, Burkina Faso, Maldives, Antigua and Barbuda, Libya and East Asia have withdrawn recognition of Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media 

Djuric: Kurti has no carte blanche support from US (Tanjug)

Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric said on Monday Kosovo Albanians had no carte blanche support from the US for everything they did and that Pristina Prime Minister Albin Kurti was greatly deluded and “still living in 1999”, Tanjug news agency reports.

The fact Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church has been banned from visiting the Patriarchate of Pec and that two Kosovo Serb youths were attacked on Christmas Eve has not gone unnoticed in the US, Djuric told Pink TV.

“The ban for the patriarch had a resounding effect because it is an unbelievable scandal. A number of US Congress members have been informed of that and they have exerted pressure on Pristina. Every day, we will keep saying what has been done to those boys and to the patriarch”, he said.

He said his impression was that Kurti was fighting personal, internal wars.

“He is a man who is too personal to be able to run complex reconciliation processes, and many of my interlocutors in the US administration are aware he is trying to manipulate with tragedy in the east of Europe and push Serbia into 1999”, Djuric noted.

He said Kurti’s policy had created an atmosphere conducive to attacks on Serbs. Djuric added the fact that the suspect for the attack was a member of Kosovo Security Force was no surprise at all, as it was a highly militarised formation that was illegal by nature.

Djuric said he was sceptical that the attacker, who has been placed in one-month detention, would be convicted. “The past decades teach us that crimes against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija remain unpunished. No one has been punished for March 17 (2004) or for the expulsion of Serbs in 1999”, Djuric said.

Commenting on KFOR’s refusal to allow the return of Serbian army and police troops in Kosovo, Djuric said Serbia’s obligation to protect Kosovo Serbs was not terminated by anyone’s response to any request and that Serbia would continue to do everything to protect them.

Borko Stefanovic: “Perfidious ethnic cleansing, Kurti wishes to push Serbs to Raska” (N1, FoNet, Nova S)

Vice President of the Serbian opposition Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) and former Belgrade chief technical negotiator in Brussels talks with Pristina, Borko Stefanovic said the crisis in Kosovo was a consequence of non-implementation of the agreements, adding it is Pristina mainly not implementing them, N1 reports.

“It looks as if Albin Kurti attempts to create incidents to push Serbs out from Kosovo. We constantly say that the Serbian List is a branch office of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), however we must say what is true, and it is that the government in Pristina exerts constant pressure on Serbs aiming to push them to Raska. This is a perfidious attempt of ethnic cleansing”, Stefanovic told Nova S.

He also said the attacks on a young man and a boy on Christmas eve “were monstrous” and that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “insults victims and deprives them of their ethnic background as if it happened in Denmark”.

He also opined everything indicates that Pristina does not wish stabilisation of the situation and that is why the international community was important. According to him the issue of the situation in Kosovo is the state interest and interest of Serbian people as well as of all people living there. He said the situation there should be resolved in a peaceful and calm manner in a dialogue, because if that is not done, he added then “what many in Pristina dream about – Kosovo without Serbs”, may happen.

He also said it would be good to reach an agreement with Pristina with guarantees from the international community, under the conditions that there is no recognition of Kosovo and it may not join the United Nations. 

Hungary to vote against Kosovo membership in European bodies (RTV, Kosovo Online)

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto said today in Budapest that his country will vote against Kosovo membership in European bodies, Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reports.

“Our stance is that this (membership) would bring to jeopardy reaching compromise if certain European formations would admit Kosovo prior to reaching the agreement. And that is why Hungary will vote against membership of Kosovo in European bodies”, Szijjarto told journalists in a joint press conference with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic.

He also said Hungary is interested in finding a solution for the Kosovo issue on the basis of a real and true dialogue.

“That is why we accepted to command KFOR troops in Kosovo, because we believed that, perhaps in that way too, we can help secure peace. We want a compromise reached as soon as possible”, he said. 

Vorgucic: Incident near Strpce shows situation in enclaves (KoSSev, N1)

The editor of RTV Kim, Isak Vorgucic, said that the atmosphere in central Kosovo is difficult and unpleasant following the incident near Strpce where Serbian children were attacked. Vorgucic revealed that he, as well as other parents, have been afraid of letting their children walk to school for a long time now, N1 reports.

“The information about the attack, which is general, is quite enough, without going into the details and the circumstances under which it happened, to show what the actual situation is in the Kosovo enclaves“, Vorgucic said.

“The one day of the year when those children on the street could be recognized as Serbs is Christmas Day, when they carry oak branches. On all other days, they have no features that would distinguish them from their compatriots. And we have a man who is a member of the security forces, which is absurd, who carries a gun in his car and argues, if there was an argument and if it matters at all, with children, using a firearm“, he added.

According to him, one boy sustained a gunshot wound “close to the heart“ – making the case an attempted murder.

“All other explanations with tricks or treats, with blocking the road are complete nonsense. Explanations with ricochets and shots fired in the air are nonsense and serve to divert attention from the fact that the incident is ethnically motivated“, Vorgucic told N1.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3XkVhu0

Dacic: Serbia-Hungary relations at highest level in decade (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday in Budapest that Serbia-Hungary relations were at the highest level in a decade, Tanjug news agency reports. Speaking in a press conference with Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto, Dacic said the relations between the two countries were based on mutual trust, cooperation, seeking of common interests and respect.

He said a meeting with Szijjarto had addressed the issue of securing sufficient quantities of energy for citizens and businesses, as well as other topics.

“We also discussed other topics – political, foreign policy and regional ones – but the basic conclusion is that we will continue our cooperation, and I look forward to Szijjarto coming to Belgrade”, Dacic said.

He added Serbia believes that the issue of Kosovo can only be resolved by compromise, and it is very sensitive if approached in accordance with the policy of double standards when it comes to territorial integrity.

“Either territorial integrity is a principle, or it is not, one cannot stand for it in one case and say otherwise. When we talk about it, we think that everyone knows it, but maybe in Europe they don’t know it, and maybe they are not interested that Yugoslavia was a federal state made up of six federal units and those six got the right to create their own states”, he said.

He emphasised that until a political solution is reached, the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe is absolutely unacceptable, because only states are admitted there.

Dacic: Three red lines for Serbia regarding Kosovo (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday in Budapest there were three red lines for Serbia when it comes to the situation in Kosovo and Metohija.

“The first is that everything that has been signed must be implemented, the second is that we cannot recognize Kosovo as independent and agree to Kosovo becoming an EU member because we have not had any political discussion about the essence of the problems and about our mutual relations. We have not conducted dialogue about reaching a solution by political means, and now someone wants to impose the idea of Serbia having to do something, to recognize Kosovo in order to join the EU”, Dacic said in response to a Tanjug query about Serbia’s next step following a KFOR decision to deny Belgrade’s request for a return of Serbian security forces to Kosovo.

He said the safety of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs was the third red line.

“If KFOR and the Kosovo police do not want to protect them, do not lead us into a situation where the Serbian police and army must ensure that in Kosovo. It is something we would not want. We want peace and implementation of international agreements”, Dacic said.

He said requests by his foreign counterparts for Serbia to take a stand on Ukraine and on the Russia sanctions were unacceptable because they did not want to discuss a resolution of the Kosovo issue.

“Who has the moral right to request that Serbia give up on its territorial integrity, without showing the minimum understanding for our problems?”, Dacic asked.

There are no principles there, but only interests of big powers, he noted.

“Serbia’s interest is to maintain peace and reach an acceptable solution for Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo”, he added.

Brnabic: Free trade agreement with UAE (FoNet)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Monday that a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was in the focus of her visit to Dubai.

An Instagram post said that a draft agreement would be sent to the UAE. “I expect it to be signed in the next three months and it will contribute to better economic cooperation which is not modest now but is not even close to our potential”, she wrote.

“Everything that we have done since we signed the cooperation agreement between our two governments will surely result in 2023 being far more successful than earlier years”. she added.