Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Serbia considers Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo as temporary states (Klan)
• European Parliament to vote on visa liberalisation for Kosovo in three months (RTK)
• Kurti: Readiness to further political and economic cooperation with Austria (Koha)
• Interpol: We have not addressed the issue of Kosovo’s application (media)
• Serwer on Chollet’s post: diplomatic expression used to show disagreement (Express)
• Hoti: Inflation 12%, citizens bear the consequences (media)
• Decan Monastery: Italy protected us from Albanian extremists in 1941 and 1999 (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: We are grateful to US delegation for insisting on implementation of agreements (media)
• Dacic: I told Chollet no one in Serbia would accept independence of Kosovo (Prva TV, Tanjug)
• Vucic: I expect US to encourage Pristina to meet commitments (Tanjug)
• Brnabic meets with Chollet (media)
• Chollet: No ultimatums, support for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (N1, BETA, Danas)
• Jevtic: Residents demand increase of KFOR presence, face numerous challenges (Kosovo Online, TV Pink)
• Two young Serb men detained in Klokot (RTS)
• A boy wounded in Gotovusa discharged from hospital (Kosovo Online, RTS)

International:

• HRW Report: Southeast, Central Europe Backsliding on Human Rights (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: Serbia considers Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo as temporary states (Klan)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti gave an interview to the Austrian daily “Der Standard”, where the irreplaceable topic of the conversation was Pristina-Belgrade relations.

Kurti believes that Serbia is the number one cause of all problems in the Balkans, and in an extensive interview he also spoke about Bosnia.

“Putin talks about Kosovo every week. He is obsessed with Kosovo. He thinks that Iraq and Afghanistan were failures and he hates that Kosovo is a NATO success story,” Kurti said.

He claims that Serbia is under heavy Russian influence and that Belgrade considers Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo to be temporary states.

“Serbia plays the role of Russia in the Balkans. It sees Republika Srpska in the same way as Russia sees its neighbour Belarus, that is, as a region under its control,” he added.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo says that Serbia has been a Russian province for years and that Serbia’s neutrality is only a pretence.

He points out that the regional headquarters of the Russian media “Sputnik” is located in Belgrade and 56 percent of the Serbian oil company is owned by Gazprom, and 51 percent of the largest gas depots.

“What worries me is the neutrality of the democratic West towards the pretended neutrality of Serbia,” underlined the Prime Minister of Kosovo.

He recalled that Serbia did not impose sanctions against Russia, did not condemn the war against Ukraine, and the Serbian Orthodox Church, as he says, does not stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian church, but with the one in Moscow.

European Parliament to vote on visa liberalisation for Kosovo in three months (RTK)

Spokesperson for the European Parliament, Ojamo Janne, told Radio Kosova today that in late March or during April, the European Parliament is expected to vote on visa liberalisation for Kosovo. The voting will take place either on 29-30 March or on 17-20 April.

Kurti: Readiness to further political and economic cooperation with Austria (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post that in his meeting with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, both leaders expressed readiness to further the economic and political cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia.

Kurti said that Austria is a close friend and an important partner for Kosovo. “Our bilateral relations are excellent. There is mutual readiness to further these relations even more on the political, economic, and cultural level. I thanked Chancellor Nehammer for his invitation, close cooperation, and open support for the Republic of Kosovo, especially for European integration, and the path of our reformist government,” he said.

Interpol: We have not addressed the issue of Kosovo’s application (media)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, said on Wednesday that Interpol had closed the doors to Kosovo.She said that she had received guarantees from the president of Interpol, Ahmed Nasser al Raisi, that Kosovo’s potential application for membership in the International Criminal Police Organization will not be on the agenda during his mandate.

However, in a response from Interpol they said that the issue of any potential application for membership was not addressed in that meeting.

“While we usually do not comment on the specific content of a bilateral meeting, when the issue of membership was raised, the President confirmed that INTERPOL is a police organisation and is not involved in political discussions. The President did not address the issue of any possible application for membership,” said Interpol’s response.

The answer further states that any country can apply for membership in Interpol if it meets the criteria.

“Please note that any country can apply for membership in INTERPOL if it meets the requirements set out in Article 4 of the INTERPOL Constitution, which sets out the criteria and process for becoming a member of the Organization,” reads the response from the Press Office. 

Kosovo has applied three times to join Interpol but was unsuccessful. The last time in November 2018, only 76 countries voted in favour of Kosovo’s membership.

Serwer on Chollet’s post: diplomatic expression used to show disagreement (Express)

The U.S. expert on Western Balkans Daniel Serwer commented on Thursday’s meeting between the high official of DASH, Derek Chollet, and the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.

“This is not a warm embrace. Derek is stating US desires for the relationship. Maybe he is beginning to understand that Aleksandar Vucic doesn’t share the commitment to democratic principles. A “good conversation” is diplomatese for disagreement,” Serwer tweeted. 

Hoti: Inflation 12%, citizens bear the consequences (media)

The former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, has said that the government has not taken measures to help the citizens to face the increase in prices.

“In Kosovo, substantial measures are not seen anywhere, with the exception of increases in pensions and assistance, which are temporary. The Value Added Tax (VAT) and the excise duty were not reduced, not because it was not affordable for the budget, but because the opposition (from the LDK) proposed it. As a result of inflation, the state collected much more revenues, which it did not spend and, as a result, they were devalued by at least 12%”, he said.

Further, through a post on Facebook, Hoti said that the authorities, according to him, took care of a part of the businesses “those businesses that have contracts with the state for capital investments”.

“The assembly approved the discriminatory law for public works, with which businesses can increase the price of contracts with the state up to 20% due to the increase in the prices of materials. If tax burdens and excise duty on oil were reduced, then the effects would be felt by everyone without exception.”

“There would have been no need for this discriminatory law. There would have been no unnecessary funds collected in the budget, which are being devalued,” Hoti wrote.

Decan Monastery: Italy protected us from Albanian extremists in 1941 and 1999 (media)

Media consider that a post of the official profile of Decan Monastery in Twitter, is a provocation.

“Italian army protected Decani Monastery in 1941 when the Monastery was endangered by local Kosovo Albanian extremist units of Balli Kombetar. In 1999 Italian KFOR was deployed at our Monastery to protect it from extremists from the KLA. The history is often repeating,” the post reads.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic: We are grateful to US delegation for insisting on implementation of agreements (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday he was grateful to a US delegation for insisting on implementation of reached agreements during a recent visit to Pristina.

Speaking to reporters, Vucic said he had also discussed a so-called French-German proposal with the US delegation on Thursday.

“We pointed to the response we have issued to that in our non-paper and to what our red lines are. We also discussed the Community of Serb Municipalities. We thank the US delegation for insisting on implementation of agreements, and a major meeting with (Miroslav) Lajcak awaits us on the 20th (of January)”, Vucic said.

Vucic said his meeting with the US delegation, headed by State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet, had addressed Kosovo and Metohija, bilateral relations, approximation to a Serbia-US strategic dialogue, the region and the situation in Ukraine.

Dacic: I told Chollet no one in Serbia would accept independence of Kosovo (Prva TV, Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Friday he had told US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet no one in Serbia would accept an independence of Kosovo.

Speaking to Prva TV, Dacic said Serbia was ready for dialogue but that the red lines were clearly defined.

The red lines are that there will be no new negotiations about a Community of Serb Municipalities, that Serbia is not willing to recognise Kosovo as independent indirectly or directly, and that Serbia will not allow another pogrom of Serbs in Kosovo and that KFOR is under an obligation to guarantee security, he said.

“It is a positive thing when you hear a senior US official say that a Community of Serb Municipalities is Pristina’s obligation”, he said commenting on the meeting with Chollet.

When asked if the US was capable of toppling Pristina PM Albin Kurti’s government, Dacic responded: “What is it that the Americans cannot do?” He added statements by US officials suggested there was a desire in Washington for a Community of Serb Municipalities to be formed.

“If the West wants to influence Pristina, it has the mechanisms to do that. They are the ones who have created Pristina”, Dacic said.

He reiterated that Kosovo was not internationally recognised and that, following a further nine derecognitions, the number of countries that recognized it had declined to 84 out of 194 UN member states. 

“Realistically, they are far from becoming a state. Before our action, there were over 110 countries that recognised Kosovo. Serbia is a factor a political solution must be discussed with. The international community needs to worry about whether Pristina will implement that”, he said.

Speaking about a French-German proposal for resolving the Kosovo issue, Dacic noted the significance of absolute unity of the Serbian side when it comes to argumentation and approach.

“There will be no new negotiations about what has been agreed, or about the Community of Serb Municipalities. There is no recognition of Kosovo and Metohija or consent to UN membership. Safety of Kosovo and Metohija Serbs must be guaranteed”, he said, adding that Albin Kurti was the main obstacle to regional peace and stability.

Vucic: I expect US to encourage Pristina to meet commitments (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on Thursday in Belgrade with US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet, to whom he conveyed the expectation that the US will recognize Serbia’s efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the region and encourage Pristina to meet its commitments under accepted and signed agreements, Tanjug news agency reports.

In a post on the buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account, Vucic wrote that the discussion with Chollet had been open and substantial.

“I expressed the expectation that the US recognize our country’s efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the region, as well as use its undoubted influence and encourage Pristina to meet undertaken commitments under accepted and signed agreements, and continue dialogue in the spirit of a sincere and open exchange of proposals for resolution of concrete challenges”, Vucic said.

Brnabic meets with Chollet (media)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic met with US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet in Belgrade on Thursday.

Brnabic thanked the US for its open and constructive approach to open issues in the region and, in particular, for its constructive role in maintaining peace in the region, the Serbian Government said in a statement released after the meeting.

She said she hoped 2023 would be a year of a more stable period, unlike last year, which she said had been one of instability and provocations caused by unilateral moves by the Pristina institutions.

Brnabic said maintaining peace and stability was Serbia’s priority.

Speaking about Belgrade-Pristina relations, Brnabic said Serbia remained committed to peace and stability and that, as in the past, it would continue to maintain a constructive approach through dialogue.

Brnabic and Chollet agreed that defence cooperation between the two countries was very good, citing the cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ohio National Guard as a good example of successful military-military cooperation.

They also discussed cooperation in energy and the economy.

Chollet: No ultimatums, support for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (N1, BETA, Danas)

State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told reporters on Thursday evening that he was not in Belgrade to make ultimatums but to support the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

He said that he was in the Western Balkans at the request of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken because this is a key moment for Europe because of the war in Ukraine. He said he was in Belgrade to express full support to the European Union mediated dialogue and look into ways to continue it in close cooperation with the EU.

Chollet had separate meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Thursday.

He said that the forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) is the key issue which has to be resolved. “We believe that the forming of the CSM is in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and is not contradictory”, BETA news agency reported.

Chollet said he believes Belgrade and Pristina can reach a compromise this year.

He said that his meetings in Belgrade included civil society organisations’ representatives who discussed freedom of the media, rule of law and the fight against corruption. The US strongly believes that free media are absolutely crucial for democracy and that is the message we are sending in Serbia and across the world, he said adding that he discussed the issue with state officials.

Meanwhile, Danas daily reported that Chollet didn’t meet with opposition leaders while in Belgrade, unlike during his stay in Pristina.

Jevtic: Residents demand increase of KFOR presence, face numerous challenges (Kosovo Online, TV Pink)

Stprce mayor, Dalibor Jevtic said it was demand of the residents to increase presence of KFOR and police, adding that at this moment of strong concerns, central directorate of Kosovo police in Pristina sends notification requesting Serb members of the Kosovo police in Strpce to be sent to the northern municipalities, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Jevtic told TV Pink that Milos Stojanovic, one of the two wounded Serb youngsters in Gotovusa, is at home, while younger one Stefan is still in the hospital.  

“It is concerning that someone from Kosovo police centrale sends a notification to Strpce, requesting a certain number of Serb police officers to be sent to the north in a moment when Strpce needs stronger presence of police officers, which is a very bad message”, Jevtic said.

He added that in the talks he had with international community representatives they said anyone who does not want to go will not be sanctioned, and that he wants to believe in it.

“However, this request points to the problem of the attitude of authorities towards the issue of security and life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija”, Jevtic said.

Commenting on the appointment of Nenad Rasic as Minister for Communities and Returns, Jevtic said by doing so Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sent a message that he only wants “obedient Serbs by his side”.

He noted the status of those persons among Serb community is also demonstrated by the fact that the US delegation led by Derek Chollet had not met them but with those who, as he said, have support from the Serbian people. 

Two young Serb men detained in Klokot (RTS)

Two young Serb men, Dejan M. (27) and Aleksandar S. (31) have been detained in Klokot because during Christmas Eve celebration several shots fired in the air were heard in a yard of a church, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement, RTS reports.

Kosovo police searched the houses of those two families and Dejan and Aleksandar were brought in and sent to 48-hour detention. Office said it will provide full free legal aid and a lawyer to the arrested Serbs.

It also said that such arrests, linked with celebration of Christmas, send a message to the Serbs they do not have the right to their holidays, also demonstrated by “terrorist attack on Christmas Eve in Gotovusa, in which an Albanian, a member of the so-called Kosovo security forces, shot at boy Stefan and a young man Milos, only because they carried an oak tree”, the statement added. 

A boy wounded in Gotovusa discharged from hospital (Kosovo Online, RTS)

An 11-year old Serbian boy, Stefan Stojanovic wounded in an armed attack near Strpce on Christmas Eve has been discharged from hospital in Gracanica and sent to home treatment, Kosovo Online portal reports.

His mother, Zorica Stojanovic said the boy is well and feels very happy, same as other members of his family, because of his return home.

Stefan Stojanovic and his cousin Milos were wounded in an armed incident, in which an Albanian, an active member of Kosovo Security Forces shot at them, the portal recalled. The case has been qualified as attempted murder, and the suspect is currently in detention. 

International 

HRW Report: Southeast, Central Europe Backsliding on Human Rights (Balkan Insight)

Annual report shows that the human rights record of several Southeast and Central European countries deteriorated, with autocratic rulers cracking down on critics, journalists and LGBT groups amid increase in violence against women and high political tensions.

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