Albanian Language Media:

• Three border crossings with Serbia remain blocked for trucks and buses (RFE)
• European Parliament President: Situation in the north must de-escalate (Gazeta Metro)
• Kurti-Vucic meeting; analysts says dialogue only way to overcome situation (Telegrafi)
• Osmani and Haradinaj with messages on World Refugee Day (media)
• Surroi reacts to Grenell about “potential idea of removing NATO troops in 2020” (media)
• Gashi: Attacks against reporters extending Prime Minister Kurti’s narrative (Kallxo)
• Case initiated for throwing of Molotov cocktail at police car in Leposavic (media)
• Austrian reporter: EU sanctions against Kosovo taken seriously as it seems (Nacionale)
• CDHRF: Serbia is not allowing anyone to visit the police officers (Kosovapress)
• Populism is threatening societies and countries in the region (Kosovapress)
• Hasani on Rama’s proposal: Philosophically equal to project for Kosovo’s partition (T7)
• Abazovic: I have asked Kurti not to get into conflict with internationals (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: I will not talk to Kurti until each arrested Serb have not been released (TV Pink, Kosovo Online)
• Orban asked Vucic to release Kosovo police officers (NMagazin, Beta)
• Protests in northern Kosovo continue (Kosovo Online)
• Colleagues of arrested Vukasinovic talk to KoSSev, claim that he is innocent (KoSSev)
• Truck drivers from Serbia: We are blocking all trucks from Kosovo until they let us go (N1)
• Members of the Serbian opposition Miroslav Aleksic and Aleksandar Jovanovic in Zvecan (KiM radio)
• Serbian opposition Zvetnici party supports truck drivers blocking the roads (Kosovo Online)
• Odalovic: KFOR must order the withdrawal of special units from northern Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

• Behind Lajcak’s sudden departure to Washington for “intensive talks on urgent steps” (Blic)

Albanian Language Media  

Three border crossings with Serbia remain blocked for trucks and buses (RFE)

The border crossing in Merdare that links Kosovo with Serbia remains blocked for trucks and buses and only private vehicles can cross there. A similar situation is at the Jarinje border crossing, whereas the border crossing in Bernjak is completely blocked, the news website reports. 

Kosovo police officers in Merdare told Radio Free Europe that although the road is blocked, private vehicles can cross, but that citizens are using other border crossings with Serbia. The movement of vehicles is now oriented at the border crossing of Dheu i Bardhe, near Kamenica.

European Parliament President: Situation in the north must de-escalate (Gazeta Metro)

President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called today for de-escalation of the situation between Kosovo and Serbia and expressed her concern about the violence in the region. “The European Parliament has called for de-escalation ever since we saw the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. There is no other word that can be used. We cannot stand to see more violence at a time when our continent is so vulnerable and the situation is unstable,” Metsola said after meeting the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandrokovic.

Metsola also said that not only the European Parliament, but all other EU institutions had a clear position on the matter. She said that Croatia too can set a positive example by being proactive in the calls for de-escalation and calm.

Kurti-Vucic meeting; analysts says dialogue only way to overcome situation (Telegrafi)

Although they have received an invitation from EU High Representative Josep Borrell to meet in Brussels this week, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have not confirmed their participation yet.

Arton Demhasaj, political commentator, said in an interview with the news website that the meeting between the two leaders is aimed at overcoming the situation in the north of Kosovo. “The dialogue has floundered in a way. We are talking about a potential meeting between two states with EU mediation to overcome the current situation in the north, and about the arrest of the three police officers. We are no longer talking about the dialogue but about a meeting on how to overcome this situation,” he said.

Demhasaj said there is no alternative to meetings. “I think it is very likely that the meeting between the two leaders will happen soon, because there is no other alternative to meetings … On several occasions, we have seen such statements from Vucic that he will not take part, but he has attended in most cases. This is not an ordinary situation, this situation has escalated greatly and it can escalate even further,” he argued. “Therefore, it doesn’t suit any of the party not to meet, because if they don’t agree to meet, they will be blamed for what can come next.”

Dritero Arifi, political analyst, said the situation in the north can be de-escalated only through dialogue. “Dialogue is the only solution to every problem, and most certainly for the problem in the north of Kosovo, where the situation is very tense. So dialogue will de-escalate the situation, and let’s not forget that we have three police officers kidnapped in Serbia. It would be important for the Kosovo police officers to be released as soon as possible, and this should be done through dialogue, because Kosovo has no other options,” he argued.

According to Arifi, Kosovo should always be ready for dialogue. “We shouldn’t be too preoccupied with what Serbia does. Our actions must follow the laws, and also cooperation with the U.S. and the EU. On other issues, the European Union is responsible for Serbia, but from our perspective, we should always be ready to engage in dialogue for the good of the people,” he said.

Osmani and Haradinaj with messages on World Refugee Day (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today on World Refugee Day that Kosovo remembers the immense sacrifice & suffering of refugees around the world. “During the war in Kosovo, more than half of our population became refugees as a result of Milosevic’s genocide. Today we continue to amplify the voices of refugees & champion their rights,” Osmani tweeted.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said today on World Refugee Day, that Albanians know best what it is like to be forced to leave one’s homeland. “World Refugee Day reminds us of the efforts of the Serbian occupier for ethnic cleansing by deporting with force millions of Albanians from Kosovo during the liberation war in 1998-1999, but also the deportation of hundreds of thousands of other people all over the world from zones of conflict,” he wrote in a Facebook post. He also thanked “all our friends all over the world who sheltered Albanian families in their most difficult days”.

Surroi reacts to Grenell about “potential idea of removing NATO troops in 2020” (media)

Veton Surroi, writer and founder of KOHA Media Group reacted today to a statement by former U.S. Presidential Envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell, who said in an interview with Real America’s Voice that the Trump administration had made so much progress to bring Kosovo and Serbia closer “that we discussed the potential idea for the withdrawal of NATO troops from Kosovo in 2020”. Surroi commented in a Twitter post: “Incredible demonstration of incompetence of Trump diplomacy in Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, including toying with the idea of pulling NATO forces out of Kosovo in exchange for Lufthansa low-cost flight between Prishtina and Belgrade. Rock bottom”. Surroi’s Twitter post was shared by James Pettifer, professor of Balkan history at St. Cross College, Oxford, who writes: “further evidence for my contention- that many people did not approve of – that US foreign policy in the Balkans is in a confused and muddled state and saturated with Yugonostalgia. This administration is no better-or worse- than Trump’s”.

Gashi: Attacks against reporters extending Prime Minister Kurti’s narrative (Kallxo)

Kreshnik Gashi from Kallxo said in a debate on Monday that every attack against reporters in the north of Kosovo makes Prime Minister Albin Kurti stronger in his narrative. He argued that these attacks enable Kurti to extend the presence of special units in the north, “his narrative that these people want to attack reporters, they don’t want to allow them there, they are terrorists, a militia and so on”. “But if they leave the reporters in peace, the way they are leaving KFOR in peace, those people can even win their battle with the municipality, the mayor,” Gashi argued.

According to Gashi, people in the north of Kosovo have a collective phobia from the media, and that they are the same as Kosovars were in 1999. “I tried to tell the people there that we were in their situation, we know what it is like to have your speech stopped, but today the situation is much better because we can go out and speak freely, because this is democracy, namely to have the same situation as in Pristina in the northern part of Kosovo,” he said.

Case initiated for throwing of Molotov cocktail at police car in Leposavic (media)

Several news websites quote a Kosovo Police report today as saying that a case has been initiated for the throwing of a Molotov cocktail by unknown persons against a police vehicle in Leposavic on June 15.

Austrian reporter: EU sanctions against Kosovo taken seriously as it seems (Nacionale)

Franziska Tschinderle, Austrian reporter based in the Balkans, said in a Twitter post today that “the EU sanctions against Kosovo are taken seriously as it seems. I hear of several meetings with Albin Kurti being cancelled, among them a meeting with the Austrian foreign minister Schallenberg at the airport of Vienna.”

CDHRF: Serbia is not allowing anyone to visit the police officers (Kosovapress)

The Pristina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said in a statement today that the three Kosovo police officers who are being held in detention in Serbia must not be used for political motives. It says that Serbia so far has not allowed any independent source to visit the police officers. The Council also called on “all actors, from the government and the opposition, the media, and influential persons to refrain from irresponsible statements that cause uncertainty and confusion among the families and the public, by raising hopes and talking about dates when the kidnapped police officers could be released. There is no doubt that the Kosovo government, through diplomatic channels, is engaged to resolve the issue of the kidnapped police officers as soon as possible, but this is not in their hands”.

Populism is threatening societies and countries in the region (Kosovapress)

Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Enver Hoxhaj, said today that the situation in the north of Kosovo must not be allowed to serve Prime Minister Albin Kurti for a new wave of populism, taking Kosovo towards a political uncertainty and not knowing what the end of 2023 will look like. Hoxhaj made these remarks at a public debate on the phenomenon and risks of populist politics in the context of ethnic intolerance. He said that the Kosovo government must form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in line with [former EU High Representative] Mogherini’s letter and the verdict of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

During the debate it was said that populism in politics starts as an anti-elite and anti-bureaucratic discourse. In the beginning it sounds liberating with the promise of quick support and simple solutions for the problems of ordinary citizens. However, examples in the region and the world show that populist approaches quickly degrade to a policy of fear and calls for societal mobilisation through ethnic intolerance and avoiding of international norms for human rights and freedoms.

Project manager from the Liberal Democrat Centre, Dukagjin Gorani, said this was the first edition of a series of public debates on regional cooperation, aimed at bringing together politicians, leader of civil society, media workers and everyone that have ideas and prefer to talk about solutions and not only problems and believe that rationality and compromise are virtues and not weaknesses. “Today everything will be about Kosovo and Serbia, and this comes at the most challenging times. Political blockade is threatening social stability because hasty decisions by leaderships threaten to undermine regional security. These are difficult times but nevertheless what we can do and everything that we must do is to continue to talk with each other,” he said.

Gorani said that opinions and actions that are different are continuously seen as hostile and unpopular. “The electorate is more important than society, votes are more important than the feeling of community and commonality and our society is gradually sinking into a dimension that is damaging and unbearable, because now opinions and actions that are different are not even being allowed. In fact, opinions and actions that are different are continuously seen as hostile and unpopular,” he argued.

Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, said that the UN remains committed to fighting misinformation and disinformation and that they support this shared initiative because they believe that this initiative will feed respect for others and encourage a divergence of opinions. 

“It is enough to look at the black and sometimes chaotic spaces of public media today, especially social media, to understand how great the need is for a well-thought discourse to get to people who are otherwise bombarded by distorted and hateful stereotypes and deceitful languages. This phenomenon is not limited only to Kosovo or the Balkans. This is a problem that affects the whole world. However, here, as we have seen in the last couple of weeks or days alone, the constant beating of drums ‘us against them’ have led only to inciting attacks and distrust … Kosovo and the region need this more than ever and it is the problem-solvers and leadership that unite such voices. I swear that I and my mission and all UN agencies will commit to this, and we will fight any discrimination, be it even populist narrations and hate speech, and we will do this as long as we are here and together with you,” Ziadeh said.

Zoran Ostojic, reporter, publicist and former MP in the Serbian Parliament, said that if populism is linked only to getting votes, then populism is linked to democracy and free elections, but that he thinks that populism is not a consequence of democracy.

PDK deputy leader Enver Hoxhaj said that populism in the Western Balkans appeared as an export from the west.

During the debate it was said that the populism of [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic was damaging the Serbs themselves.

The debate was organised by the Liberal Democrat Centre, in cooperation with the Centre for Social Initiative and the Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokallari” and was supported entirely by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Hasani on Rama’s proposal: Philosophically equal to project for Kosovo’s partition (T7)

Former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Enver Hasani, said in an interview with T7 on Monday evening that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was very wrong to propose a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and that paradoxically the draft resembles the project for Kosovo’s partition. 

According to Hasani, Rama has no right to talk about Kosovo when it comes to relations with Serbia, and that he can talk about Kosovo only when Euro-Atlantic structures are concerned. He argued that it would have been better if Rama had engaged experts to help Kosovo prepare a draft. “Rama cannot speak on behalf of the Kosovo Albanians. But then if we move to another phase when you are seen as a threat to regional stability, he has responsibility, because of the NATO security umbrella and the fact that Albania is a NATO member. But Edi Rama made a terrible mistake. If you want to help Kosovo, then you can pay the best experts to draft the American-European statute. That would have been helpful,” he said.

Hasani also said that by proposing the draft, Rama made it look like Kosovo doesn’t have state institutions and mechanisms. “It seems like a paradox but philosophically and in the state aspect it is the same as the project for Kosovo’s partition. When you say that you are doing it for Kosovo … you are basically saying that Kosovo lacks the capacity, institutions and mechanisms,” he added.

Abazovic: I have asked Kurti not to get into conflict with internationals (media)

Several media cover an interview that Montenegro Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic gave to RTCG, highlighting his remarks that he told his Kosovo counterpart Albin Kurti not to get into conflict with internationals and to try to solve the current crisis through dialogue. “He [Kurti] told me that they are already in contact with Brussels and that there will be talks. My impression is that there is a willingness to overcome the problems,” he said.

Abazovic said he doesn’t believe the situation in Kosovo will escalate “but when we see what is happening, we cannot be calm. It is not good to resort to the policies of the 1990s. When you see some scenes, it feels like you have seen them before. I hope that reason will prevail”.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic: I will not talk to Kurti until each arrested Serb have not been released (TV Pink, Kosovo Online)

I will not talk to Albin Kurti until each arrested Serb have not been released and their mayors withdraw from municipal facilities in northern Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after the meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Kosovo Online portal reports citing TV Pink.

He added he spoke with Orban a lot about the situation in Kosovo, noting that he had been going to talk (on the Kosovo issue) for the full 11 years.

“I was going there to have the peace achieved. Our country was moving ahead faster than the countries that had weight to carry. Everything could be done, until Kurti’s arrival, who never showed any willingness to talk. He would come to hold his monologues, and didn’t want to talk (…)”, Vucic said.

“Every day they are arresting Serbs, because they are guilty of being alive. To our questions we are receiving bureaucratic responses which they do not want or do not know how to explain. They say which article, paragraph it is about and similar. What have those people really done? Nothing, they have done nothing”, Vucic said.

“I will not talk to Kurti until each arrested Serbs have not been released, their mayors withdraw from municipalities, special police leave and until they stop arresting Serbs every day. You know, Kurti has more important things to do in the Vatican, to ask for recognition of Kosovo”, he added.

“Not a single Albanian had been shot at, only Serbs. Arrested, beaten up, mistreated. Do you know that there is no investigation about the man who shot Dragisa Galjak (wounded during the clashes with KFOR in Zvecan on May 29. President Vucic said in a public address after the clashes he was shot at by Kosovo special police). That two children were shot on Christmas Eve (Gotovusa, near Strpce shooting incident, involving a member of Kosovo Security Forces as suspect)”, Vucic said. 

Orban asked Vucic to release Kosovo police officers (NMagazin, Beta)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban today called on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at a media conference in Palic to release the three detained Kosovo police officers, reported NMagazin.

“We follow the events in Kosovo very closely and see what is being done to the Serbs. I respectfully ask you, President, dear Aleksandar, to think carefully about this, the enemies of Serbia are eager to harm you, I think it would be good for you to listen to the recommendation of Hungary and return those three Albanians to Kosovo, I think it would help you, that’s why I ask you to think about it,” said Orban at the press conference.

He added that he believes that “it is unacceptable for the international community to accept the elections (in Kosovo) with a participation of around four percent as legal”.

“We Hungarians see it and it’s clear to us,” he added.

Protests in northern Kosovo continue (Kosovo Online)

Serbs continue peaceful protests in Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok also today in discontent with Pritina’s violent actions, presence of the Kosovo special police in the municipal facilities, instillment of the new Albanian mayors whom Serbs deem illegitimate and ungrounded arrests including beating children by the police, Kosovo Online portal reports.

As portal further reports gathered Serbs feel strong indignation that three days after the incident in which Kosovo police beat up two underage children in Zvecan municipality no one from the international community had reacted to it.

Continued arrests of the Serbs in northern Kosovo despite the calls that special police withdraw from the north, and stronger presence of the Kosovo police with armoured vehicles and long barrelled weapons in the north during the night cause additional anxiety among the Serb population.

People gathering in front of Leposavic municipality are additionally distressed with yet another arrest in their municipality, that of Uros Vukasinovic who was arrested yesterday morning.

Serbs in northern Kosovo took part in the gathering and walks of support to the arrested Serbs yesterday, in Leposavic and Zvecan, conveying the messages that they wish for peace and calls “to stop the terror of Albin Kurti”. 

Colleagues of arrested Vukasinovic talk to KoSSev, claim that he is innocent (KoSSev)

“Because of his spine injury he can’t even run, let alone hit somebody”, colleagues of arrested Uros Vukasinovic accused of allegedly committing an attack against journalists in Leposavic told KoSSev portal. They also said he was arrested unjustly and was not guilty for what he is accused of. At the same time they appealed to all institutions to exert pressure on Pristina authorities to release their colleague.

Vukasinovic is employed at MTS.d.o.o. in Leposavic which is MTS Serbia daughter company registered in Kosovo.      

His colleagues, Milan Simonovic, Jovana Petronijevic and Milos Vulicevic told KoSSev they were taken by surprise to hear that on the way to office their colleague was “arrested, intercepted, taken away and accused of the attack against journalists”. Jovana opined that a video recording which appeared on social media preceded his arrest.

“There is a recording in which an attacker against the journalist is seen, however we are certain that it is not our colleague Uros… Colleagues confirmed, and I personally that it was not him, but some other person”, she said.

They added that as part of his working duties he was fixing the network in Leposavic municipality as on that day some problems with the network on the ground occurred, and that is why they are certain that he was not in a group of protesters that day and didn’t attack journalists.

Truck drivers from Serbia: We are blocking all trucks from Kosovo until they let us go (N1)

Drivers of trucks with Serbian licence plates, who were stopped at the crossings to Kosovo after the order of the Kosovo authorities not to allow them to enter, blocked the Jarinje, Brnjak and Merdare crossings on Monday evening as a sign of protest against that decision, reported N1.

Truck drivers told N1 that they did it because “when our trucks can’t pass, no one can” and said that they will not give up until they are allowed to pass to Kosovo with their trucks.

“Not a single truck can pass (to central Serbia), it doesn’t matter what the registration is, because we can’t go down either. We drive goods from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, there are no goods from Serbia,” says one of the drivers, Elvis Selmanovic.

Another says that the blockade of trucks from Kosovo “is not a political act”.

“We have perishable goods. There are more than 200 of our trucks there, which are in parking lots, and our goods are about to expire. Now, no goods can pass even from Kosovo,” says Denis Islamovic.

They emphasise that buses and cars are allowed, and that they exclusively do not allow trucks with goods to pass. And that decision will remain until their trucks are allowed to pass, reported N1.

Members of the Serbian opposition Miroslav Aleksic and Aleksandar Jovanovic in Zvecan (KiM radio)

The Vice President of the People’s Party Miroslav Aleksic and the leader of the Ecological Uprising movement Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta came today accompanied by the President of the Provincial Committee of the People’s Party Zarko Ristic in front of the Municipality of Zvecan, reports KiM radio. 

Some citizens approach them and greet them, reported KiM Radio journalist from the scene.

Although some citizens provide support and approach to welcome Jovanovic and Aleksic, there are also those who resent it, comments “go to Belgrade” were also heard.

Kim radio recalls that the peaceful protests in Zvecan are still going on.

Serbian opposition Zvetnici party supports truck drivers blocking the roads (Kosovo Online)

Serbian opposition Oath Keepers (Zavetnici) party gave their full support to the truck drivers who blocked the crossing points leading to Kosovo, as well as to the Serbian people who, as they say, spontaneously blocked the road in the direction of Merdare-Nis for vehicles with Kosovo licence plates.

Zavetnici said in a statement “that at moments when the regime of Albin Kurti illegally prohibits the entry of Serbian goods into the territory of Kosovo and exposes the Serbian people in the north of the province to a humanitarian crisis, it is necessary for the Government of Serbia to unconditionally suspend the further implementation of all Brussels agreements”.

They added it was necessary to especially suspend those agreements related to the recognition of Kosovo identity documents, customs marks and licence plates.

“In this situation, the state must engage as much as possible in helping and supporting the Serbian people, it has to seriously consider the return of Serbian institutions to the province and launch a strong diplomatic campaign for the release of all arrested Serbs, as well as for scheduling an extraordinary session of the Security Council. All decisions and mechanisms that are aimed at the further implementation of the Franco-German plan, they must be immediately suspended and annulled, because only the institutions of the so-called Kosovo state benefit from their implementation”, the statement reads.

Zavetnici called on the Serbian security structures to start the procedure of detailed checking of all passengers passing through Serbia with special attention, as they stated, to the possibility of stopping extremists who participated in any way in committing crimes or repression against the Serbian people in Kosovo.

Odalovic: KFOR must order the withdrawal of special units from northern Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

The President of the Commission of the Government of Serbia for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, told Radio Television of Serbia that more than a year has passed since Albin Kurti decided to do what he is doing and since ”the escalation and terror of his special units in the north of Kosovo began”, reported Radio Mitrovica sever.

“Serbs are peacefully protesting. They reacted to all his decisions calmly – blockades, protests, addresses, invitations, appeals… However, Kurti ignores all this and has his own goal and direction in which he acts,” Odalovic said. 

“He continues to say that he will work like this until all the criminals, as he says, are exterminated or arrested. It is obvious that he made a slightly wider list than the one he realised,” Odalovic told RTS, cited Radio Mitrovica sever.

He believes that ”KFOR approves of this” and emphasises that everything is done with their presence.

“They wouldn’t be able to enter and cause incidents without KFOR allowing it,” said Odalovic.

He points out that KFOR must order the withdrawal of special units from the area of northern Kosovo, because they are ”the ones who cause accidents every day and try to provoke wider conflicts”.

Opinion 

Behind Lajcak’s sudden departure to Washington for “intensive talks on urgent steps” (Blic)

Analysts estimate today for Belgrade based daily Blic that it is high time for the West to take concrete steps and influence the Kosovo PM ”to correct his behaviour so that even the smallest isolated incident does not cause complete chaos”. The daily recalls Lajcak’s visit to Washington for ”intensive talks on urgent steps” to de-escalate the situation in the northern part of Kosovo.

“Something must change in the performance methodology”

Zoran Milivojevic, a diplomat, points out that Lajcak’s visit to Washington has to do with the failed EU and US mediation in the relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

– Lajcak and Escobar did not achieve any result in calming the situation in the north of Kosovo. Apparently, Lajcak is going to the US to agree on the next steps. Something has to change in the performance methodology. Kurti has gone far in his unilateral moves. That’s why an agreement on a new mission is needed – Milivojevic told Blic. 

He said that the West must again act with restraint in determining a new strategy in the north of Kosovo.

“The USA and the EU must exert influence on Kurti so that he corrects his behaviour, but also that the statehood of Kosovo, which the West supports, is not called into question. That is the biggest problem that the West has to solve,” Milivojevic analyses.

“The West is doing everything to save the dialogue based on the Ohrid Agreement”

Blic’s interlocutor believes that the international community will do everything to save the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on the platform of the Ohrid Agreement.

– This is their strategic goal, and they want to achieve it during this year. They set the deadlines themselves, and time is running out. If they enter the autumn without results, it is too late to do anything because next year there will be elections in both the EU and the USA – says Milivojevic.

Milivojevic asks where the limit is for the patience of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo.

– The situation is such that any isolated incident can lead to complete chaos. KFOR, which has a mandate, must be put into operation in the north of Kosovo, and the West must have more effective measures to influence the mechanisms of the executive power in Pristina – concludes Milivojevic.

“The EU and the US did a sloppy job”

Aleksandar Popov, director of the Center for Regionalism, agrees that so far, the EU and the US have done a sloppy job of mediating between Belgrade and Pristina.

– It was as if they were taking measures in the air, but the situation was completely different on the field. Based on the Franco-German plan and the Ohrid Agreement, concrete steps had to be taken by now. However, we had elections of illegitimate mayors in the north of Kosovo, for which it was known immediately that they were illegitimate but were held anyway. Western mediators did not react adequately and now we have a fire that is worse than it was last winter – analyses Popov for Blic.

As he says, they cannot believe what the EU and the USA have allowed in the north of Kosovo.

– If they could not foresee the events that led to the current situation, then it is completely amateurish. On the other hand, if they deliberately allowed the situation to escalate, then the question arises as to who is behind everything. After all, there will probably be an independent formation of the CSM (ZSO) by the Serbs on June 28, and it will be just as difficult to cancel it as the results of the local elections in the north of Kosovo – says Popov.

“First special conversations, then dialogue”

Popov is not optimistic that there will soon be a reasonable dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

– Such a mess was created on the dialogue table that it should first be cleared up through special talks with Vucic, i.e., Kurti, to create the conditions for a conversation at all – concludes Popov.