Albanian Language Media:

•  Ziadeh notes with appreciation Kosovo govt’s announcement on Decani Monastery (media)

•  EULEX chief welcomes decision on Decan Monastery land (media)
•  Von Cramon welcomes decision to implement ruling on Decani Monastery (media)
•  Escobar meets opposition leaders in Pristina (media)
•  Escobar discusses Dinar with Serb politicians in Kosovo (RFE)
•  EU agrees with Escobar on communication problems with Kurti (Koha)
•  Kurti and Maqedonci meet COMKFOR, discuss security situation (media)
•  COMKFOR Ulutas meets Escobar and Hovenier (media)
•  COMKFOR: We increased presence, aim is to prevent violence (Telegrafi)

Serbian Language Media:

•  Serbian List after the meeting with Escobar: Urgent and decisive reactions are needed (KiM radio, KoSSev)
•  Escobar with representatives of Serbian non-parliamentary parties from Kosovo (KiM radio, KoSSev)
•  Escobar spoke with representatives of Serbian NGOs (Kosovo Online)
•  Stano: The EU and the USA demand that Pristina establish A/CSM,  which also solves the dinar issue (Beta, NMagazin)
•  Lawyer Miljkovic: Milun Milenkovic Lune’s detention extended for another two months (Kosovo Online)
•  Dacic received Roquefeil (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media

Ziadeh notes with appreciation Kosovo govt’s announcement on Decani Monastery (media)

UNMIK chief and Special Representative of the Secretary General, Caroline Ziadeh, said in a statement on Wednesday that she notes with “appreciation the announcement by Government of Kosovo to implement 2016 Constitutional Court ruling on Visoki Decani monastery. Full implementation in compliance with rule of law will foster trust towards stability & security for all communities in Kosovo”.

EULEX chief welcomes decision on Decan Monastery land (media)

Head of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Giovanni Pietro Barbano, welcomed the Kosovo government’s decision on the land of the Decani Monastery. Barbano wrote in a post on X that he welcomes “the long overdue implementation of the Constitutional Court judgment on the Decani Monastery on Monastery case. Legal certainty is the cornerstone of Rule of Law!”.

Von Cramon welcomes decision to implement ruling on Decani Monastery (media)

European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, welcomed on Wednesday the decision to implement the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo on Decani Monastery. “The rule of law is fundamental to a functioning European society. I have been repeatedly asking all Kosovo govts in last 4,5 years to act on this as it is a necessary step regarding the rule of law in Kosovo,” she said in a post on X.

Escobar meets opposition leaders in Pristina (media)

Leaders of opposition parties in Kosovo – PDK, LDK and AAK – met on Wednesday with U.S. envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar. PDK leader Memli Krasniqi said after the meeting that communication with the allies is key to advancing Kosovo’s interests. “Kosovo has achieved every victory and success in the path of liberation, independence and state-building with the United States, therefore, our partnership has no alternative in the path of the future toward Euro-Atlantic integration,” Krasniqi said in a Facebook post.

AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj said in a Facebook post that Escobar’s visit comes at an important moment for Kosovo and the region. “I asked to further the level of bilateral relations between Kosovo and the United States. There is progress, but I stressed that it is very necessary to push forward the agenda of the state of Kosovo with high state and institutional responsibilities toward membership in NATO and for our government to fully cooperate with our strategic and permanent ally, the United States of America,” Haradinaj said.

Escobar discusses Dinar with Serb politicians in Kosovo (RFE)

U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, met on Wednesday with political representatives of Serbs in Kosovo, to discuss problems faced by the Serb community. The Serbian List, the biggest party of Serbs in Kosovo, said in a statement that they told Escobar that the decisions of the government of Kosovo “threaten the basic human rights” of the Serb community. The Serbian List mentioned the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, the ban on import of goods from Serbia and the election of Albanian mayors in the four northern municipalities.

Branimir Stojanovic from the Serbian Popular Movement said he was encouraged by the approach of the United States to the latest decisions of Kosovo authorities and that he received “guarantees from Escobar that things would change in the favor of the Serb community”. “We expect even more serious steps, in order for the situation to calm down, and to secure minimal conditions for our people to live a normal life,” Stojanovic said after meeting Escobar.

Leader of the Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, told reporters that he discussed with Escobar about the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo which denominates Euro as the only currency for cash payments in Kosovo.

The Party of Kosovo Serbs said in a statement that their leader Aleksandar Jablanovic talked to Escobar about “the difficult and intolerable situation of the Serb population in Kosovo”.

EU agrees with Escobar on communication problems with Kurti (Koha)

EU spokesperson Peter Stano in a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday commented on a statement by U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, who said that the U.S. have problems of communication with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Stano said: “when it comes to Kosovo and the behaviour of the administration in Pristina, our position with the U.S. partners match almost one hundred percent.”

Kurti and Maqedonci meet COMKFOR, discuss security situation (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci met on Wednesday with COMKFOR Ozkan Ulutas. A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s office notes that they discussed the security situation and the cooperation between Kosovo and the NATO mission in Kosovo. Kurti thanked the COMKFOR for his cooperation and for KFOR’s contribution to security and peace.

COMKFOR Ulutas meets Escobar and Hovenier (media)

COMKFOR Ozkan Ulutas met on Wednesday with U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier. A statement by KFOR notes that the meeting “provided an opportunity to exchange views on a range of topics related to lasting security across Kosovo and to regional stability. Major General Ulutaş updated on KFOR’s activities and on his engagements with a wide array of counterparts. He reaffirmed KFOR’s steadfast commitment to provide the security framework in support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina; and he hailed the US’ long-standing contributions to KFOR and to stability in the Western Balkans.”

COMKFOR: We stepped up our presence; aim is to prevent violence (Telegrafi)

Commander of NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, Ozcan Ulutas, said in an interview with the news website on Wednesday that the security situation in Kosovo is calm but fragile. He said KFOR is closely monitoring security developments in the region. “KFOR has a flexible, agile and visible presence across Kosovo, and we remain focused on daily implementation of our mission based on the UN mandate. We continue providing a safe and secure environment for all communities living in Kosovo and freedom of movement, fully and impartially. KFOR is the third security responder in Kosovo, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, respectively, with whom we work in close coordination,” Ulutas said.

Serbian Language Media 

Serbian List after the meeting with Escobar: Urgent and decisive reactions are needed (KiM radio, KoSSev)

Representatives of the Serbian List, led by President Zlatan Elek, met in Pristina with the US Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the US Ambassador to Pristina, Geoffrey Hovenier, and spoke “about the problems of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, with special emphasis on the unilateral moves of the Government in Pristina by which the survival of the Serbian people is threatened”.

As announced by the SL, “the representatives of the Serbian List pointed out the need for an urgent and decisive reaction in order to prevent the exodus of the Serbian people whose basic human rights are threatened by the decisions of the Kosovo institutions.”

“The decision to ban dinars and abolish payment transactions 25 years after the conflict, the militarization of municipalities with a Serbian majority, the ban on goods trade with central Serbia, the forcible introduction of mayors without legitimacy into municipal buildings in the north, but also the institutional persecution of Serbs and the confiscation of property of our citizens, as well  as jeopardizing the functioning and survival of the Serbian Orthodox Church require a strong, energetic and urgent reaction from the democratic world, which would prevent the expulsion of the Serbs,” was pointed out by the representative of the Serbian List at the meeting with the American envoy.

Escobar with representatives of Serbian non-parliamentary parties from Kosovo (KiM radio, KoSSev)

The US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, spoke late in the afternoon in Pristina with the leaders of the three Serbian political parties in Kosovo – Branimir Stojanovic and Milija Bisevac from the Serbian People’s Movement (SNP), Aleksandar Arsenijevic from the Serbian Democracy (SD), and Aleksandar Jablanovic from Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS). They presented to the American diplomat the conditions in which Serbs live in Kosovo and stated that they were encouraged by the meeting.

“We talked about everything that bothers us. From these latest decisions to all those that were made before that, and which complicate our lives,” Branimir Stojanovic from the SNP told KiM radio after the meeting. He emphasized that “the level of emigration of Serbs that is happening is very worrying” and that “all this high policy, if a large number of people leave, makes no sense.”

“I am convinced that he (Escobar) understood our messages very well,” Stojanovic said, adding that they received assurances and in a way were also encouraged by the approach, believing that things will change. “Some minor developments have taken place, but we expect even more serious developments in the direction that, first of all, the situation calms down and that our people are created with at least a minimum of conditions for a normal life,” he concluded.

Milija Bisevac from the same party told Kim radio that the inevitable topic of conversation was the situation in the north of Kosovo.

“We had many topics. First, the security situation, daily problems, and which torment our citizens. It is the non-functioning of the system, institutional violence, as well as the presence of special units that constantly disrupt both the freedom of movement and the normal functioning of people,” Milija Bisevac from the SNP told Kim Radio. As he added, the participants of the meeting “received certain guarantees from Gabriel Escobar that in the coming period he will try to present our position and try to influence”.

“We received guarantees that many other decisions, such as the CSM (ZSO), but also everything else that was signed in the Brussels Agreement, will be implemented. We believe that today’s decision, to return the land to the Viski Decani monastery, has something to do with his arrival. We will see what the results will be in the coming period, but we are certainly satisfied with the conversation, and we think that he understood our people, and we think it is the most difficult in the last few years,” Bisevac concluded.

The leader of Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, said that the most important topic in the conversation with Escobar was the decision of the CBK regarding the introduction of the euro and the “abolition of payments from Serbia and how it affects our people.”

“With this decision, as we pointed out and gave as evidence to Mr. Escobar a series of laws, in this way, by withdrawing money from ATMs, our people are getting dragged into crime, criminal activities. It opens space for various false indictments that are not imposed on our population for the first time – for tax evasion, financing of crime, terrorism, etc… which can, of course, lead to many problems,” he told Kim Radio. Arsenijevic also spoke about the security problems of the Serbian community, as well as the problems faced by political representatives.

“On behalf of our party, but we also talked about the relationship of central institutions and institutional pressure towards our people. The conversation was encouraging. We said that after these statements, we are rooting for the State Department to achieve the goal they announced with all these last statements,” he concluded.

After the meeting in Pristina, the Party of Kosovo Serbs issued a press release stating that Aleksandar Jablanovic “informed Mr. Escobar in detail about the difficult and unbearable situation in which the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija find themselves.”

”The moves that Serbs expect from partners in Washington need to be concrete, fast, and efficient. Only this way is possible to restore security and prevent further exodus and depopulation of Serbs, conducted by the Kosovo government,” it was stated in the statement.

The PKS added that at the meeting, Escobar “conveyed his government’s concern for the fate and normal life of Serbs and promised that the position of Serbs in Kosovo and their rights are currently the highest priority of the US Embassy in Kosovo and the State Department in relations with Kosovo.”

Escobar spoke with representatives of Serbian NGOs (Kosovo Online)

The US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, spoke in Pristina with representatives of Serbian non-governmental organizations, reported Kosovo Online.

Among them were the program manager of the NGO Social Initiative Milica Andric Rakic, the coordinator of the National Convention of Serbia for Chapter 35, Dragisa Mijacic and others.

Mijacic said in a X post that the topics of the conversation were the perspectives of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as the European integration of the region.

“It is always a pleasure to exchange opinions on current challenges with Gabriel Escobar on current issues within the Serbian community in Kosovo and future perspectives in the dialogue, including the EU integration of the Western Balkans,” said Mijacic.

 Andric Rakic thanked Escobar for the opportunity to talk.

“Thank you for giving us a voice, again and again. The vision of a stable future exists, but we need local leadership and courage to realize it,” she said on X, reported the portal.

Stano: The EU and the USA demand that Pristina establish A/CSM,  which also solves the dinar issue (Beta, NMagazin)

The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, stated yesterday that the positions of the EU and the USA on Kosovo and the behavior of the authorities in Pristina “match one hundred percent”.

“When it comes to Kosovo and the behavior of the current government in Pristina, the positions of the EU and our American partners are 100 percent consistent,” Stano said.

He thereby answered the question of the Beta agency on whether the EU shares the position of American official Gabriel Escobar that Pristina has no explanation as to why it is not implementing the agreement on the formation of the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities (A/CSM), which would also resolve the dinar issue.

Before today’s visit to Pristina, Escobar stated that the USA never received “a full and reasoned answer as to why Pristina is not implementing something to which it has legally committed”.

“Kosovo should move forward with that issue,” he stated, adding that “the ZSO is not the new Republika Srpska, it is not a state within a state, it has no executive power and there are no constitutional obstacles to its formation.”

At the press briefing in Brussels, Beta also asked Stano to confirm the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak should arrive in Belgrade on Friday, March 15.

Stano replied that he was not invited to comment on Vucic’s announcement about Lajcak’s arrival in Belgrade because such visits are part of Lajcak’s work and mandate for the Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue.

Lawyer Miljkovic: Milun Milenkovic Lune’s detention extended for another two months (Kosovo Online)

The detention of Milun Milenkovic Lune from North Mitrovica was extended for another two months, his lawyer Predrag Miljkovic told Kosovo Online. He announced that he will file an appeal against this decision tomorrow.

“This morning, I received a decision on the extension of detention for another two months, so until May 12. The detention was extended under the same conditions as last time,” said Miljkovic.

Milenkovic was arrested on June 13 in North Mitrovica, and since then he has been in the high-risk detention unit in Podujevo.

He is accused of participating in the incident in front of the office of the Municipal Election Commission in North Mitrovica and in the conflict between demonstrators and KFOR in Zvecan.

Dacic met Roquefeil (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic met with the head of the Directorate for Continental Europe of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Brice Roquefeuil on Wednesday.

Dacic noted that Serbia was committed to further advancement of political dialogue with France at high and the highest level.

Dacic said bilateral relations and economic cooperation had reached an exceptionally high level and noted a years-long trend of growing goods trade between the two countries, the Serbian MFA statement said.

Dacic noted the historical ties between the two peoples, their alliance in the most difficult times in history and a long tradition of diplomatic relations between Serbia and France, whose 185th anniversary is being marked this year.

The French side confirmed its support for Serbia in the EU integration process and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue as well as for its activities towards full-fledged membership in Francophonie, the statement also said.