Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti meets ambassadors of QUINT, asks for their support in CoE (Klan)
• Kurti meets with Davenport and Sprecher, talk about the Control Office (media)
• Kurti: Serbia propagandizing violence against Serbs in Kosovo, facts say the opposite (Koha)
• O’Brien and Escobar to  meet this week with Lajcak (Koha)
• Osmani: The MCC is bringing important benefits to the people of Kosovo (media)
• Gervalla in Warsaw, participates in the “Defence24 Days” conference (media)
• Maqedonci: Serbian security structures are supporting terrorist groups (RTK)
• Prosecution requests deportation of Russians arrested in Jarinje (media)
• Police investigating suspected case of attempted murder in the north (RTK)
• Police reports on an incident against Kosovo Police and U.S. KFOR in Leposavic (RTK)
• Citaku on reactions to Escobar: Political misery (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• For now, Kosovo’s admission not on the agenda of the CoE’s May meeting (NMagazin, Beta, N1)
• Petkovic: Serb municipalities backbone of Brussels Agreement (Tanjug, Blic, Radio Mitrovica sever, N1)
• Vucic met Chinese ambassador ahead of Xi’s visit (Tanjug, RTS, media)
• Djuric: New Serbian government looking to future (Tanjug, TV Pink)
• Lavrov spoke with Brnabic, Djuric, and Dacic about the situation in Kosovo, BiH (Kosovo Online)
• State Department denies claims Escobar dismissed (N1, Tanjug)
• RTK2: The channel in Serbian language does not have a website, a Facebook page, or a YouTube channel under its authority (media)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti meets ambassadors of QUINT, asks for their support in CoE (Klan) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has asked the ambassadors of the QUINT countries to support Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, in the vote that will be held in May in the Committee of Ministers. 

The announcement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office says that “he called on the allied states of Kosovo, the QUINT states to support Kosovo’s membership on May 17 in accordance with the assessments by the institutions of the Council of Europe themselves, and on the basis of meritorious achievements in the development of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and its alignment with Western values and positions. At a time when autocracies in Europe are on the rise and are increasingly infringing on democracy, security and peace, Kosovo’s democratic achievements should be celebrated by Western democracies”. 

Kurti emphasized that Kosovo is the most democratic country in the Western Balkans, with an advanced constitution that offers guaranteed and expanded rights for the non-majority community, and exceeds international standards, as evaluated by the Eminent Jurists of the Council of Europe.

He said that Kosovo has met all the criteria for membership, therefore any other request is inconsistent with the vote of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 16, supported by 82% (131 against 29). 

Kurti reiterated that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia takes place in Brussels and not in Strasbourg; that the process of membership in the Council of Europe is a matter of respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, values that Kosovo embraces.

“These two processes should not be mixed as they do not help each other. If these are mixed, this would cause irreparable damage to the dialogue in Brussels on the one hand and to the Council of Europe on the other hand as an institution for the preservation and promotion of democracy and human rights”, the announcement continues. 

The Prime Minister emphasized that Article 7 of the Basic Agreement cannot be extracted from the package of the Brussels Agreement and the Annex in Ohrid and should not be placed as a priority and at the center. He recalled that on October 26, the offer to sign the Package Agreement that would pave the way for the full implementation of the Agreement, including its Article 7 in conjunction with Article 10, was rejected.  

Kurti meets with Davenport and Sprecher, talk about the Control Office (media) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti hosted the head of the OSCE in Kosovo, Michael Davenport and the ambassador of Switzerland, Jurg Sprecher. They discussed about support for the creation and functioning of the Office for Linguistic Control and Harmonization within the Office of the Prime Minister, as the government has approved the decision to create this office. 

“This office will work closely with the Office of the Language Commissioner in ensuring the implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages, and will employ up to 15 translators, so that laws and by-laws are presented in both official languages of the Republic of Kosovo with full accuracy of the translation”, says the announcement of the government. 

Kurti: Serbia is propagandizing violence against Serbs in Kosovo, facts say the opposite (Koha) 

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has stated that based on Police statistics, out of 86 murders committed from 2021 to 2024, 81 of the victims were Albanians, three Serbs and two from other ethnicities. He said that Serbian suspects were arrested for the murder of three Serbs, two in North Mitrovica and one in Graçanica. 

Kurti emphasized that Serbia is continuing with propaganda about violence against Serbs in Kosovo, but according to him, everyone knows that it is simply propaganda and that the facts say the opposite. 

“Three Serbs were killed in 2022; two in the municipality of North Mitrovica and one in Gracanica. There are only Serbs suspected of the three murders. In North Mitrovica, a Serb is suspected of having killed his father and brother. In Gracanica, a Serb is suspected of having killed his brother. The case in Banjska is special where three Serbian paramilitaries died in an exchange of fire with the police after the killing of police officer Afrim Bunjaku on 24 September. Every person in Kosova, local or international, knows: Serbian propaganda about violence against Serbs is just that – propaganda. The facts speak for themselves, debunking insidious lies and revealing the lengths an authoritarian regime would go to sow chaos,” Kurti wrote on the “X” platform.

O’Brien and Escobar to  meet this week with Lajcak (Koha)

The U.S. Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia, James O’Brien, has announced that together with Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar, will welcome the EU emissary for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, this week.

O’Brien, in a post on the “X” platform, said that U.S.-EU support for the Western Balkans will be coordinated.

“Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabe Escobar and I plan to welcome Miroslav Lajcak later this week to coordinate U.S.-EU support for the Western Balkans,” O’Brien wrote. 

Osmani: The MCC is bringing important benefits to the people of Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani is staying for an official visit in Dallas, United States of America. She participated in the meeting called by the chief executive of the MCC, Alice Albright, and representatives of the U.S. government. Osmani also met there the presidents of Liberia, Malawi and Cabo Verde, as well as the prime ministers of Mauritania and Sierra Leone. 

She said that the MCC is playing a transformative role, “bringing important benefits for the people of Kosovo and its economy”. 

Gervalla in Warsaw, participates in the “Defence24 Days” conference (media) 

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla-Schëarz, has stated that Serbia and Russia are destabilizing states of the Western Balkans. She was a participant in the first panel of the two-day conference “Defence 24 Days”. 

“The most urgent and challenging issue for the security of our country today is Serbia and Russia, as the ghosts of the past are still alive, those who caused wars and genocide 25 years ago are still active. Therefore, peace in Europe can only be ensured by stopping Russia and Serbia all together”, Gervalla said. 

She said that Serbia has appointed a government of war, a government which consists of former ministers of Milosevic and those sanctioned by the USA. “There is great potential if we come together, if we are willing to listen to Poland, to listen to the Baltic and Nordic states, to listen to the Western Balkans about their real challenges, their experiences with aggressive neighbors and based on sound analysis, and in accordance with the reality in these parts of Europe to undertake joint actions to ensure peace and stability in the region”, she said. 

Maqedonci: Serbian security structures are supporting terrorist groups (RTK) 

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Macedonci, has announced that he met with his Polish counterpart, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, within the framework of the “Defence 24 Days” forum. 

Maqedonci said that he informed his Polish counterpart about the security situation in Kosovo and the region. He also spoke about the 48 bases of the Serbian army located along the border line with Kosovo. Maqedoncihas stated that the terrorist groups were supported by the structures of Serbia “with the aim of destabilizing Kosovo and the Balkans”. 

Prosecution requests deportation of Russians arrested in Jarinje (media) 

The Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica has filed an indictment for the two detained persons with the request for deportation outside the territory of Kosovo, the spokesperson of the Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica, Valon Preteni, announced. 

“The Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Mitrovica has filed an indictment for the two detained persons with the request for deportation outside the territory of Kosovo, due to the criminal offense of “Unauthorized crossing of border crossings or the border line”, Preteni told RTKlive.

The Kosovo Police announced through the 24-hour report that two people with Russian passports and who did not have a Kosovo visa were arrested in Jarinje. They reportedly entered Kosovo through illegal routes. 

Police investigating suspected case of attempted murder in the north (RTK) 

The Deputy Minister for Communities and Return in the Government of Kosovo, Radoica Radomirovic, has said that in Leposavic there was an assassination attempt against Marko Jablanovic, a member of Nenad Rashic’s party. 

The Kosovo Police confirmed the investigation into the case of suspected attempted murder in the north, which was reported by the Deputy Minister for Returns, in a post on Facebook. 

Veton Elshani, deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the North Mitrovica region, confirmed the news to RTKlive. “After midnight today, it is suspected that there is a case of attempted murder in Soqanice, Leposaviq Municipality. No one was injured or arrested. The police are investigating the case,” Elshani said. 

The member of the government of Kosovo, Radoica Radomirovic, has accused Belgrade of being behind this. 

Police reports on an incident against Kosovo Police and U.S. KFOR in Leposavic (RTK) 

Kosovo Police and KFOR were attacked Monday morning in a village of Leposaviq, while they were conducting joint patrols. The police announced that the incident happened around 04:05 in the morning. 

“Around 4:05 a.m. on the road of the village of Miokovice during the joint patrol of the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU) of the Kosovo Police, together with the American KFOR, a gray Seat type car without a license plate blocked the road and then threw glass bottles in the direction of official cars. The suspect then fled in the direction of some nearby houses in the village,” the announcement states. 

The Kosovo Police have emphasized that together with KFOR they identified the house and conducted a search where the Kosovar male suspect, who admitted that he blocked the road and threw the bottle, was arrested. 

“During the search of the suspect’s house, an army jacket with a Serbian emblem was found. The vehicle with which the road was blocked was seized, the suspect, after being interviewed by the competent investigation unit, was released in a regular procedure, while the investigations related to the case are ongoing”, the announcement states. 

Citaku on reactions to Escobar: Political misery (media) 

Vlora Citaku, member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), has reacted to the discussions about the departure of the U.S. emissary, Gabriel Escobar. She said that when propaganda affects exponents of the government, then this is political misery.  

“I am reading some reactions about the departure of Escobar. Honestly, regretful. I can understand that not all of us understand the way the State Department works. However, when hysteria and propaganda affect the exponents of the Kurti government, who think they have the power to dictate personnel policies in the U.S., then we are dealing with delusions of grandeur and political misery. The State Department is not the KEK board. Even after Escobar, Escobar will be. American foreign policy is consistent, and not dictated by a single individual,” she wrote.

Serbian Language Media 

For now, Kosovo’s admission not on the agenda of the CoE’s May meeting (NMagazin, Beta, N1)

The admission of Kosovo to the membership of the Council of Europe (CoE) is not on the agenda of the meeting of the CoE Committee of Ministers, which will be held on May 16 and 17, according to yesterday’s announcement of the CoE and the published agenda.

“The announcement reflects the agenda as it is at the moment and we have no more information to share”, the Beta agency was told today in the CoE when asked if this means that the ministers will not decide on the admission of Kosovo at the May meeting, reported NMagazin.

Petkovic: Serb municipalities backbone of Brussels Agreement (Tanjug, Blic, Radio Mitrovica sever, N1)

The director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic said on Monday the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities was the backbone of the Brussels Agreement and that Pristina had rejected Belgrade’s constructive proposal of a draft statute of the Community.

Speaking to Pink TV, Petkovic said Pristina’s PM Albin Kurti had also rejected an EU proposal and then made a unilateral decision to ban the dinar in Kosovo after seeing that everything was heading towards a final framework for the proposal.

“We made a good step forward when it comes to the Community of Serb Municipalities and the statute by (EU special envoy) Miroslav Lajcak. Pristina saw that, that things were heading towards a deal on a final statute getting increasingly close, and that the discussions, in fact, made sense and that our experts had found common ground with EU experts. All the time, Pristina has been refusing to discuss the draft statute, and to thwart the discussions and an agreement on the final statute, Kurti made the unilateral decision to ban the dinar in December,” Petkovic said.

He noted that the establishment of the Community – a precondition for the survival of Serbs in Kosovo – was overdue for 11 years now due to Pristina’s refusal to meet its commitments from the dialogue.

Petkovic also said Belgrade would continue to fight to keep Pristina out of the CoE but that it would keep approaching the dialogue with Pristina in a responsible and constructive way.

Petkovic about the ban to enter Kosovo

Petkovic said, speaking about Pristina’s ban to enter Kosovo on Orthodox Easter, that it was a visit for a holiday “which in itself carries messages of peace, love and understanding, among people of good will, regardless of religion or ethnicity.”

“And it was precisely these messages that I wanted to send from Visoki Decani, together with our people,” Petkovic stated in the announcement and added that “Pristina’s senseless politics made it impossible for him to do so,” reported N1. 

Vucic met Chinese ambassador ahead of Xi’s visit (Tanjug, RTS, media)

At a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia was proud of its steely partnership with China and impatiently awaited a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“The final preparations for President Xi Jinping’s visit, which is of the greatest importance for Serbia in every sense, are underway,” Vucic wrote in a post on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account.

He said Xi’s visit was an immeasurable honour for Serbia, especially in view of Serbia’s plans for strong acceleration of overall development and the global geopolitical context. Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin a two-day official visit to Serbia on Tuesday.

Security measures for the visit will be high, with Xi’s 400-member delegation to be secured by 3,400 police officers, Tanjug learned. Xi’s presidential plane will be escorted by Serbian MiG-29 fighter jets from the Serbian border and a Serbian Armed Forces guard of honour will be lined up at the Belgrade Airport in his honour. Chinese and Serbian flags will be displayed along the urban section of a motorway and a welcoming ceremony will be held outside the Palace of Serbia as well. Serbia and China are due to sign over 30 agreements.

Xi last visited Serbia in 2016 on what was the first trip to the country by a Chinese president in 32 years. A Declaration of Strategic Partnership was signed at the time.

Vucic and Xi last met during a Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last October, when the two sides signed 18 agreements, including a FTA that is due to enter into force soon. Xi, who is on a five-day tour of Europe, visited France on May 5 and will travel to Budapest after Belgrade.

Djuric: New Serbian government looking to future (Tanjug, TV Pink)

Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Monday the new Serbian government was a government of the future and one that was looking to the future. Speaking to Pink TV, Djuric said PM Milos Vucevic’s cabinet was not projecting Serbia’s policy for the next four years but the next four decades. Reacting to comments about the new government allegedly being pro-American or pro-Russian, Djuric noted that it was pro-Serbian.

“As for its foreign policy orientation – or mine – I must say it is a freedom-loving orientation. Serbia will be conducting a nationally responsible foreign policy and outstretching its hand while safeguarding its dignity. We are in the business of making friends for our country, but at the same time, we will respond with determination to all those attacking our interests,” Djuric said.

Serbia will not neglect its traditional friendships, he said.

“We will cherish our friendships with both PR China and the Russian Federation as well as with countries around the world – former Non-Aligned countries – that have helped us win the bid to host the EXPO,” Djuric said. Serbia also very much cares about continuing to develop its relationship with the US, he added.

Lavrov spoke with Brnabic, Djuric, and Dacic about the situation in Kosovo, BiH (Kosovo Online)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, spoke by phone with the President of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, the Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dacic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, about the situation in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Russia MFA announced, reported Kosovo Online.

As stated, in the talks special attention was paid to the situation in the Balkans, the solution of the Kosovo problem, the situation in and around Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unity was established in the need to rely on international law and fundamental UN SC resolutions 1031 and 1244.

“In the spirit of strategic partnership, the key issues of bilateral cooperation were discussed. The mutual willingness to strengthen cooperation and continue the dialogue at the high and highest level, as well as in an interdepartmental format, was confirmed,” the statement said, reported Kosovo Online among other things, citing Sputnik. 

The problems of joint work on multilateral platforms, primarily in the United Nations system, were discussed. Similarity of approach and mutual desire to continue coordinated activities aimed at solving key issues of the international agenda was noted.

“The intention of both sides to resist malicious attempts to revise certain historical events in the Balkans was expressed. The inadmissibility of attaching politicized labels to states and peoples was emphasized,” the statement said, adding that the conversation was held at the initiative of the Serbian side.

State Department denies claims Escobar dismissed (N1, Tanjug)

The State Department denied reports that senior diplomat Gabriel Escobar was dismissed as Washington’s envoy for the Western Balkans, Tanjug agency reported.

It quoted a response for a comment from the State Department that Escobar has not been dismissed, adding that the claims by the Frontliner.uk portal were false. Frontliner claimed that it found “possible conflicts of interest” and alleged financial connections between Escobar and Serbian governmental bodies.

Tanjug quoted a State Department spokesman as saying that all career diplomats are rotated every 4 years as a regular practice, adding that Escobar has been in his post for 3 years and is due to move to a new job in the next few weeks. He will remain in the post of Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and EurAsian affairs and special envoy for the Western Balkans until the transition, the spokesman said in a written reply.

RTK2: The channel in Serbian language does not have a website, a Facebook page, or a YouTube channel under its authority (media) 

The management and collegium of RTK2 in their statement sent to the media indicate that the Serbian language channel RTK does not have a website, a Facebook page, or a YouTube channel under its jurisdiction, reported Radio Mitrovica sever. 

“On this occasion, we would like to point out to the public, the media, journalist associations, competent institutions and the international community, that the Serbian-language channel of Radio Television of Kosovo does not have a website, a Facebook page, or a YouTube channel under its authority. This means that the site rtklive/rtk2 is not edited by the RTK2 editorial staff, but by the editor of the online media, who has no responsibility to the management of RTK2,” the statement reads. It recalled that recently news items have been noticed on the rtklive/rtk2 website in which imprecise assessments and labeling are presented, which, as stated, are in contradiction with journalistic standards.

“RTK2 wants to inform the public that in March, at a meeting with the general director of RTK, it was requested that the site rtklive/rtk2 be under the jurisdiction of RTK2, and that the rtk2 mark be removed in the meantime. It was requested, among other things, that the editors’ names are marked on the website. To date, none of the above has been fulfilled,” they stated in the statement.

They point out that the news published on the RTKLIVE / RTK2 website are not originally downloaded as reports from RTK2 journalists, but are only translated, which, in their opinion, is contrary to all professional and ethical standards of journalism.