Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Belgrade military parades where remains of 744 Albanians found (Koha)
• Bislimi: Dialogue faces frequent rejections from Serbia (Reporteri)
• Krasniqi: Kosovo needs EU to lift punitive measures as soon as possible (media)
• Citaku: Early elections are necessity; we don’t have spears for opposition (media) 
• KFOR: Kosovo Police don’t need to notify us of all their movements (media) 
• “Gallup”: Kosovo, the most ardent “fan” of the USA in the world (media)
• Hoxhaj: Kurti government is anti-European, anti-Western (Express)
• Cameron: Reconciliation and economic growth, advantage in Balkans (RFE)

Serbian Language Media:

• Three Penalized for ‘Arrogant Behavior’ Outside Main Branch of Postal Savings Bank on Monday (KoSSev)
• SD: Kosovo police tried to hand out fines for a fictitious incident (KiM radio)
• Petkovic and Chulick: Pristina’s unilateral moves endanger the stability of the entire region (KiM radio)
• Vucic: Truth not one-sided, UN resolution to brand victims genocidal (Tanjug, media)
• Djuric: Serbia appeals to UN member states to oppose Srebrenica resolution (Tanjug, media)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Belgrade military parades where remains of 744 Albanians found (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti remembered on Wednesday the Albanians killed by Serbian forces in the Vushtrri massacre 25 years ago. Mentioning the only one of the 68 victims, Bukurie Shkreli (16), who was not found in the mass cemetery in Serbia, Kurti said that today Belgrade holds military parades in that place without any commemorative plaque that there was once a mass cemetery there. He stated that the crimes committed by Serbia cannot be hidden and cannot remain unexplained. “On May 22, 1999, the armed forces of Serbia brutally killed and massacred 68 Albanian civilians in Vushtrri. After the execution, in an attempt to hide the traces of the crime, the dead bodies were sent to Serbia. The remains of 67 Albanians killed in this massacre were found in Batajnica, Belgrade. Bukurie has not been found,” he wrote among others, listing further the 68 victims of the massacre.

Bislimi: Dialogue faces frequent rejections from Serbia (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, in a meeting with representatives from the Association for Southeast Europe on Wednesday, spoke about the dialogue with Serbia. He said that Kosovo remains a constructive and committed party. “But the process is facing the frequent refusals of the other party to advance further in many issues, especially the successive violations and the lack of implementation of the agreements reached,” he argued. Bislimi also informed them about the current situation in Kosovo and the achievements and successes during the last three years of government.

Krasniqi: Kosovo needs EU to lift punitive measures as soon as possible (media)

Memli Krasniqi, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) met on Wednesday at his party’s headquarters with the Head of the Liaison Office of Greece in Kosovo, Heleni Vakali. “We discussed the political developments in the country and mutual cooperation between our two countries. I expressed to the guest that Kosovo and our citizens need the European Union to remove the penal measures as soon as possible,” Krasniqi wrote in a Facebook post. In the end, the leader of the opposition emphasized that he thanked Vakali for the visit and the constructive discussion.

Citaku: Early elections are necessity; we don’t have spears for opposition (media)

General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, said the whole party supported their leader Memli Krasniqi’ recent meeting with Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti. She also denied rumors that there is a coalition agreement between the two parties.

Citaku said that prior to meeting Kurti, Krasniqi met the leaders of the other two opposition parties, LDK’s Lumir Abdixhiku and AAK’s Ramush Haradinaj. 

“If we all agree that Kosovo is not on the right path, that society in Kosovo is more polarized than ever, and that our relations with the allies are more threatened than ever before, then the answer to this according to the PDK are new elections. There is no conspiracy, background, or preliminary agreement. We are simply responding to the challenge,” Citaku said.

KFOR: Kosovo Police don’t need to notify us of all their movements (media)

NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, said in a statement to Dukagjini on Wednesday that Kosovo Police don’t have to notify them of all their movements but that there needs to be coordination and consultation for actions that may impact regional security. 

“NATO’s position is clear and consistent. Kosovo Police don’t have to notify the KFOR Commander of all its movements in Kosovo. But as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear during his visit to Kosovo last November: ‘stability in the region depends on all parties that choose diplomacy over violence and respect existing commitments. Any deployment of the Kosovo Security Force in the north of Kosovo requires KFOR’s consent; and we expect timely consultations for any action by the Kosovo Security Force or the Kosovo Police that could affect regional security’,” KFOR said.

“Gallup”: Kosovo, the most ardent “fan” of the USA in the world (media)

Kosovo, Poland, and Israel are ranked among the biggest fans of America, some data compiled by “Gallup” have shown. The data comes from a series of surveys conducted by the specialist polling company in more than 130 countries, comparing leadership approval ratings in the U.S., China, Germany, and Russia.

Gallup calculated Net Leadership Approval by using the difference between the percentage who approve and the percentage who disapprove of a country’s leadership to capture the general feeling a population has about a global leader’s job performance.

The highest net approval percentage of the United States was in Kosovo. Citizens of the Southeast European nation see the USA with +78, Newsweek reported.

Kosovo’s ambassador to the U.S., Ilir Dugolli, told Newsweek: “Throughout successive administrations, the United States has maintained unwavering support for us, recognizing our aspirations for development and integration into the Euro-Atlantic community as a free and independent country”.

“But, most importantly, beyond diplomatic ties, the relationship between Kosovo and the United States is just as deep. This relationship thrives on a shared belief in democratic values. The people of Kosovo look to the United States as a beacon of freedom and democracy, fostering a love for America and its people that transcends generations.”

Jeffrey Hovenier, the U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, told Newsweek: “The United States is proud to have supported the people of Kosovo in the advancement of their sovereign, multi-ethnic and democratic state.”

“What the Kosovar people have achieved in the 25 years after the brutal ethnic cleansing of the Milosevic regime and in the 16 years since full independence is nothing short of extraordinary,” he said.

Israel and Poland were the second and third biggest fans of the USA, with a score of +66 and +59 respectively.

Hoxhaj: Kurti government is anti-European, anti-Western (Express)

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the successive failures of the government show how badly Kosovo has sunk internationally under the leadership of Albin Kurti. Hoxhaj, who is vice president of the Kosovo Assembly, said that the latest news is that Spain, Norway and Ireland said they will recognize an independent Palestinian state. “After the failure of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe and the failure to receive a single recognition, this shows how badly Kosovo has sunk internationally under the leadership of Albin Kurti!”, he argued.

“The essence of the political problem that Kosovo has been taken hostage by Albin Kurti by deceiving the public rather than being concerned about the wrong geopolitical alignment, under the leadership of this anti-European and anti-Western government, which aims to destroy everything that was built in 1999 and 2008 in Kosovo!” Hoxhaj wrote further.

Cameron: Reconciliation and economic growth, advantage in Balkans (RFE)

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said during his visit to Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday that the UK will be more present in the region of the Western Balkans. “If the Western Balkans makes it, Europe will make it. If there are problems in the Western Balkans, then there are problems in Europe too, because it is in our shared interest to help the process of reconciliation, economic growth, and understanding, and for me this is important,” he said after meeting Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Cameron said “we have very interesting projects, such as the railway that you [Rama] explained, from Pristina to Durres which will be very important not only for Albania, but also for Kosovo and the whole region”.

Rama said that Cameron’s visit will serve not only to further bilateral relations between the two countries but also to an increased presence of the UK in the region.

Serbian Language Media 

Three Penalized for ‘Arrogant Behavior’ Outside Main Branch of Postal Savings Bank on Monday (KoSSev)

The Kosovo Police confirmed for KoSSev that three men have been penalized for “arrogant behavior” related to events outside the Postal Savings Bank in North Mitrovica this Monday.

The Kosovo Police closed all postal savings banks in the North on Monday, five in total, along with the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia, seizing over two million euros in various currencies, along with documentation. They also expelled employees.

The actions were carried out simultaneously, alongside the Kosovo Tax Administration, with a warrant from the prosecutor’s office.

Members of EULEX were also present at several locations where the action was carried out. Additionally, at least two KFOR vehicles were spotted, used by the so-called „LM“ team used for gathering information on the ground.

The police stated that the actions were carried out peacefully and without incidents.

However, when a lock was being placed on the door of the last bank that day, the main Postal Savings Bank located in the northern part of Mitrovica, the situation escalated at one point and was on the verge of an incident.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yckemb3m

SD: Kosovo police tried to hand out fines for a fictitious incident (KiM radio)

“Serbian Democracy (SD) strongly condemns the unprofessional and politically motivated behavior of the Kosovo Police, which today tried to hand out fines to a few citizens for a fictitious incident that never happened. Among these citizens is the Vice President of Serbian Democracy, Stefan Veljkovic,” stated the statement sent to the media yesterday.

As it is added, Serbian democracy considers this fines as intimidation, institutional pressure and legal violence by Pristina against Serbs and other citizens who on May 20, 2024, expressed their disagreement in a democratic way with the closing of the Postal Savings Bank’s branch in the North of Kosovo and the confiscation of social benefits, pensions and salary.

“Although the Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the North of Kosovo, Veton Elshani, clearly indicated in his statements to the media that ‘it was not an incident’, today an invitation arrived from the police to Vice President Veljkovic for questioning,” the statement emphasized.

Read Serbian Democracy full statement at:https://tinyurl.com/cdtyfnwa

Petkovic and Chulick: Pristina’s unilateral moves endanger the stability of the entire region (KiM radio)

During the conversation, Petkovic pointed out that this is again a “one-sided and very dangerous move by Pristina, which threatens to escalate the situation on the ground and endanger the stability of the entire region.”

“The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said that it is quite clear that Kurti’s goal is not only to leave Serbs without salaries and pensions and basic means of living and to prevent them from receiving treatment and education, but to finally expel Serbian institutions and the Serbian people from their centuries-old homes and thus realize their dream of an ethnically pure Kosovo,” it is added.

As stated, he recalled a series of “daily, unilateral moves by which the Pristina regime carries out ethnically motivated violence against Serbs in Kosovo”.

“Such as the physical attacks on Serbs, their churches and monasteries, then unilaterally and contrary to all agreements, the banning of the freedom of movement of Serbian officials, including the Serbian Patriarch, who cannot enter the province, the ban on Serbian goods entering Kosovo for 10 months , the illegal arrests of Serbs, with false accusations of war crimes, the farce surrounding the recent referendum to replace the fake Albanian mayors in the north of Kosovo, which clearly showed that Kurti decided to continue to exercise power in four Serbian municipalities with 3.5% voter support,” it was listed in the announcement.

Petkovic warned that, as he said, Albin Kurti’s regime persistently and systematically obstructs the dialogue, with the intention of ending it completely.

“The rejection by the Pristina delegation of all the proposals put forward by Belgrade during seven rounds of meetings in Brussels, in the spirit of the best intention to solve the issue of the use of dinars and payment transactions with central Serbia in a peaceful and sustainable way, leads in this direction,” he said.

He said that even the international community, with its appeals, is unable or perhaps unwilling to stop Albin Kurti in his, as he added, unilateral and violent actions, which make the life of Serbs in Kosovo more and more difficult day by day, and their security increasingly uncertain.

“At the end of the conversation, Petkovic stated that it is necessary to use concrete actions to put pressure on Pristina to stop the violence and terror against the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija, to essentially return to the dialogue and to finally implement what has been agreed so far in Brussels, above all to enable the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities with essential competences and instruments for effective protection of the position and interests of the Serbian people in the province,” concludes the statement of the Office for KiM. 

The current situation in Kosovo after the invasion of the Kosovo Police in the branches of the Postal Savings Bank and the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia in the north was the topic of discussion between the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs. USA, Nicole Chulick, it was announced to the media.

Vucic: Truth not one-sided, UN resolution to brand victims genocidal (Tanjug, media)

Addressing a panel that heard testimonies of Serb victims and witnesses of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday the truth was not one-sided and that passing a draft UN Srebrenica resolution would brand those victims as members of a genocidal nation.

Vucic called on all UN General Assembly members not to adopt the draft resolution.

“I am deeply touched by the testimonies of all the Serbs who came here to testify of what they went through 30 years ago,” Vucic said at the panel, hosted by the Serbian Permanent Mission to the UN at the UN headquarters in New York.

“Those people are not politicians but ordinary people, and they will all feel very bad if the resolution is passed, because they are victims,” Vucic said, noting that, if passed, the resolution would brand them as members of a genocidal nation.

“Serbia has never been silent, we have never been silent about the terrible events in Srebrenica – we have arrested, apprehended and extradited anyone who was individually responsible for the terrible crimes that took place in Srebrenica,” Vucic noted.

Djuric: Serbia appeals to UN member states to oppose Srebrenica resolution (Tanjug, media)

Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Wednesday Serbia appealed with the utmost urgency to all UN member states to strongly oppose the passage of a draft Srebrenica resolution.

“With utmost urgency, the Republic of Serbia appeals to all the Member States of the United Nations to strongly oppose the adoption of the Draft Resolution ‘International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,'” Djuric wrote in a post on the social media network X.

A UN General Assembly session on the draft resolution is scheduled for Thursday.