LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: Platform for Kosovo and Metohija is a serious text (RTS/Tanjug/Radio Serbia/B92)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that the platform of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic for Kosovo and Metohija was a comprehensive and serious text to be discussed by the state leadership and that it would be made public after it has been envisaged how realistic and feasible it is. We should acquaint eminent intellectuals, lawyers, etc. with the text, said Vucic. Asked if Serbia might have some problems with the EU due to the platform, Vucic replied he understood Nikolic and that the latter himself understood the difficult situation of Serbia. Vucic added that everything was subject to change except for better life prospects for citizens. “I believe that the EU does not want to and will not agree to the annulment of the dialogue although it does not say so in the text, or that it will reduce its position to the extent that we cannot continue the talks with Kosovo Albanians in a serious manner,” Vucic said.

Dacic: Events in Kumanovo might destabilize the region (Radio Serbia)

The OSCE Chairperson and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has stated that the recent events in Kumanovo have introduced the potential for the destabilization spreading to the neighboring countries of Macedonia, so all pertinent international factors, and the EU in particular, should seriously consider the possibility of a similar situation happening again in the upcoming period. It is necessary to resolutely discourage any exploits of this kind, Dacic stressed at the regional meeting of the head of OSCE missions in the South East Europe, held in Belgrade. He added that in its chairing Serbia was striving to emphasize the significance of the region for the European stability and security. The creation of a positive agenda aimed at strengthening the regional cooperation and improving the process of reconciliation is one of the key priorities if the Serbian presidency over the OSCE, Dacic said.

Where is Nikolic’s platform for Kosovo? (Politika)

Did President Nikolic send the long-awaited platform for Kosovo to Prime Minister Vucic before his departure for Cuba? Nobody from the government still has an answer to this question. According to media speculations, the platform has finally arrived in the Serbian government. Perhaps there will be more information on this topic already today when the President returns from Cuba. If it turns out that Nikolic sent his draft for the further resolution of the situation concerning Kosovo, one should expect the Prime Minister, i.e. the government, to have a stand on this topic soon. How do the caucus whips in the Serbian parliament react to Nikolic’s new platform? Noting that he hasn’t seen any platform in written form so he cannot comment it before he sees it, the caucus whip of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Zoran Babic says that he will carefully examine any document that the Serbian President proposes. “Once we have it in written form and officially proposed, we will request a deeper analysis, because Kosovo and Metohija is something that has been behind us for years and decades, but also in the time ahead of us, so it requires special attention. I believe all future solutions will head in the direction of a safer co-existence for all people living in Kosovo and Metohija,” says Babic. Djordje Milicevic, deputy caucus whip of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), also notes that it is very difficult to speak about such a serious and important document without previously seeing its content. “It would not be serious for a serious political party such as the SPS to do this. We are convinced that in regard to the Kosovo issue there will be complete unity, consent of the president of the state and prime minister and that Serbia will remain consistent in implementing the EU integration and the Brussels agreement. The agreement is the condition for that, if it weren’t for the Brussels agreement, Serbia would not have progressed on the EU integration path,” assesses Milicevic. Noting that nobody has seen this platform, including the government, the caucus whip of the Democratic Party (DS) Borko Stefanovic stresses that nobody from the opposition had been consulted, and what appeared in the media convinces them that this is another in a series of documents on Kosovo and Metohija “that are largely not realistic, non-implementable, strongly deviate from the time in which we live and from the events that had occurred over the past several years, especially in relation to the Brussels agreement”. He thinks that President Nikolic, with this platform, wanted to additionally separate himself from the government, to strengthen his political profile in relation to the Prime Minister and to present himself as some “turbo patriot”. “Every citizen of Serbia has the possibility, according to the Constitution, to submit proposals, initiatives, so that President Nikolic has no less right to do this,” says Janko Veselinovic, deputy caucus whip of the Social-Democrat Party (SDS). He thinks this is only faking of citizens since the message is that we have two policies. “One policy is a bit closer to us being harsher towards Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. for Kosovo and Metohija to be, something perhaps more corrected, an integral part of Serbia, according to the Constitution, this is Nikolic’s proposal.  On the other side, the government is doing everything for Kosovo and Metohija not to be part of Serbia and this is also demonstrated by the Brussels agreement and everything that followed it. The government has a clearly established policy, i.e. it has from the West what it needs to do and this should be served to citizens by hurting them as little as possible. I call this deceit, because they should openly say what they intend to do,” said Veselinovic.

Seselj warning – terrorists in Belgrade (Beta)

The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) is informing the public about the strictly hidden information on the “Eagle” operation that is being prepared by the Americans and that is extremely anti-Serbian.

“The US intelligence agency, together with MOSAD, is preparing the “Eagle” plan and it is implemented through Tirana. The main intelligence officer is Michael Brown who doesn’t speak Serbian and that is why he was assigned as support Naser Pacoli, Bexhet Pacoli’s cousin, the richest Albanian who lies in Lugano. The plan is to use Albania, as the century-long enemy of Orthodoxy in the Balkans, for provoking tensions in the first phase, and this phase has already started in the second half of 2014 and it implies inflammatory messages from Tirana concerning Kosovo, especially towards Serbia. Montenegro is spared, because it is already on the brink of NATO and the mafia-traitorous regime of Milo Djukanovic is doing everything necessary for private transactions of money and valuables from the ruling political structures from the West, and well as multi-national companies.  The main target is Serbia, as the central Balkan country and potential territory where Russia could position strategically in relation to Europe,” Seselj told today’s press conference. The SRS is informing the public that the creators of this operation have over the past month been pressuring the regime in Belgrade in dozes in order to accelerate the implementation of the Brussels agreement, at the same time distancing it from Russia and to harmonize the foreign policy with Brussels’ policy. The visit of Prime Minister Vucic to Tirana has not been planned in Belgrade, but in Brussels, where he will be told that Tirana cannot promise and guarantee that it can control the dissatisfaction of the Albanians in the Balkan region, especially in Kosovo.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H and Turkey: High level of economic cooperation, but could be better (Srna)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Turkey reached, but good and friendly relations, high level of economic cooperation, as the volume of trade amounted to $ 500 million, but mutual relations can be even better. This was estimated in Sarajevo during the meeting of members of the B&H Presidency and the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chairman of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic emphasized the importance of the decision of the Turkish Government to increase quotas on imports of meat from B&H to Turkey. According to him, the plan for this quota to reach the level of 10,000 tons per annum will be a great thing for food production in B&H, and some results are also expected in the field of exports of dairy products, especially if one takes into account the fact that Croatia had entered in the EU.

“Among us there is no disagreement, we share the same views, not only in the field of future economic cooperation in different economic sectors, investments and other, but also in cooperation aimed to fight terrorism,” said Ivanic. The Turkish President said that the present visit of the Turkish delegation to Sarajevo brings significant contribution to the sustainable development of relations between B&H and Turkey, especially in the field of economics.

Erdogan announced that after the meeting at the Presidency, and after the meeting of the Turkish delegation with the representatives of legislative and executive authorities and businessmen from both countries, the concrete actions will be taken in terms of strengthening cooperation in military and military industry, as well as wood processing, automotive, infrastructure, tourism and culture. “In the military field, we support B&H’s accession to NATO, on the political, we support the EU integration and in the economic field, we give strong support for faster economic growth of B&H,” said Erdogan. According to him, the foreign trade between B&H and Turkey has increased from three million dollars to 80 million, which has significantly reduced foreign trade deficit of both countries. Responding to a reporter’s question about the fact that Turkey is a transit area for B&H citizens who go to fight on Syria’s battlefields and in other Islamic countries, Erdogan said that the official Ankara in recent years returned 141 person suspicious in security sense back to B&H, while as many as 14,000 of such persons has a ban on entry to Turkey. At the same time, Ivanic answered that the security and police agencies of B&H and Turkey are cooperating in the fight against terrorism and the prevention of this global scourge. “The fight against terrorism is a common interest of both B&H and Turkey,” said Ivanic.

Croatian MEPs call for urgent solving of crisis in Macedonia (Hina)

Croatian MEPs Tonino Picula and Biljana Borzan in Strasbourg on Wednesday called for an urgent solution to the problems in Macedonia, underscoring that the issue of Macedonia’s drawing closer to the EU had been on ice for too long, their offices said in a statement. “Maintaining the status quo will only multiply problems the country is faced with and a true danger lies in the fact that these problems could become chronic or that they might spill over Macedonia’s borders, and this requires all parties involved to assume responsibility and find an urgent political solution,” Picula of the Social Democrats (SDP) said at a plenary session in Strasbourg, during a debate on Macedonia which is faced with a serious political crisis. “The EU can contribute to such a solution if all member states, Macedonia’s neighbors, finally give Macedonia a true opportunity to continue on the path that has been blocked for too long,” he added. ‘While a majority in the block sees Macedonia through the prism of a dispute with Greece regarding its name, the general situation deteriorates year after year,” he warned. Borzan said that for the past nine years, the European Parliament has been asking the European Commission to launch the accession negotiations with Macedonia and all nine times these efforts had been blocked by Greece. “This is an injustice towards Macedonia and Greece is now triumphing and saying that it was right the whole time. Judging by the current situation, there will be no tenth time, because nobody is mentioning the problem regarding Macedonia’s name anymore. The Austrian Ambassador in Macedonia said several days ago that some member states would withdraw their support to Macedonia’s EU candidacy until light is shed on the tapping scandal,” said Borzan (SDP), who is also a member of the European Parliament’s permanent delegation for relations with Macedonia. Picula too has warned about accusations regarding the illegal tapping of thousands of citizens, threats to journalists, accusations regarding manipulations with terrorism, widespread corruption and almost no difference in party and state activities. “The consequence is a deep division in society without a will for elementary political dialogue. This is a realistic picture of a country which launched its European integration process before Croatia,” Picula said. The tapping scandal and armed conflicts in Kumanovo have brought Macedonia to the boiling point. The Opposition is now requesting the resignation of the prime minister and new parliament elections, monitored by the international community. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is accusing the opposition of betraying the country and cooperating with intelligence services of Macedonia’s unnamed foreign enemy. He also rejected any possibility of resigning. Gruevski and the leader of the opposition’s Social Democrats, Zoran Zaev, met in Strasbourg earlier this week, under the auspices of the European Parliament.

USA: Western Balkans nursery of jihadists (Republika)

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security Sarah Sewall called on the Balkan countries to foster cooperation in terms of preventing recruitment of Islamist fighters and adopt national strategies to combat the issue. The U.S.-financed research showed that 700 people, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and Metohija, joined the rebels in Syria and Iraq, Sewall said at a two-day conference of experts on the security of the Western Balkans and several EU members in Tirana. The Western Balkans has become a source of foreign terrorist fighters in Iraq and Syria, partly because the wars in former Yugoslavia, she said, Republika reported. Violent extremism is spreading geographically and no region, country of community is immune to this danger, Sewall said, urging the regional countries to promote cooperation in preventing recruitment of Islamist fighters and adopt national strategies to combat the issue.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Macedonia talks yield no breakthroughs (AFP, 21 May 2015)

Skopje: Talks between Macedonia’s embattled premier and the opposition failed to yield any breakthroughs on Wednesday toward ending the political crisis that has paralysed the small Balkan country. The opposition accuses conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of corruption, wiretapping and other wrongdoings and has vowed to protest until he quits. Gruevski and the centre-left opposition leader Zoran Zaev met until early on Wednesday in Strasbourg behind closed doors as their supporters led rival protests for the fourth straight day in Macedonia’s capital Skopje. A statement from the European Parliament, which brokered the talks, said both sides have confirmed a commitment to the EU integration process and “agreed to put the interest of the country first.” The mediators “welcomed the efforts of the party leaders to work towards an agreement in the interest of all citizens of the country.” Talks are to continue on May 26 in Skopje, officials said. Macedonia obtained EU candidate status in 2005, but is yet to begin accession talks due to opposition from Greece. Athens denies its neighbour the right to use the name Macedonia, arguing it implies a claim on the northern Greek region of the same name. As the talks were underway some 150 opposition supporters calling for Gruevski to resign were still camped in front of the prime minister’s offices in Skopje. “I’m not tired, we will continue our action till the end,” said activist Ivana Lesoska. The opposition, which gathered more than 20,000 people at a protest rally on Sunday, accuses Gruevski of corruption, wiretapping and other wrongdoings, and has vowed to remain on the streets until he quits. The protestors, whose numbers grow to around 1,000 every evening, said their aim was to maintain pressure on the government to go. At the same time just two kilometres away, about 50 Gruevski supporters have also set up a rival camp after a pro-government rally on Monday attracted at least 30,000 people. “They (the opposition) are misleading the whole country, stealing democracy simply because they lost the elections” in April 2014, Trajanka Arsenova, who travelled from the eastern town of Stip, told the reporter. The former Yugoslav republic of 2.1 million people, of which around a quarter are ethnic Albanians, has been dogged by political crisis since last year’s election were disputed by the opposition. The country was further shaken by a bloody clash between police and ethnic Albanian gunmen, many from neighbouring Kosovo, that left 18 people dead earlier this month. It was the worst unrest in Macedonia since its 2001 conflict between the government and ethnic Albanian rebels. It raised concerns in Europe mindful of the past insurgency and a series wars that accompanied the former Yugoslavia’s collapse in the 1990s.

Macedonia’s Gruevski, Zaev Fail to Reach Agreement in EU-Brokered Talks (Novinite, 20 May 2015)

Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski and opposition leader Zoran Zaev made on Tuesday and Wednesday another attempt at solving the political crisis into which the country plunged earlier this year. This time, talks were held in Strasbourg, with the EU’s regional policy commissioner Johannes Hahn and MEPs Richard Howitt, Ivo Vaigl and Eduard Kukan acting as brokers.

The attempt ended in the small hours of Wednesday a message of any substantial results – and as Howitt’s post on Twitter reads, the discussions which kicked off on Tuesday evening came to a halt just before half past three the next day. Howitt later produced a vague-worded statement reading that “the parties confirm commitment to EU integration process and democratic principles and agreed to put the interest of the country first.” Brokers for their part “welcomed the frank discussions on key issues of contention. All parties agreed on the importance of continued meetings.” Prior to that, the two Macedonian politicians met with representatives of their respective political families, MEP Manfred Weber (EPP) and Gianni Pittella (S&D). After two days of renewed street protests and a pro-government rally held Monday evening, political leaders remained at loggerheads over Zaev’s demand for the resignation of Gruevski which will give way to a transitional government. Various attempts were made at winding down tensions in leaders’ meetings held in Skopje, but all failed, and the next one is scheduled for May 26. No statements by the conservative PM or the socialist opposition leader are expected after the meetings. Meanwhile, diplomats involved in reconciliation efforts commented on the likelihood of a possible breakthrough. Hewitt is quoted by Macedonian daily Utrinski vesnik as saying all ideas put forward during the talks were being considered, not ruling out the formation of a transitional government. But in an interview for the national Alsat-M TV station he refused to comment further on the talks, warning this could affect the parties’ decisionmaking. Aivo Orav, the EU’s Ambassador to Skopje, warned the country might be deprived of its recommendation to launch EU membership negotiations if no solution is found “by August 31”.

Macedonian crisis talks “not really started,” opposition leader says (dpa, by Boris Babic, 21 May 2015)

Belgrade – Negotiations to end the political crisis in Macedonia “have not even really started,” opposition leader Zoran Zaev was quoted as saying on Thursday. Social Democrat Zaev and conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski held marathon talks, with EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and three European parliamentarians as mediators, overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. “After the discussion, there is nothing else to say but that we concluded that we must talk,” Skopje TV A1 quoted Zaev as saying. He added that he and Gruevski are due to meet again in the Macedonian parliament on May 26. Zaev’s SDSM party wants Gruevski to resign and allow a technical government to prepare new elections. Zaev has accused Gruevski of massive abuses of authority to cement his grip on power. The SDSM has boycotted the parliament since the 2014 elections, alleging that they were rigged. The crisis allowed ethnic tensions, which brought Macedonia to the verge of an all-out rebellion of the ethnic Albanian minority in 2001, to resurface and cause fears of an escalation that could again destabilize the Balkans.

Bulgaria rejects Russian claim that it wants to dismember Macedonia (EurActiv, 21 May 2015)

Bulgaria called the claim by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Bulgaria and Albania were trying to split Macedonia “highly irresponsible”, as part of a scenario that would prevent the small landlocked country from taking part in the Gazprom-favoured Turkish Stream project.

On Wednesday (20 May), Lavrov blamed the political crisis in Macedonia on ‘outside’ forces trying to exert influence on Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski over his refusal to back Western sanctions against Moscow. “The events in Macedonia are fairly brutally managed from outside,” Lavrov said in the Council of the Federation, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, according to TASS. “Attempts have been made to accuse Gruevski’s government of failing to deliver on its pledges to the population. However, behind this lies a desire to exert influence on him in connection with his refusal to back sanctions against Russia, support for the South Stream [gas pipeline project] and willingness to cooperate in other options for gas supply, including the so-called Turkish Stream”, Lavrov said. “Now, there is talk that Macedonia needs to be federalized even deeper, and ideas have even been floated as to why not dismember it and give part of it to Albania and another part to Bulgaria,” Lavrov said. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov responded the same day, calling Lavrov’s statements “highly irresponsible”. “Attempts to call into question European policy in the region and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia are unacceptable,” Mitov said. “The stability of all countries of South Eastern Europe is of paramount importance to us and attempts by countries outside the region to undermine it through such suggestions should stop,” he added. Bulgaria would continue to be the guarantor of the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia, and there should be no doubt about this, Mitov remarked.

Albania says could block Macedonia’s NATO bid (AP, 20 May 2015)

TIRANA, Albania — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama warned on Wednesday that his country could block Macedonia’s bid to join NATO unless it improves its record on respecting the rights of the country’s ethnic Albanian minority. The tiny republic’s accession has already been blocked by neighbor Greece because of a dispute over the republic’s name. Rama gave the warning while speaking an anti-terrorism conference in the capital, Tirana. Relations between to the two Balkan neighbors have further soured following a shootout in northern Macedonia this month between police and suspected ethnic Albanian militants that left eight officers and 10 others dead. Rama accused Macedonia’s government of using the attack to try to tarnish the entire Albanian minority. “Unfortunately the word `terrorism’ and the word `Albanian’ have been combined in a reckless attempt to give terrorism an ethnic label,” he said. Macedonia, in one of its deepest political crises since gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, has a sizeable ethnic Albanian minority which has been decisive in forming governing coalitions. Albania became a NATO member in 2009.