LOCAL PRESS

Vucic to invite Putin to visit Serbia (Tanjug/B92)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will on Wednesday evening deliver a letter for Vladimir Putin to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting Serbia. In the letter, the Serbian President invites his Russian counterpart to visit Serbia, Tanjug said it learned. Vucic also expresses his satisfaction with the celebration of 180 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Russia, noting that this milestone anniversary on 23 February will be jointly marked with a series of events in both countries. “During this long and often turbulent period, but also for centuries prior, the Serbian and Russian people sought to establish strong spiritual, cultural and economic ties, which is why we now proudly regard them as genuinely friendly,” reads the letter which Tanjug has seen.  The President also states that Serbia and Russia have always been on the same side – through different historical circumstances and challenges – fighting so that the basic values ​​and virtues that we jointly nurture could win over those policies that threatened the freedom and independence of many nations in Europe and around the world, bravely and selflessly suffering the greatest sacrifices. Serbia and Russia, Vucic continues, today enjoy a bright tradition of cooperation, understanding and mutual support. The foundations of these pillars are in the rich legacy of our ancestors, but also in the undeniable determination of present-day generations to continue the dedicated work on further development of relations in all spheres, in a way befitting the friendship and closeness of our peoples, Vucic points out in his letter. He also emphasizes that he is confident the overall relations between our countries and the strategic partnership will continue to strengthen and improve. Vucic further states that his recent visit to Moscow, as well as the highly substantial talks conducted in order to improve all forms of cooperation, especially on the economic plane, are a testament to this. In his letter, the president points out that it was precisely Putin’s initiative, dedication, wise policy and care about the well-being of the Serbian people that have made an immeasurable contribution to strengthening relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation. “Respected Vladimir Vladimirovich, since the constructive talks that I have with you give a specific imprint to the quality of our overall relations, I have the particular pleasure of inviting to an official visit to Serbia, where you are always a gladly received guest and friend,” Vucic said in the letter.

Dacic and Lavrov pen joint op-ed (B92/Tanjug)

Major tasks to further strengthen the inexhaustible potential of the Serbian-Russian partnership lie ahead of us today, say Ivica Dacic and Sergey Lavrov. “We want to continue work on strengthening this tradition in all possible ways for the benefit of present and future generations of our countries,” the Serbian and Russian foreign ministers said in a joint article published by Politika in Serbia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta in Russia. Dacic and Lavrov penned the joint op-ed to mark the 180th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Ministers state say that relations between Serbia and Russia have today been elevated to the level of strategic partnership, and that political dialogue was developing dynamically, under conditions of trust and understanding, regularly, and at the highest level.

The article recalls that in December of last year, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had a successful visit to Russia. It is noted that inter-parliamentary cooperation is continuing, which has been given serious impetus by the visit to Serbia of the Russian Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko in November, and by State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin in June of 2017. Substantial contacts are also strengthening among the two countries’ foreign policy departments. “We note with pleasure the positive dynamics of trade and economic and military and technical relations, the successful realization of joint projects in the field of energy, transport and culture. A firm contractual and legal foundation for Serbian-Russian relations has been elaborated, that is developing consistently,” Dacic and Lavrov said.

The Ministers pointed out that the two countries are pursuing an independent, pragmatic and balanced foreign policy, relying on their own national interests. “At the same time, we are determined to respect the basic principles of international relations contained in the UN Charter,” Dacic and Lavrov said, adding that the two countries consistently advocate overcoming the key challenges and threats in the modern world by firmly relying on international law. “Our cooperation is special in the mutual respect of the choices made by the other side, and in the taking into account of the other side’s interests. Belgrade and Moscow stand against the harmful practice of, ‘either with us or against us’, which has already led to the strengthening of mistrust and instability on the European continent,” the Ministers said.

They also present a cross-section of relations between the two countries since February 23, 1838, when Serbian Prince Milos Obrenovic received the first Russian consul, Gerasim Taschenko, which marked the beginning of formal diplomatic ties between the two nations. Referring to NATO’s bombing of Serbia in 1999, Dacic and Lavrov recalled that relations between Serbia and Russia at that time passed the test of firmness: “Thanks to our joint efforts the NATO aggression on the SRJ (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro) was halted, while the conflict around Kosovo and Metohija moved to a political framework, secured by the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The resolution guarantees Serbian sovereignty over the province. To this day, we are defending together Serbia’s legitimate rights related to Kosovo and Metohija, relying on international law.” The article also mentions the two world wars, that offered more examples of brotherhood in arms and sacrifices made at the altar of victory.

Strengthening strategic partnership with France (Beta)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic paid a working visit to the Republic of France on Tuesday where he met with Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of that country Jean-Yves Le Drian. After the meeting, Dacic said that he had a very good conversation with Drian, bearing in mind that Serbia and France have a strategic partnership agreement signed. We jointly pointed out that this year, which marks 100 years since the end of the First World War, is very important for recalling the old alliance between the two countries, Dacic said. He added that he is looking forward to the return visit of Drian on 12-13 April, which will be a prelude for the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Serbia, which should take place by the end of the year. Our interest is to strengthen our strategic partnership with France. France wants to be a leader when it comes to helping Serbia on its European path. Serbia is aware of all its obligations on this path, the need to continue reforms, to resolve all open issues in the Balkans in a peaceful manner and dialogue, first of all, I am referring to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, said Dacic. He expressed the belief that our country will have enough understanding from its old ally France for Serbia’s desire to come up with a solution that will respect the interests of all sides in Kosovo and Metohija and which will be the basis for a lasting peace and stability in the region.

Serbian, Albanian foreign affairs delegations meet in Belgrade (Beta) 

Serbian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Nemanja Stevanovic met with a delegation from the Albanian Foreign Ministry, and the participants of the meeting voiced their conviction that bilateral relations and cooperation between Serbia and Albania were on the upswing and would continue to grow. The participants of the meeting said they were sure that the two countries would have more intense cooperation in the area of EU integration, as membership in the EU was a key strategic goal shared by Serbia and Albania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The two officials said that there was “a substantial, untapped potential for enhancing cooperation in the economic sphere,” and that both countries were oriented towards intensifying cooperation at the regional level with an emphasis on projects being realized under the Berlin Process.

The Albanian delegation is visiting Belgrade for political consultations between the two ministries at the level of political directors, while it is headed by general director for political and strategic issues of the Albanian Foreign Ministry Ferit Hoxha, the statement said.

Dodik: My relations with Vucic are better than with any other Serbian President; I asked Vucic not to separate issue of Kosovo from issue of RS (Prva TV)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik spoke about current political developments. Asked to predict the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), Dodik said that it is impossible to predict because B&H was “put together haphazardly” and it is an “unsustainable state”. Dodik underlined that Serbs in this region cannot survive without the state, which is why they were building the RS as a state from the very beginning.  According to him, the RS possesses all elements of a state, such as territory, efficient institutions and people who want that state.

Asked how Serbia and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic would react if the RS decided to demand independence, Dodik said that Vucic is a serious statesman who always says that he respects the Dayton B&H consisting of two entities and three peoples, and that stance suits the RS very well. “B&H comprises two entities and three peoples. So, it is comprised of something. B&H is only a territory comprised of something, just like you cannot say that EU is a state, although it does many things that a state does. It is comprised of member states”, said Dodik. He underlined that the RS would be completely sustainable if it was an independent state. Asked if the RS would be able to defend itself if it decided to declare independence, Dodik said: “We could not defend ourselves from NATO, but we could defend ourselves from Muslims, and we would reach some kind of agreement with Croats”. Speaking about his relations with Serbia and Serbian officials, Dodik said that he will always establish good relations with anyone elected by Serbian citizens. However, he underlined, his relations with Vucic are better than his relations with any previous Serbian President. Asked if he feels that it is appropriate for Serbian and Croatian Presidents to discuss B&H-related issues, Dodik said that he is proud every time Serbian President is able to raise such issues which are important for the RS. Asked to comment the issue of status of Kosovo which is expected to be resolved in this year, Dodik said that he asked Serbian President Vucic not to separate the issue of Kosovo from the issue of the RS. According to Dodik, that Serbia has been underestimated and humiliated for a long time. He recalled a meeting on Kosovo held a few years ago in Budapest, where former UK Ambassador to B&H and Serbia Charles Crawford said that the international community is not fair because it is treating the almost same situation in Kosovo and B&H in different ways. Asked if exchange of territory whereby Serbia would get the RS instead of Kosovo is possible, Dodik replied: “This would depend on Serbia. The most important state issue of Serbia is Kosovo, but the most important national issue of Serbia is the RS because 1.2 million Serbs live there”. He praised Vucic for raising the issue of Kosovo again, arguing that politicians before Vucic almost accepted independence of Kosovo, and it is now clear that the issue of Kosovo can only be solved through compromise which cannot be reached without Serbia. Speaking about the announced declaration on protection of Serb language and culture which was supposed to be signed already, but its signing was postponed, Dodik said that the declaration is a wonderful idea and that it will be signed after the local election in Belgrade is over. According to Dodik, only opposition politicians such as Cedomir Jovanovic criticize the declaration. Dodik accused Serbian opposition parties of criticizing everything that Serbian President Vucic does for the sake of criticizing.

REGIONAL PRESS

Announced NATO military exercise with depleted uranium causes many reactions (ATV)

Web portal Dnevnik.ba recently reported that the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), in cooperation with the B&H Armed Forces (AF) and the US Embassy to B&H, is preparing a joint exercise with depleted uranium. Dnevnik.ba further said that the exercise will take place on Manjaca near Banja Luka and that the plan is for NATO soldiers located in the Kozara barracks to take part in the exercise, as well as a squadron of ten airplanes. According to Dnevnik.ba, representatives of the Alliance for Changes (SzP) took part in the preparatory meetings. The news about the military exercise on Manjaca caused a number of reactions, but it was soon denied by the B&H Ministry of Defense. Deputy Minister of Defense of B&H Boris Jerinic called the stories about depleted uranium lies. Jerinic stressed that no one would play around with anyone’s safety, let alone with the safety of the citizens. Ministry of MoD (MoD) according to which a preparatory meeting discussing this exercise was held, denied having attended such a meeting, and confirmed that it was held but at the level of B&H Armed Forces (AF). Jerinic asserted that depleted uranium cannot be used in the exercise. Defense Minister of B&H Marina Pendes refused to comment the issue for the daily. According to certain media, NATO exercise should be implemented in two phases. The first phase should involve theoretical training of B&H AF soldiers, while the second phase should involve shooting at a squadron of planes on the Manjaca training ground. Representatives of the B&H Ministry of Defense explained that it is necessary to obtain a number of approvals in order to hold such an exercise, noting that these approvals have not been obtained yet. They noted that the exercise will not involve live ammunition, let alone ammunition with depleted uranium. However, despite of that, the news about the exercise caused a number of reactions.

SNSD representative in the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Stasa Kosarac said that they are witnesses of consequences of NATO bombing in Republika Srpska (RS). Kosarac said that the RS has “its political stances” when it comes to the NATO bombing that happened in the past, as well as with regard to NATO integration.

SDA representative Sefik Dzaferovic said that he believes that one should not do anything that would jeopardize anyone in B&H, noting that he does not have concrete information about the announced exercise on Manjaca.

B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic, on the other hand, said that he has not been informed about the exercise. “This means that the B&H Ministry of Security will not be involved in this exercise,” Mektic underlined.

Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic sent a letter to RS President Milorad Dodik, stressing that the B&H Presidency never discussed the military exercise on Manjaca and that it cannot be held. Ivanic’s letter was a response to Dodik’s letter in which he warned Ivanic that holding of a military exercise on Manjaca training ground is unacceptable for the RS. Dodik sent a letter to Ivanic on Monday asking him to prevent holding of this exercise. In his letter, Dodik emphasized that he learned that carrying out a NATO exercise on Mount Manjaca in May 2019 was discussed at a meeting, attended by Ivanic’s associates and envoys. Dodik noted that such exercise is unacceptable to the RS, as he is shocked by information that the exercise could include ammunition using depleted uranium. Dodik stressed that depleted uranium has huge negative consequences for health of people.

Dodik: plans on preparation of exercise were demystified (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik stated that plans for NATO exercises were prepared without knowledge of RS institutions and they it is obvious that they were concealed in the beginning phase, but they were “demystified thanks to responsible people, who participated these talks on behalf of Serb component”. He stressed that it is unacceptable for this to “go on, outside the RS institutions” and stressed that the exercise is out of the question and let them try to carry it out and they will see that they cannot. “I do not believe that Mladen Ivanic did not know that. He is now acting as this is without his knowledge. In any case, it is good that he is trying to react in this way and the most important thing is to prevent it”, said Dodik. He told RTRS that according to available information the meeting took place in Sarajevo and there was discussion to hold these exercise in the RS territory, with airplanes taking off of Banja Luka Airport, which is unacceptable. “I trust that in this regard, I share opinion with 100% of RS citizens,” said Dodik.

B&H HoR postpones vote on amendments to Election Law of B&H (BHT1)

The House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H held a session in Sarajevo on Tuesday and discussed Amendments to the Election Law of B&H proposed by SDP. The vote was postponed for the next session of B&H HoR because there was no entity majority from Republika Srpska (RS). SDP’s proposal stipulates reducing the electoral lists’ internal threshold from 20 to 10 percent, i.e. return of the internal electoral threshold to 10 percent of votes a candidate should have to enter a legislative body – out of total number of votes gained by the party. The aim is to ease for political parties the process of forming of candidate lists.

SDP representative in B&H HoR Sasa Magazinovic stated that the system of closed lists where citizens’ votes do not mean much individually should be changed, explaining that the intention is for preferential votes of voters to decide on composition of the parliament – not only political parties. HDZ B&H representatives in B&H HoR assessed that the SDP’s proposal brings technical changes only – not substantial ones, stressing that they do not see why SDP proposed such amendments. B&H HoR Speaker Borjana Kristo (HDZ B&H) stated that HDZ B&H will not accept any proposals that do not ensure legitimate election of political representatives to legislative and executive bodies. “Any acceptable proposals that put constituent peoples in equal position – regardless of whether they refer to amendments to the Election Law of B&H or changes to the Constitution of B&H – will be acceptable for us,” Kristo said. SDA and SBB B&H representatives in B&H HoR said that they will vote in favor of the SDP’s proposal. However, B&H HoR Deputy Speaker Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) stressed that the agenda does not include urgent topics concerning the Election Law of B&H.

SBB B&H representative in B&H HoR Mirsad Djonlagic asserted that his party will support all the things that contribute to more quality solution to the Election Law of B&H. As for the proposal of amendments to the Election Law of B&H filed by the Independent Bloc, this legal solution stipulates abolition of census entirely.

Independent Bloc representative in B&H HoR Senad Sepic explained that the proposal aims at ensuring full respect for the voters’ will and their right to choose.

Covic and Izetbegovic receive delegation of Croatian parliament (Vecernji list)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic and member of the Presidency of B&H Bakir Izetbegovic received on Tuesday delegation of the Croatian Parliament’s Foreign Policy Commission. According to a statement issued by the Presidency of B&H, at the beginning of the meeting participants stressed importance of development of good neighborly relations between B&H and Croatia. They assessed that institutional cooperation and intensity of visits are at a high level, and that open bilateral issues should be resolved through dialogue, in spirit of friendship and neighborly relations. Chairman of the Foreign Policy Commission Miro Kovac stressed Croatia will continue to provide help and support to B&H on its road to Euro-Atlantic integration. Participants of the meeting underlined necessity to accelerate Euro-Atlantic integration of B&H in line with the new Strategy on the Western Balkans, stressing the need to implement necessary reforms that would lead to getting the status of an EU candidate. Covic and Izetbegovic expressed satisfaction with the fact B&H has a friend in the EU like Croatia, which genuinely advocates B&H’s progress. Marija Milic attended the meeting on behalf of Presidency member Mladen Ivanic.

OSCE: Changes to Law on Elections must be agreed in B&H (Dnevni list)

Secretary General of the OSCE Thomas Greminger, who is paying a visit to B&H, stated during Tuesday’s meeting with members of the Collegium of both the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) and the B&H House of Peoples (HoP) that changes and amendments to the Law on Elections of B&H must be a product of agreement and consensus reached among politicians in B&H. Greminger added that representatives of the international community (IC) can assist in the process of negotiations but will not impose solutions. According to the daily, it was said during the meeting that there is negative political climate and negative rhetoric a few months prior to the general elections, which halts the work of institutions and fails to contribute to faster implementation of reforms on the Euro-Atlantic road of B&H. Members of both Collegium appealed to senior officials of the OSCE to continue to be strongly involved in protection of human rights of citizens of B&H, foremost in the area of education and constitutional right to name of the mother tongue. Greminger stressed that the issue of education will be high on list of priorities of the OSCE Mission to B&H, which will continue working on prevention of segregation and discrimination in the education process.

Families of missing Croatian soldiers meet with Serbian President (Hina)

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday said at a meeting with a delegation of families of Croatian soldiers listed as missing from the 1991-1995 Homeland War in Belgrade that his office would review this issue on a weekly basis. “Serbia’s President told us that there isn’t any reason why he personally could not be involved in that issue and that he is absolutely not interested in protecting anyone who in 1991 was in the chain of responsibility or perhaps today has some influence,” the association’s president Ljiljana Alvir told reporters after meeting with Vucic. “Based on recent statements in Zagreb that he can help in resolving the issue of the war missing,” we called on Serbia’s president to urge the relevant Serbian institutions for information on the war missing. According to Alvir, Vucic announced that “as the commander of the armed forces, he would exercise full influence in the Army (of Serbia) to hand over everything it can,” from the archives that can contribute to the search for the missing.

Earlier, Vucic met with representatives of the Croat minority in Serbia led by the president of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, Tomislav Zigmanov and announced that the “better times are ahead for the Croat national minority in Serbia.” “Croats must not feel threatened in Serbia,” Vucic said at that meeting. The meetings were organized a week after Vucic visited Croatia at the invitation of Croatia’s President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Ahead of travelling to Belgrade, Croatia’s federation of associations of families of missing soldiers and prisoners of war said they would seek information from Serbian archives that might shed light on the fate of their loved ones. Croatia is still searching for 1,945 war missing from the Homeland War.

Serbian minority leader criticizes status of Serbs in Croatia (Hina)

Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac has said that the status of ethnic Serbs in Croatia has deteriorated over the recent years, and that the most drastic deterioration happened when Tomislav Karamarko was at the helm of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), transforming that mainstream party into a party promoting extreme right policy. Addressing a panel discussion which the local Serb association “Prosvjeta” organized in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on Monday, Pupovac commented on the status of the Serb minority in Croatia and underscored that for that community it was essential to preserve the acquired rights and not allow that those rights be scaled down. Pupovac said that “turbulence that affected Croatia from 2013 to 2017 is still present in a latent form.” He connected that “state of commotion” with the international tribunal’s (ICTY) decision to acquit two Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac in 2012, which according to him unleashed hate speech, intolerance and anti-Serb sentiment in Croatia.

Pupovac is confident that Serbs in Croatia will have the future they build for themselves. The struggle for that future is rather demanding, he said admitting the assimilation of Serbs in the urban communities was a problem. The Croatian government promotes the respect for and cooperation with ethnic minorities for the purpose of protecting their rights and the operational programs for minorities that were adopted in cooperation with their elected representatives do not foresee changing the legal status of the Serb or other minority communities, the government told Hina concerning the Serb National Council’s (SNV) declaration on the rights of Serbs in Croatia. “In accordance with its program, the government is committed to respecting and cooperating with ethnic minorities for the purpose of protecting their rights. The Operational Programs for National Minorities for the 2017-2020 period, that the government adopted in cooperation with the elected representatives of national minorities, do not foresee changing the legal status of bodies of the Serb/minority communities,” the government’s public relations office said in its response. Asked by reporters about his position on the SNV demand for more rights for the Serb minority and for a kind of autonomy, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Monday that decisions in that regard should be tackled through the defined procedure: discussed by the government first and then tabled to the legislature. “In the democratic Croatia, everyone can make demands and express their expectations,” he said and added: “I suppose that this will also be made possible for the Croats in Serbia.” “However, here decision making is defined by the Croatian Constitution and the Croatian laws,” Bozinovic said. He noted that this demand had not been presented during the negotiations about the program of cooperation with ethnic minorities’ representatives. The Serbian national minority has three MPs in the Croatian Parliament, and they are key members of the ruling coalition. Without them, the government would lose its majority.

Minister: Croatia is an example for national minority rights (Hina)

Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuscevic said on Tuesday that national minorities in Croatia have a great status and that Croatia can be an example to all countries in the region.

“I would be satisfied if the Croat minority in Serbia had those rights,” Kuscevic said in a comment on a declaration by the Serb National Council (SNV) on the rights of Serbs in Croatia.

“National minorities are a special value for any country, including Croatia, and for that reason in fact, they have a special place in the Constitution, the Constitutional Law on Ethnic Minorities’ Rights and by-laws. It is for that reason that the government adopted the 2017-2020 operational program for national minorities, which is being implemented and which guarantees all national minorities in Croatia the realization of their rights,” Kuscevic said. With regard to the SNV’s demands, he said that the possibility of autonomy or some kind of local self-government was not provided for either by the Erdut Peace Agreement or the Constitution. “I don’t think that is even a matter for discussion at all,” he said. “In fact, representatives of national minorities, including the Serb minority, are represented very well at the local and regional government level. They have several dozen deputy municipal heads, deputy mayors and deputy county prefects. They have a lot of municipal councilors and are represented in government bodies. Therefore, I think there is no legal basis for any of this,” he underscored. The minister also said that the voting rights of national minorities were not compromised. “They can vote in all local and regional government units where they live,” he stressed. “Whether electoral rolls need to be designed differently or the actual voting process should be organized differently, can be discussed. However, what is important is that they all can declare their ethnicity and exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote and have their representatives at the local, regional and national level,” Kuscevic said.

Corruption perception in Croatia among highest in EU (Hina)

As many as 94% of respondents in Croatia believe corruption is widespread in the country, 58% think it has increased in the past three years, but 80% claim they did not experience or witness a case of corruption over the past year, according to Eurobarometer findings presented on Tuesday.

Parliament cannot influence the work of DIK (CDM)

The Parliament of Montenegro has no mechanisms to influence the work of the State Election Commission (DIK), the Parliament told CDM. Namely, the Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT) called on the Parliament of Montenegro to urgently use its control mechanisms as the institution that elects the State Election Commission and to make binding recommendations aimed at unblocking of this institution. Parliament says that the manner of appointment, status and competence of the State Election Commission are determined by the Law on the Election of Councilors and MPs and the Rules of Procedure of the State Election Commission. “None of these documents stipulates the possibility of binding recommendations on any issue which the Parliament of Montenegro could refer to DIK. There are no other legal mechanisms through which the Parliament of Montenegro could influence its work,” the institution told CDM.

CDT said that, following the termination of DIK’s session due to the illness of its chairman, this institution ceased to operate at a time when it was supposed to make very important decisions regarding the objections to local elections in Berane and Ulcinj.

This is what the declaration signed by Vujanovic and Thaci says (Pobjeda)

The recent declaration that presidents of Montenegro and Kosovo Filip Vujanovic and Hashim Thaci signed implies no changes to the demarcation agreement signed in Vienna in 2015. It only enables minimum corrections to the borderline as it is laid down and only after the demarcation agreement is ratified in the Kosovo Parliament. This is said in the joint declaration of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic, which was signed on 16 February. The declaration has been adopted by Kosovo Government. Thus, speculations that Montenegro gave away 8,000km of its territory to Pristina were refuted. The agreement on the border between Montenegro and Kosovo stipulates the possibility to establish some technical corrections of the border line, but there are no major changes, said Montenegrin foreign minister Srdjan Darmanovic. Asked to comment on whether there would be border changes based on the agreement, Darmanovic said that the political statement of Thaci and Vujanovic was a confirmation of what was already stated in the Agreement’s Article 7. “Accordingly, there are no significant changes,” Darmanovic told reporters, and explained that Article 7 stipulates that, after both countries ratify the border agreement, the Commission must go on the field and execute delimitation.

Ivanov: Macedonia expects Turkish support and lobbying for NATO accession (MIA)

Unblocking of the integration processes is key for the long-term stability, security and progress of the entire region. We expect constructive support, assistance and open lobbying for Macedonia’s membership in the Alliance by our friends – NATO members, said President Gjorge Ivanov after Tuesday’s meeting in Ankara with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ivanov said the NATO membership invitation would represent an additional incentive for the national reform processes and a positive example in the region, the President’s Office said in a press release. The President thanked Turkey for its principled position in the name dispute.

“The sovereign self-determination right of a country, guaranteed by the UN Charter, should not be denied by any state in the 21st century. The name differences should be settled within the UN and the framework defined by the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions, the Interim Accord and the 2011 ruling of the International Court of Justice. Touching upon issues such as identity, language and Macedonia’s Constitution fails to contribute, but on the contrary, hinders the process of finding a solution. I am pleased that President Erdogan has voiced complete understanding for our positions on this topic and takes Macedonia’s side,” said Ivanov, who is paying an official visit to Turkey. President Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s support to Macedonia’s NATO integration and reaffirmed the principled position regarding the use of its constitutional name. “We were the first to recognize Macedonia’s constitutional name. Our current position is the same as then. We are not budging left or right. Turkey has never used a double-sided game in diplomacy. We will die with the decision rather than retract it,” added Erdogan. Interlocutors also agreed on the necessity to intensify cooperation in the fight against terrorism, exchanged opinions on domestic political developments, regional and international issues.

President Ivanov meets Turkish PM Yildirim, speaker Kahraman (MIA)

Macedonia’s President Gjorge Ivanov, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, held talks Tuesday with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Speaker Ismail Kahraman.

The officials expressed satisfaction with Macedonia-Turkey overall relations, based on traditional friendship and regular contacts at the highest level, the President’s Office said in a press release. They also shared information about the developments in the both countries and the region. Ivanov thanked Turkey on its support of Macedonia’s aspirations to join NATO, saying that it ‘will stimulate the reforms in the country and contribute substantially to its and the stability, security of the entire region’. He once again extended gratitude for Turley’s recognition of Macedonia under its constitutional name. The officials notified that the bilateral economic cooperation should follow the suit of the excellent political relations. They expect for the security services of both countries to also advance their cooperation in combating violent extremism and terrorism, the press release reads.

Bakoyannis: We want a package deal the whole international community will accept (MIA)

The whole international community, including the countries that have been using the name ‘Macedonia’ bilaterally, should accept the solution, said former Foreign Minister of Greece Dora Bakoyannis in a TV interview, MIA reports. “We want a solution the whole international community will accept. That’s the goal because currently they are being called ‘Macedonia’ by the international community. We want a solution that will change the decision on their bilateral recognition, and start using a name that will not be irredentist or impinge on our history, our identity, or our culture,” Bakoyannis told Greek Sky TV. She echoed New Democracy’s conviction that the name dispute should not be resolved in stages, but that the agreement should be a package deal.  “If there’s any fear at all,” Bakoyannis said, “it is about resolving the dispute in stages. For example, if we decided on a name but neglected to simultaneously address irredentism, implementation, the Constitution, etc. That would be a fatal error.”

Bakoyannis, a New Democracy MP, criticized the Greek government that it has not kept the opposition party up to date about the progress of the negotiations, which is why she declined to comment Zoran Zaev‘s latest statement that identity is not a topic addressed in the negotiations or any articles in the Greek press mentioning Upper Macedonia as a possible solution.

“It is humiliating,” Bakoyannis said, “for me and my party to find out details about the Skopje dispute negotiations from Zaev.”

Tsipras, Merkel discuss name issue in phone call (MIA)

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a phone conversation with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss several issues, including the name dispute, Tsipras’ office said Tuesday. “The two leaders discussed developments relating to the negotiations on the fYROM name issue, provocative Turkish activity in the Aegean, and Turkey’s relations with the European Union,” read a short press release of the PM’s office, MIA reports from Athens. Tsipras to Merkel pinpointed the need for a final solution to the dispute that would involve changing the constitutional name of the neighboring country. According to the same sources, the Greek PM and the German Chancellor have agreed to meet on Friday in Brussels at an informal summit of EU leaders. The Tsipras-Merkel phone conversation comes on the eve of the visit of Macedonian Premier Zoran Zaev to Berlin, where he is also scheduled to meet with Chancellor Merkel.

Rama clarifies idea of ‘joint [resident’ (Klan TV/Top Channel)

The suggestion of Prime Minister, Edi Rama for a joint President for Albania and Kosovo, which was made at the solemn session on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Kosovo’s Independence, was not a concrete proposal, but an imagination. This was declared by PM Rama in an interview for Klan TV, clarifying the aim of this declaration.  “Firstly, it was not a statement, but an imagination. That sentence came as a result of a series of previous sentenced, which among others said that Serbia and Kosovo will have successfully completed their difficult dialogue. It was an imagination related to a jubilee moment,” said Rama. He considered as exaggerated the reactions that his proposal caused in Tirana, in Pristina, in the region and in Brussels, while saying that it was removed from the context of his speech. “This national and international sport, where a sentence is often taken out of the context and then unfortunately harm is caused to what one thinks to be making right, and it is left only to daily consumption. Meanwhile, my speech in the Parliament of Kosovo was a well-thought and felt speech until the end,” said PM Rama. In his view, if the entire context is taken into consideration, it would be understood that there is nothing to be alarmed, to be surprised or to react. “This may never happen, but it might also happen. It is just a matter of imagination, which is based on the past and aims at embracing one of the possibilities in the future. Even the reaction of the European Commission may be considered politically correct, even though in my view, it is redundant and unnecessary,” stated the Albanian PM. Rama defined as natural the reaction coming from Serbia. The PM said this declaration was not related at all to the process of negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. “In the case of Serbia it is even clearer that these reactions will also be present because Serbia still lives with the idea that Kosovo does not belong to Albanians, Kosovo does not belong to Kosovo, but that it is a region of Serbia. And as long as they think that Kosovo is a region of Serbia, they may continue to talk,” declared Rama. In another interview for Top Channel, PM Rama clarified his declaration in Pristina about a joint President between Albania and Kosovo. “I didn’t make any declaration. A simple sentence was taken out of context and turned into a political program. I allowed myself to imagine how the 20th anniversary of Kosovo could be. It has turned into a national and international sport now to take one sentence from its context and make a story out of it. No one should be stopped from imagining. As for the legal way, on how that can be done, my imagination didn’t go that far,” Rama said for Top Channel.

Negotiations with Greece, Meta indicates ‘red line’ (ADN)

The President of the Republic, Ilir Meta defines the Constitutional Court verdict on maritime agreement with Greece on 2009 as an obligatory ‘red line’ that needs to be observed. In press conference on Tuesday focused on the request for plenipotence during negotiations with Greece the Head of State declared that his stance on this issue will be based on Constitution and the Constitutional Court verdict. “The Constitution and the Constitutional Court verdict on this issue must be seen as an obligatory ‘red line’ not only by the President of the Republic but from all the institutions involved in this process,” declared President Meta. He also declared that the response given to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati had been reluctantly made public aiming to clarify the public opinion on this highly sensitive issue, the most debated during this last decade. “I would like to underline my full support and commitment toward a definitive solution of this issue. Pairs commitment and full transparency are key elements in this process,” said the Head of State. Through a letter addressed to the Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati, President requires a clear definition of the negotiations subject, additional information on the negotiating team composition and the existence of a text that would lay the basis for these negotiations. “The President of the Republic, Meta is convinced that maritime space with Greece delimitation serves in every aspect to the country’s interest, both in terms of exercising national sovereignty and jurisdiction, as well as in terms of security, economic, political, social benefit, etc. In this context, the solution for the division, the use and rational, efficient and fair exploitation of maritime spaces and their resources with the Republic of Greece, should derive from a common denominator between two countries. I underline that it is obligatory for every solution to respect the Republic of Albania constitution’s principles, the obligations defined by the implementation of Constitutional Court verdict Nr. 15, date 15.04.2010, the internal legal framework, the international acts shared by Albania and on view of the consideration of state’s interest as priority,” wrote Meta.

President also underlines that a final decision on this issue will be taken only after the specification of the above mentioned problematic. Earlier the Head of State held a series of separate consultative meetings with his predecessors and also with former-Foreign Affairs Ministers on this sensitive issue.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

The difficulties of exchanging territory in the Balkans (The Economist, by T.J., 19 February 2018)

If Kosovo and Serbia swap parcels of land, the process won’t end there

TEN years ago Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Its Albanians, who make up the majority of the population, have been celebrating. But its Serbs, most of whom live in enclaves, have not. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo, which used to be its southern province, and Kosovo Serbs still consider themselves citizens of Serbia. The situation is typical of the Balkans, where borders are, frankly, a mess. So there are Serbs living in Kosovo and in Bosnia-Hercegovina, where they have their own republic (the Republika Srpska), Albanians and Bosniaks (Muslims) living in Serbia, and Greeks living in Albania. Recently the Serbian authorities proposed a discussion about an exchange of territory with their Kosovo Albanian counterparts. Is this a sensible idea?

In 1923 Greece and Turkey agreed to exchange some 2m people. Mostly Greek-speaking Christian Orthodox citizens of Turkey were sent to Greece, and Muslims from Greece were sent to Turkey. It was a brutal relocation, but, note its defenders, Greece and Turkey have not fought a war since. The only place where Greeks and Turks have fought is Cyprus, where their populations remained mixed. This has inspired nationalists in the western Balkans. Between 1918 and the late 1950s, many Muslims were encouraged to leave Yugoslavia for Turkey. But at the time of Yugoslavia’s collapse in the 1990s it still contained a thorough mix of peoples. Leaders in those Yugoslav wars saw ethnic cleansing as the best way to create new nation-states unpeopled by troublesome minorities. By 1995 historically Serb-populated regions of Croatia were empty and hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks had similarly been turfed out of their homes in Bosnia. But the countries that emerged from the implosion did not neatly encircle Serbs, Albanians, Croats and so on. Myriad Serbs may have fled Kosovo after its war, but some 120,000 remain. The Serbian authorities want to discuss taking Kosovo’s northern part, with Albanian-inhabited regions of Serbia moving to Kosovo in exchange. Proponents of such “map-tidying” say that multi-ethnic states have failed in the Balkans. But they ignore the fact that, once governments start down this path, the process has no obvious end and pays no heed to the human rights of everyone involved. If Kosovo and Serbia begin serious talks about a redrawing of their borders, the impact on Balkan communities apart from those in the affected parts of Kosovo and Serbia could be profound. Bosnian Serb leaders would hold a referendum on the future of the Republika Srpska; Bosnian Croats would follow suit; and Bosniaks would then fight to prevent the dismemberment of their shared country. Over the border Serbia would clamp down on Bosniak nationalists in Sandzak who dream of incorporating that region into a Greater Bosnia. Meanwhile Albanians in western Macedonia and Montenegro would demand to join a Greater Albania. Proponents of that idea would also like to incorporate parts of northern Greece, whereas Greek nationalists would demand part of southern Albania.

One irony behind the mooted exchange is that most Kosovo Serbs actually live in enclaves in the south of Kosovo. So the agreement would not leave them living in Serbia, and they would probably have to leave their homes or else be driven out. But Serbian officials may be less concerned about their countrymen than about taking steps towards recognising Kosovo—and thus making their own hoped-for accession to the European Union (EU) easier. It may not concern them that an exchange of territories in the western Balkans could have huge ramifications. Hungarian nationalists, after all, remain unreconciled to the loss of Transylvania to Romania, and Romanian nationalists would like to redraw their borders to take in Moldova. There is a reason that “Balkanisation” has a bad name. As in the EU at large, lessening the relevance of national borders would seem wiser than redrawing them and, in the words of one senior EU official, “opening the gates to hell”.