LOCAL PRESS

Remembrance Day for killed, exiled Serbs in Operation Storm (Beta/RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reiterated that there would not be another Storm for Serbs, and that Serbia would always support its people, and never allow anyone to persecute and humiliate them. At a ceremony in Backa Palanka, commemorating the victims of Croatia’s Storm war operation and marking Remembrance Day for killed and exiled Serbs, President Vucic said that Serbia was changing, that it refused to stay silent, but was saying openly that crimes against Serbs did happen, and that attempts to annihilate the Serbs had been made as well.

“We did not dare say a crime, exile, annihilation or arson, but today we can. On behalf of the Serbian people, Serbia is speaking up today, without a shred of hatred or calls for vengeance, wishing nothing more than the truth and elementary justice. I want to tell you again, and you will know if I am serious enough, that there will not be another Storm for the Serbs only because they are Serbs,” Vucic said. He said that this was the message not only for the Serbs, but for everyone else as well, that Serbia was no longer a refuge for Serbs, but a country supporting its people, not letting anyone to persecute, kill and humiliate them. At the event Vucic said that “Hitler wanted a world without Jews, and Croatia wanted a Croatia without Serbs.” He said that there is symbolism in the fact that it was precisely on 4 August, the same date when Operation Storm was launched in 1995, that in 1994 Nazis raided the hiding place of Jewish girl Ana Frank, who later perished in a camp. “It is no coincidence,” Vucic concluded. The Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations report that more than 200,000 Serbs of Krajina were exiled during the Storm, while over 2,000 people were either killed or went missing.

President addresses Serbs in Kosovo in open letter (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday sent an open letter to the citizens in Kosovo and Metohija. In it, Vucic calls on Serbs in the province not to react to any possible provocations and targeted misinformation, and points out that Serbia is ready today to fulfill its obligations toward them and protect their lives and peace, if necessary. “Tomorrow, August 4, is the deadline given by the European Union to the provisional self-government institutions in Pristina to complete the adoption of the Statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), based on the Brussels Agreement. One day before the expiration of the latest deadline for Pristina’s obligations to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, and 1,930 days after Pristina with its signature took over that obligation, all the warnings and suspicions that I have been expressing the whole time are being confirmed and are coming true. Pristina will not lift a finger this time either to form the ZSO. Dear Serbs, please do not undertake anything in this regard that individuals among the Albanians, or in a part of the international community, will use as an excuse to take any action against you. And that is why, these days in our southern province, but also in the smaller part of the international community, the word is heard loudly and clearly and action is seen by those who, instead of fulfilling their obligations towards Serbia and the Serbs, use this time in order to make daily threats and spread rumors in an organized manner, in order to bring unrest and fear among the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija, wishing to create panic, with the aim of provoking mistrust in Serbia’s state institutions, creating a rift among the political representatives of Serbs in Kosovo, and an overall weakening of our position during a sensitive phase of negotiations…Serbia is ready today to fulfill its commitment to you and to protect your lives and peace, if necessary. While I am at its helm, Serbia will not allow organized violence against the Serbs and their holy places, nor their persecution. There will be no new ‘Storms’ in Kosovo and Metohija. Peace for Serbia and the Serb people is the highest value, which besides everything else we are trying to protect, also through the difficult conversations we are having with political representatives of the Albanians and of the international community. In addition to us, who are sincerely committed to this, the preservation of peace in our southern province is also the primary task of the KFOR mission and NATO, from whom I especially expect and demand that peace be protected by preventing any possible attempt, anyone’s and under any pretext, to take over and seize the Gazivode Hydroelectric Power Plant, the Valac power station, or any other key object of infrastructure that your survival depends on. For your sake and for the future of all of Serbia, we will continue to exclusively peacefully stand for a compromise and a comprehensive solution of relations in Kosovo and Metohija, and we will not stop until we provide for our people in every way more than we have today,” Vucic wrote in the letter.

Dacic: There is no better time for resolving the Kosovo issue (TV Pink/Tanjug)

The present situation is such that we have a good opportunity to resolve the issue of Kosovo and Metohija with a compromise, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told TV Pink. He says that the positions of Russia have changed, which has become a great power and has much closer ties with Serbia than 20 years ago, and the US and its foreign policy has also changed. According to him, the possibility for dialogue has opened, Serbia has realized closer ties with Germany, France, as well as with Turkey, while China has become a strategic partner. “In this phase we have a situation when the EU also realizes that the Albanians are the main problem for reaching a compromise. The Albanians want us to recognize Kosovo, plus if they could take Medvedja, Presevo…that would be ideal for them. In this situation the possibility for reaching a compromise solution is being opened. If we are already having dialogue, you need to have some proposal in the dialogue,” says Dacic. He says the arrival of Wess Mitchell was the key event that has changed Serbia’s relationship with the US administration. He says Mitchell was the first representative of the US administration that got interested in the problems in the Balkans and who had the will to listen to us and to have understanding for our stands. “In that sense it is important that all US administration representatives have this kind of approach that the Kosovo problem is not resolved, i.e. that there needs to be an attempt at reaching in the dialogue a compromise that would be in the interest of all sides and trying to close this story,” says Dacic.

Asked to comment the fact that the church refuses to accept as one of the solutions a possible division of Kosovo, Dacic says he doesn’t see a better solution than that, adding he is perhaps the only one in Serbia who has offered any kind of solution. Noting that perhaps time is a relative category for the church, Dacic says it is a realistic category for the people in Kosovo and Metohija and this why a solution needs to be reached. “If the Albanians accept to be an autonomy in Serbia, I absolutely agree with this,” said Dacic, wondering that the church representatives propose. “Who wants and likes division? If something else is possible, I certainly wouldn’t propose something like that,” said Dacic. “We have never agreed with anything that would imply recognition of Kosovo, nor will we agree. The seat in the UN is out of the question. We can talk only if there is will for a compromise, and this means that each side loses and gets something. We have a long-term problem of a military attack threat on northern Kosovo and what will then Serbia do,” said Dacic.

Drecun: To use change of US stand towards Kosovo (RTS)

The Chairperson of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun has told RTS on Sunday that Washington, over Serbia’s firm stand on Kosovo and Metohija, has changed its stand and now they are saying that an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina needs to be reached. The events over the past days was meant to weaken Serbia’s position, he says. He says that the arrival of KFOR’s vehicles at the entrance of the Gazivode hydroelectric power plant was a forced march without special elaboration. “KFOR needs to explain whether they prevented the Albanians from taking the dam or whether KFOR is preparing to conduct some similar operation. We need to know this because we are entering a critical phase of the resolution of the Kosovo problem,” said Drecun. According to him, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci immediately after used the situation and KFOR’s appearance to introduce the story on the energy agreement in the game. “They have open aspirations to take over the management of the hydroelectric power plant, but they are forgetting that Serbia continues to pay to this day the loan for the construction of the plant. You can’t dispose with Serbia’s property just like that,” says Drecun. “There was always a conducted fearful campaign that Belgrade was preparing to stage violence against the Serbs. There are individuals in northern Kosovo who are placing lies together with the opposition in Serbia. This lie has passed, Serbia reacted very calmly. Serbia had sent strong messages,” says Drecun. He says that we should accept the US hand or otherwise we will make an historic mistake. He says there has been a change in Washington’s stand towards Kosovo because they were speaking until yesterday that the status cannot be discussed. “Now they are saying that an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina needs to be reached. Why are they saying this? Because they are faced with our form stand. That is why the Albanians are now afraid and are trying to raise their own stakes with the intention of showing that they need to give the Albanians much more than what Serbia should get,” he says. He says the Albanians want to use the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) as means for trade. He thinks that Brussels needs to do everything to make the situation predictable. He says that the Serbs, as a nation, need to direct their attention towards the US in acting internationally. “They have crucial influence on events in this region. I think we are on a good path to improve our positions, to protect RS from unitarization. The problem cannot be resolve if you are in constant conflict with the strongest,” concluded Drecun.

DSS breaks off coalitions with SNS (RTS/Tanjug)

The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) has decided at the Presidency session to break off coalitions at the local level with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), because, as the DSS leader Milos Jovanovic said, they do not want to give legitimacy to the Kosovo policy. Jovanovic told a press conference at DSS headquarters that this party had made differences between the local and republican authorities, but the present circumstances, as he put it, are not normal. He says that, although local politics have nothing to do with national politics, it has everything to do with national betrayal. “It is at work. For SNS, the resolution of the Kosovo issue is an issue of months and nothing longer than that, things have accelerated and we do not want to be part of that. We do not want to give one bit of legitimacy to this policy,” said Jovanovic. Asked whether the authorities will be disbanded in some local self-government over their departing of coalitions, Jovanovic said he didn’t think about this, nor does he know precisely, but that at issue was a responsible decision, and that this was a question for the SNS.

REGIONAL PRESS

Covic: We need Croatia to strongly stand by Croats of B&H (TV1)

Croat member of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic laid on Sunday flowers at the Croatian victory Oluja 1995 memorial in Knin. Covic stressed that it would be difficult to attend the marking of 23rd anniversary of military-police operation Oluja if there had not been unity of Croat people in Croatia and B&H, adding that this unity was best reflected in the (Croatian) Homeland War. “23 years have passed. We have a lot to look forward to and we have a lot to change, but what we need today is for Croatia to strongly stand by Croats of B&H so that we could make sure B&H is a modern, European state, a member of the EU and NATO in which Croats will be, until the very end, constitutionally equal people which will be represented by legitimate representatives,” Covic underlined.

Dodik convinced that Serb people will find strength to unite into single state during this century (RTRS/TV1)

The day of remembrance for Serbs killed and expelled from Croatia within the military and police operation Oluja was marked at the central manifestation held in Backa Palanka on Saturday. RTRS reported that once more, the RS and Serbia jointly remembered Serbs who were killed or expelled from Croatia, 23 years ago. RS President Milorad Dodik also addressed attendees of the central ceremony in Backa Palanka and stated that no one responded for the criminal enterprise carried out with the aim to destroy Serbs. Dodik added that the operation ‘Oluja’ was an action of ethnic cleansing of Serbs with the approval of the West and the NATO. Dodik expressed gratitude to Vucic for launching of a joint marking of the day of remembrance, adding that a national and a state policy that will integrate Serbs, must be drafted. According to RTRS, Dodik is convinced that Serb people will find strength to unite into a single state during this century. Dodik underlined: “We love the Republic of Serbia. We observe Serbia as our country. We are the ones who observe the RS and Serbia as an integrated area in terms of state and politics. I believe that we have the right to do this. We have the right to stand out and we have the right to believe in this”. RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that the central manifestation in Backa Palanka sent the message of unity between the RS and Serbia. Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej said that 4 August 1995 was one of the most horrible dates in the history of Serb people in this area. TV1 reported that Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic also attended the event in Backa Palanka. Dodik stressed that ethnic cleansing that the entire Western world was against was precisely enabled with the assistance of the Western world and great and powerful machinery of NATO which, according to him, equipped the Croatian army and gave it green light, “thus enabling the most terrible ethnic cleansing to happen.”

Ceremony honoring Serb victims of Oluja held in Banja Luka (N1)

Banja Luka paid tribute to Serb victims of the Croatian military and police operation Oluja on Sunday. On this occasion, Serbs prayed in a local church and attended an academy in the RS National Theatre. According to data of the documentation information center ‘VERITAS’, 1,861 Serbs were killed or went missing during the operation and bodies of over 700 victims are yet to be found. President of the ‘VERITAS’ Savo Strbac said that destiny of 777 persons is yet to be established. Former RS President Dragan Cavic stated that messages sent from the central manifestation in Backa Palanka on Saturday evening are a logical response to a long-year celebration of the ethnic cleansing in Croatia. Cavic concluded that judiciary totally failed to do its job in case of prosecution for Oluja, adding that acquittals to former Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac represent a black mark in a career of the ICTY. Cavic underlined: “The move of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic to award two days ago the two The Hague convicts – who were unfairly released – for ethnic cleansing that they finalized on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, shows what kind of future is waiting for us”. N1 reported that while discussions on whether Oluja was ethnic cleansing or an operation of liberation of the country last, facts speak for themselves: Serbs are the largest national minority in Croatia. Namely, 2011 census shows that slightly over 186,000 of them still live in Croatia, compared with 1991 census and over 500,000 Serbs – 67 percent less – who used to live in this country.

Izetbegovic: Issue of Kosovo and status of RS are being linked in vain (N1)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic reacted on Saturday to RS President Milorad Dodik’s statement according to which if Kosovo becomes a member of the United Nations and other international institutions, the RS will ask for the same. Addressing the event dubbed Odbrana B&H-Igman 2018, Izetbegovic said that the issue of Kosovo and the status of the RS are being linked in vain. Izetbegovic also said that year 1992 will never happen again, adding that we will never again be caught, weak, unarmed and unorganized. „From this place, I am sending a message to those who love this country, but also to those who do not love it, to stop spitting in the wind. B&H has been alive for one thousand years and it will live another thousand more, and it will outlive all politicians who do not love it… You hope in vain that definitive solution of Kosovo can be linked to the status of the RS. There are no legal, historic, moral preconditions for that because the same evil made the misfortune both in Kosovo and in B&H,“ Izetbegovic underlined.

Ivanic: I do not support Dodik’s thesis about connecting statuses of Kosovo and RS (BNTV)

Guest was Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic. Asked if the migrant crisis in B&H poses a big problem, Ivanic said that there are many migrants in B&H, but the influx has been reduced. “I still believe that B&H is not able to deal with this issue, both in political and financial sense. The only real way to deal with this is tighter border control. I believe that we must use all the resources we have for better control of our border, because the migrants that come to Serbia and Montenegro wish to continue their journey. If they see our borders are porous, they will go through here. But if they see that we have strengthened our borders and that they cannot easily cross to our territory, then they will choose different routes,” said Ivanic. For several weeks now, RS President Milorad Dodik has been talking about connecting the RS’ status with the status of Kosovo. Ivanic said that such thesis sounds nice at first, but when one analyses it thoroughly, all possible consequences of such actions can be seen. “I believe that both Kosovo and Metohija and the RS are part of ‘Serb space’, and we should not give up on either one of those territories. When you say ‘if these people get independence, we will seek independence as well’, then you are giving up on one territory. I do not support that. In this phase, in which nothing has been resolved yet, things must be conducted in a way where Serb people see both Kosovo and Metohija and the RS as part of a space where Serbs live, that is a Serb ethnic space, and we have all the rights to lay claim to both territories. This thesis could become reality only if things in Kosovo and Metohija go in a bad direction. In that case, that thesis would be possible. For now, I believe that such rhetoric is premature. This should be discussed only in case of a negative scenario in Kosovo and Metohija,” explained Ivanic.

Ivanic says it is necessary to improve security at B&H borders to prevent further arrival of migrants (TV1)

Members of B&H Presidency met with B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic, B&H Minister of Human Rights and Refugees Semiha Borovac and directors of security agencies in B&H in Sarajevo on Friday. B&H Presidency member Mladen Ivanic told reporters after the meeting that in order to resolve the migrant crisis in B&H it is necessary to improve security at B&H borders to prevent further arrival of migrants. He stressed that migrants who have so far entered B&H in line with readmission agreements should be returned to where they came from. Ivanic added that this meeting should have been held much earlier.

Generals Gotovina and Markac receive state decorations (Hina)

Croatian President and Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic at a ceremony held at the Knin fortress on Saturday evening bestowed high state decorations on retired generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac. Generals Gotovina and Markac are decorated for their exceptional contribution to Croatia’s independence and integrity, the creation of a war strategy and a military doctrine during the Homeland War and their successful efforts in building and commanding the Croatian Armed Forces, the president said at the ceremony held on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Veterans and the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm. They are decorated also for the sacrifice they made by defending and fighting for the truth about the Homeland War before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the president said.

Operation Storm is not only a military successful operation but also an honorably achieved victory and irrefutable evidence of a just character of the operation and the entire Homeland War, Grabar Kitarovic said, adding that Operation Storm was also evidence of the character of the Croatian people who did not want war or victims, but they wanted peace and cooperation between countries and nations. Today we continue calling on all countries which took part in the 1990s war to embrace the prospects of unity offered by the EU, Grabar Kitarovic said adding that Croatia would continue to build and promote all components of the homeland security, notably the Croatian Army. The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic who thanked the two generals for their contribution during the Homeland War. He reiterated that Operation Storm was not only a liberating and just operation but also a legitimate operation without a single stain. Accepting the decorations, Generals Gotovina and Markac said they were honored to receive this high state recognition, remembering with sadness and pride all their fellow soldiers who were no longer with us. The ceremony was attended by numerous ministers, MPs, members of the Armed Forces and representatives of veteran associations.

Operation Storm was a joint military and police operation that ended a Serb armed rebellion in August 1995 and restored Croatian sovereignty over occupied central and southern parts of the country, enabling peaceful reintegration of eastern Croatia in January 1998. Operation Storm was launched at 5am on August 4, 1995, and within the next 84 hours 10,400 square kilometers or 18.4 percent of Croatia’s territory was liberated. A 20-metre-long Croatian flag was displayed on the fortress in Knin, the heart of the Serb rebellion, at noon on August 5. About 200,000 soldiers and police took part in the biggest operation of the Homeland War, of whom 174 were killed and over 1,400 wounded. Operation Storm marked the end of the war in Croatia, created conditions for the peaceful reintegration of the eastern Danube River region, spared the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac from the fate of Srebrenica, and enabled the return of refugees and displaced persons. The legitimacy of Operation Storm has been proved before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. On November 16, 2012, the Appeals Chamber reversed the Trial Chamber’s convictions of General Gotovina, commander of the Split Military District, and General Markač, special police commander, and ordered their immediate release. The generals were in the ICTY’s custody on charges of involvement in a joint criminal enterprise and excessive shelling of Knin, Gračac, Obrovac and Benkovac.

Croatia’s ministers react to Vucic’s statement (Hina)

Croatian ministers Lovro Kuscevic, Damir Krsticevic and Tomo Medved on Sunday rejected a statement by Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, who compared Croatia to Hitler’s Germany, and underscored that Operation Storm was the crown of a just, defense war. The ministers told Vucic he had to face up to historical facts that the Greater Serbia policy, with the assistance of the Yugoslav army, waged aggression against Croatia. Administration Minister Kuscevic said that the Homeland War was a just defence war on which the Republic of Croatia was built and that everyone had to reconcile with that. “That is one of the preconditions to the continuation of better cooperation,” Kuscevic said. Commenting on the fact that the president of the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS) Milorad Pupovac attended the anniversary, Kuscevic said that he sincerely hoped Pupovac too and everyone else would realize the grandeur of this day.

Defense Minister Krsticevic underscored that “we didn’t start the war, we defended ourselves and later liberated Croatia, created an army and police that were capable of conducting such a strong ‘Storm’.” “We see that Storm was the crowning victory in the Homeland War. Storm is a symbol of military success and heroism and the Homeland War is something that is the best, it united us and showed that when we are united when we have a common goal, there isn’t anything that we can’t do,” Krsticevic said. Veterans Affairs’ Minister Medved said that Vucic’s and similar statements of others uttered over the years have “unfortunately become their standard practice.” “The fact is that they have to face historical facts that the Greater Serbia policy, with the assistance of the Yugoslav army, waged an aggression against Croatia which had every legitimate right to conduct its liberating operations like Storm as the crown of all battles,” Medved said.

Pupovac: We expect a culture of peace (Hina)

The Serb National Council (SNV), main organization of ethnic Serbs in Croatia, on Friday issued a statement ahead of the 23rd anniversary of military operation Storm, saying that even 23 years after the end of war in Croatia, the spirit of war was not giving way to spirit of peace in public and private relations in Croatia. “We expect a culture of peace to be built, where there will be room to commemorate each and every victim, but where there will be no room for any ideology or policy that led to war crimes. We especially expect this of Croatia and Serbia and their government policies, because any continuation of policies of war, as well as manipulation with remembrance, harms both Croats and Serbs and insults anyone who truly sympathizes with every victim and their need for peace,” the SNV said. Operation Storm was a military offensive launched by the Croatian army on August 4, 1995 to regain Serb-occupied areas in central and southern Croatia. The operation crushed the four-year-long armed insurgency in the country and ended the war. SNV said that, even 23 years after the end of the war, its destructive consequences could still be seen in many areas – the physical condition in many communities, population drain, and the devastated economy of almost all areas that had been affected by the war. Six years ago, following his acquittal by The Hague war crimes tribunal, General Ante Gotovina said that the war was over and that one should turn to a life of peace, SNV said, adding that the tribunal’s rulings listed the crimes that were committed during and in the wake of Operation Storm, such as murder, ethnic cleansing, systematic looting, property destruction and obstruction of refugee returns, and that Croatia undertook to punish the perpetrators. “That has not happened to date and is unlikely to happen. This seriously diminishes chances of (Croatia) facing its past and its war policies any time soon, as well as chances of its changing the war rhetoric and, with that, chances of reconciliation in justice and responsibility,” SNV said.

SNV noted that despite the fact that some of the refugees have returned and new settlers have arrived, Croatia has nearly half a million people less than in 1991, of whom nearly 400,000 ethnic Serbs. During Operation Storm alone, about 200,000 ethnic Serbs fled their homes, but not even today is there public awareness of this fact, and these refugees are not even mentioned in the context of the present emigration of young people from Croatia. The refugees are not counted as a demographic loss, just as their areas are not treated as areas of government concern, the statement said. SNV believes that referendum campaigns against ethnic minorities, in particular the Serb minority, do not contribute to the spirit of peace but to stigmatisation and intolerance, which are characteristic of the spirit of war. SNV warned that the revival of various aspects of the WWII pro-Nazi Ustasha ideology in recent years was a serious threat, weakening the spirit of peace in Croatia. The presence of this ideology deepens our feelings of exclusion and disquiet, revives our old fears and creates new ones, said the statement signed by SNV president Milorad Pupovac.

Zaev: Macedonia needs wise politicians to ensure better future for the country (MIA)

In these crucial moments Macedonia needs unity, responsible politicians that will enable citizens to voice their opinion on the country’s future at a referendum, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says in an interview with 1TV. President Gjorge Ivanov and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE have been staunch advocates of a referendum for over a decade and now oppose the process, which is a result of their weakness and frustrations, Zaev says in regard to Ivanov’s speech at the Republic Day celebration in Krusevo. Zaev says that two days before the celebration he and Ivanov discussed on significant national issues related to the country’s security, future, current developments. But Ivanov’s statements at the meeting with the PM and those in Krusevo vary substantially, Zaev says. Some of those involved in the incident during the Republic Day celebrations in Krusevo were also part of the crowd that stormed the Parliament on 27 April 2017, Zaev said. Yesterday’s incident in Krusevo involved hate speech while objects were thrown at delegations of foreign diplomats and government ministers attending the event. ‘It is a small group of about 50 people, stimulated by some to herald messages. They are violent and apparently not supporters of major political parties. However, they have a certain goal,’ Zaev says. Unfortunately, the President’s speech might have motivated some people, probably intoxicated, to promote hostility, Zaev says. ‘We all bear responsibility for organizing a referendum, which as the best democratic instrument, will offer opportunity to citizens to voice their opinion on matters vital for their country. We are all aware that there is no better future for Macedonia but its integration with the Euro-Atlantic organizations, which is impossible without settled (name) issue,’ Zaev says. He also notifies that President Ivanov had been regularly briefed on the course of Skopje-Athens negotiations for resolving the name issue, as it was the case with Greece. Namely PM Alexis Tsipras had also briefed the President on the pace of the negotiations. He also asks why the opposition parties in Macedonia and Greece have failed to reach a deal on the name dispute for the last 11 years. PM Zaev is certain that citizens will make the best decision for Macedonia’s future, saying that the agreement with Greece is pretty fair.

EC urges all political stakeholders to contribute to implementing Skopje-Athens name deal (MIA)

The European Commission expects for all political stakeholders in Macedonia to ensure the implementation of the (name) agreement with Greece by supporting the common strategic goal for the country’s EU-integration, MIA reports from Brussels. Commenting the speech of President Gjorge Ivanov at the Republic Day celebration in Krusevo, EC officials reaffirmed Brussels’ support of Skopje-Athens agreement. Brussels calls on the citizens of Macedonia to cast their ballots at the upcoming referendum, as this ‘a significant moment for decisions to be made on the country’s future,’ EC officials said.

Vasili against Thaci on Kosovo border issue (ADN)

Chairman of Social Movement for Integration (SMI) Parliamentary Group, Petrit Vasili, declared on Sunday that the real problems of Albanians is economy and not the borders.

Referring to the request for border correction made some days ago by President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, Vasili said that Kosovo’s problems must not be treated like all Albanians problems. “Borders are ‘OK’. Big wars have defined the winners and the losers and the winner must behave as a winner. The economy is not in order either in Albania or in Kosovo. As far as the borders are decided, we just need to defend them properly. Kosovo’s problems shouldn’t be treated as all Albanians problems,” said Vasili.

Berisha against Thaci: Do not use Presheva for trade (ADN)

Former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha reacted on Saturday against the President of Kosovo declaration, Hashim Thaci for a ‘correction’ of border with Serbia. According to him, Presheva should not be used for trade between the two countries and the borders should not be changed. “The Albanians in Presheva needs their rights to be guaranteed, based on the Convention of Human Rights. They need investments and development not be used for the Serbian interests,” said Berisha. His reactions came after the last declarations made by the Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. The last said that there will be no partition or autonomy for Kosovo Serbs, adding however that he is working only for “a correction” of the border with Serbia, and eventual inclusion of Presheva Valley into Kosovo.

Presheva Issue, Thaci strong replies with Berisha (ADN)

The Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci replied in distance with the former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha on Presheva issue. He said that he does not need advices from a person that was discharged with massive vote by the people. “I do not need advices from the one who was refused by the people with vote and the one who was accused for fuel contrabands with Serbia,” said Thaci. He also accused Berisha for furnishing the machine of Milloshevic and sheltered Arkan, Bin Laden and arrested Adem Jashari. He underlined one more time that there will be no partition or autonomy for Kosovo Serbs, adding however that he is working only for “a correction” of the border with Serbia, and eventual inclusion of Presheva Valley into Kosovo.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Putin’s Waning Clout in European Backyard Exposed by Greek Spat (Bloomberg, by Henry Meyer and Irina Reznik, 4 August 2018)

When Greece, traditionally among Russia’s closest friends in Europe, expelled two Russian diplomats last month for trying to wreck a deal with the neighboring Republic of Macedonia, it exposed Moscow’s deepening frustration at President Vladimir Putin’s loss of influence in a key strategic region. Russia’s being squeezed out of the Balkans by the expansion of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, leaving the Kremlin with diminishing clout in southeastern Europe. There’s little chance of reversing that trend, according to four people in Moscow familiar with its Balkans policy. “NATO membership of course is bad for us,” said Leonid Reshetnikov, a former head of Russian foreign intelligence who also served as an agent in Greece and the Balkans. “What can we do? They are clearing this territory” of rival influences, he said. Russia’s deep historical and cultural ties to the Balkans made the region a preserve of pro-Moscow sentiment that ensured warmer relations than with much of the rest of Europe. Now Balkan states are becoming bound in with the West as they gravitate toward the EU and NATO. Even amid divisions within the EU and questions raised by President Donald Trump about the U.S. commitment to its NATO allies, the blocs still exert a strong pull in the region with their promises of rising trade and living standards, strengthened rule of law and security guarantees. Russia’s shrinking geopolitical reach is a historic setback for Putin, even as the Kremlin leader’s global power appears to be on the march, from Syria to meddling in U.S. politics. “Russia is acting pretty passively,’’ said Alexander Dugin, a nationalist thinker and one-time Kremlin adviser who promotes a vision of Russian dominance across Europe and Eurasia. “It needs a plan of action.”

Greek Expulsions

Greece expelled the Russian envoys after accusing them of bribing officials in an attempt to block the accord that settles a dispute over the Republic of Macedonia’s name and allows it to start talks on NATO membership. Russia’s foreign ministry accused Athens of joining in “dirty provocations,” prompting a Greek demand that “the constant disrespect for Greece must stop.”

Under the deal, the Republic of Macedonia will become the Republic of North Macedonia after Greece objected that the former Yugoslav republic’s title implied a territorial claim on its province with the same name. Greece is “fully determined” to ratify the agreement, said Costas Douzinas, a member of the ruling Syriza party and head of the parliamentary committee on defense and foreign relations. “If the Russians continue to attempt to derail it, the reaction will be strong.” Even the pro-Russian Independent Greeks party, the junior coalition partner in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government, accuses Moscow of meddling, even as it opposes the accord. There’s “first-hand information that there was Russian interference in Greek matters,” the party’s vice president, Panos Sgouridis, said by phone. “It’s crucial that Greece’s national sovereignty is protected.” The Republic of Macedonia plans to hold a referendum on Sept. 30. The deal is opposed by President Gjorge Ivanov, while Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has accused unnamed Greek businessmen sympathetic to Russia of inciting protests against it. Last month, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a consortium of investigative reporters, cited the Republic of Macedonia’s Interior Ministry documents as saying that Greek-Russian billionaire Ivan Savvidis paid 300,000 euros to opponents of the accord. A representative for Savvidis denied the claim.

‘Enemies of Russia’

The former Yugoslav republic “will be in NATO,” said Frants Klintsevich, a member of the defense and security committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament. Moscow views the expansion of the alliance as reinforcing “the circle of enemies around Russia,” he said. The tensions follow accusations by Montenegro that Russia was behind a failed coup attempt during 2016 parliamentary elections in a bid to derail its entry into the U.S.-led military alliance last year. Two Russian intelligence officers are among 14 people charged with the plot by Montenegrin prosecutors. Russia denies any involvement. Konstantin Malofeev, a wealthy Russian businessman and Putin ally, who’s been sanctioned by the EU for backing insurgents in eastern Ukraine and has cultivated links to far-right parties in Europe, warned ominously of a backlash in Greece. A June opinion poll in Greece showed almost 70 percent of Greeks opposed the agreement with the Republic of Macedonia. Russia’s sometimes heavy-handed efforts to stem the West’s growing influence have provoked alarm, particularly after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine. Moscow’s fear is that it may be left without partners in the region.

Serbia Shift

Albania and Croatia are NATO members, while Bosnia and Herzegovina says it wants to join, though Bosnian Serbs with ties to Russia threaten to block any attempt. Even Russia’s closest regional ally, Serbia, has joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace cooperation program. Meanwhile, the EU has dangled the prospect of membership as early as 2025 for Serbia and five other Balkans states. Ranged against Russia are the U.S. and its European allies.  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence spoke by phone to Tsipras and Zaev on July 5. He later tweeted that “successful implementation’’ of the agreement “will open the door to European integration’’ for the Republic of Macedonia. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said July 30 that it’s in the EU’s “strategic interest” to expand into the western Balkans. “It will be a very big blow” for Russia if Serbia, which NATO forces bombed in 1999 during the Kosovo crisis, eventually joins the alliance, said Nikita Bondarev, a Balkans expert from the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, which advises the Kremlin. “We will become almost friendless in southeastern Europe.”

— With assistance by Eleni Chrepa, and Slav Okov

Problems mount for migrants on new Balkan route into EU (The Irish Times, by Daniel McLaughlin, 5 August 2018)

Health issues and violence spiral as refugees gather at tightening Bosnia-Croatia border

International organisations say health and security risks are rising for a growing number of refugees and migrants trying to reach wealthy European Union countries via a new route through the Balkans. After crossing overland from Turkey to Greece, they travel through Albania and Montenegro to Bosnia, which has registered more than 9,000 such arrivals this year – well over 10 times the number counted in 2017. Some 4,000 refugees and migrants are now in Bosnia, the vast majority in northern areas near its border with Croatia, which has tightened patrols to try to stop them entering the EU and continuing towards Austria, Germany and beyond. The route emerged following moves by several Balkan states to close their frontiers to migrants in March 2016, after more than a million people from the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa crossed the region the previous year. The main flashpoint on the new route is Velika Kladusa, a town of about 40,000 people on Bosnia’s border with Croatia, where some 1,500 migrants are now sleeping rough in increasingly squalid and tense conditions.

Stabbing and clash

A Moroccan man was stabbed to death there in a fight with other migrants in June, and another clash last week injured about 10 migrants. Reports of violent “pushbacks” on migrants by Croatian border guards are also on the rise. Several hundred people are now living in fields near the frontier, where the summer heat is fierce and occasional downpours flood their camp with a mixture of rainwater and sewage. Talks on opening an accommodation facility at a large site owned by local company Agrokomerc have dragged on for weeks, hamstrung by the fiendishly complex system of local, regional and national governance that has hobbled ethnically divided Bosnia since its 1992-1995 war. “The situation [in Velika Kladusa] is quite dire,” said Peter Van der Auweraert, the representative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Bosnia. “I hope the local authorities give us permission to open Agrokomerc. It will be an open centre but with social workers, food and security, so the situation there can be controlled . . . It is very urgent,” he told The Irish Times on Sunday.

Muslim conspiracy claim

Bosnia’s response to the growing crisis could also be hampered by the approach of national elections in October, as parties try to make political capital out of the issue by blaming rivals and shunning co-operation: nationalist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, for example, has refused to accept migrants in his region and called their arrival part of a conspiracy to boost the country’s Muslim population. Bosnian officials have discussed deploying the army to guard the country’s borders and trying to close them completely to migrants – a task that Mr Van der Auweraert described as “virtually impossible”. Some 1,150km to the southeast, Médecins Sans Frontières said this week that it was stepping up its efforts “to meet the growing medical needs” of migrants crossing the Evros river from Turkey into Greece. More than 10,000 people have entered Greece that way so far this year – several thousand more than during the whole of 2017.