LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: Putin in Serbia on 17 January, we’ll talk about everything (Tanjug/B92)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Serbia on 17 January. Vucic said that he did not see any problems from the Russian side after US President Donald Trump sent him a letter, and that he will speak about everything openly with Putin, as always, and this includes Trump’s letter. “As for the Russian reactions, I did not see them. I’m awaiting Putin’s arrival on 17 January with joy. I never had a problem talking to him openly. But I’ve seen no problems from the Russian side,” Vucic said, replying to a journalist’s question about media reports about the negative reaction to Trump’s letter in a part of the Russian public and, possibly, in certain political circles. Vucic said that, if the reaction of the media was to be considered, it was easier to him to see what was in the Serbian media, by the way, much harder and worse than in the Russian – and I don’t see why I would commented on the Russian media. He also pointed out that Trump’s letter was rational, as can be expected from a US president, since the United States recognizes Kosovo: “But for us, the good news is that the role of Belgrade is required, while Pristina is told that it has to negotiate with Belgrade,” Vucic said. Vucic reiterated that an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is not close at hand, but that he will not give up on seeking a compromise solution for the Kosovo and Metohija issue, because that is his fight for peace, stability and the future of Serbia. “We are not close to any agreement, and I am not saying that to justify myself to anyone, but because I’m dissatisfied and unhappy that it is that way,” Vucic said in response to journalists after his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. For Serbia, Vucic underlined, it would good to have some agreement, but, he repeated, we are very far from any, although Trump believes we are close.

According to him, it is always better to reach an agreement and arrive at any compromise solution, that to have a bad solution find us. He reiterated that Serbia will not allow the endangering of the lives of Serbs in Kosovo. “When everyone is saying that we will easily achieve some goals with weapons, and I know the state of the military and the police better than anybody else in the country… And since I know that my question is who will be guilty tomorrow or who will be resented if your father, brother or child is returned in a casket. And then Vucic will be responsible,” he said. That is why, said the president, he is fighting for peace, stability and for compromise, and not for war and conflict.

Dacic: No change of format of dialogue (RTS)

There are no signs that the format of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina could change any time soon, said Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Sunday, adding that Serbia is ready to continue the talks but only after Pristina abolishes its 100 percent taxes on Serbian products.

“There are no talks from new starting positions,” Dacic told RTS. When asked whether it is acceptable that Ljimaj is the new negotiator for the dialogue with Serbia, Dacic said ‘of course he is not’. “Regarding the format we are talking about, it is clear. It is President Vucic and President Thaci,” said Dacic. When asked whether the decision-making process on Kosovo should be returned under the auspices of the United Nations, he said that the dialogue is now mediated by the European Union but that every agreement will have to be verified by the UN Security Council. That is why it is important what UN Security Council members, Russia, China, the US, think, he said. Dacic says he had received confirmation from Sergey Lavrov that Russia is ready to participate in the dialogue if the format changes. Dacic said that the idea of a territorial division of Kosovo which would make clear what belongs to Serbs and what to Albanians seems fair.

Stankovic: No official mention of exchange of territory (Danas)

The Head of the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja Zoran Stankovic has stated there has never been any official talk about the annexation to Kosovo of three municipalities in southern Serbia. Stankovic said an exchange of territories was only mentioned by some Kosovo Albanian political leaders. “An exchange of territories and the annexation of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja is something that was mentioned by some Kosovo Albanian leaders, primarily Hashim Thaci, but nowhere in talks with the international community has an exchange of territories been mentioned officially and nowhere has any doubt been cast on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia in those three municipalities,” he told Danas.

Stankovic recalled that the international community feels that there should be no territorial changes and that the governments of Albania and Kosovo never mentioned those three municipalities in their talks. He expressed the opinion that the future of the people living in those three municipalities is in Serbia, adding that they should work together to secure the better situation that they all want.

Rosu can go to northern Kosovo and Metohija without KFOR’s approval (Politika/Beta/B92)

KFOR spokesperson Vincenzo Grasso says special units Rosu can enter the north of Kosovo without the permission of KFOR. In an interview with the newspaper, Grasso said that the special operations unit, which can be armed with long rifles belongs to the Kosovo police and as such has the mandate to enforce the law throughout Kosovo without the obligation to seek approval. “The Kosovo security force, according to the previous agreement, must have the approval of KFOR’s commander before engaging in northern Kosovo. NATO expects local institutions to continue to abide by that agreement,” Grasso said. He added that the situation in Kosovo is under control, despite political tensions and public statements, and that KFOR units are always present, even when they are less noticeable. “We carried out exercises at various locations throughout Kosovo, not just in the north. They were not related to political events in Pristina and there was no risk or threat from the possible takeover of northern Kosovo,” Grasso said. Asked if certain countries have withdrawn from KFOR after the formation of the Kosovo army, he said that KFOR was operating under the UN mandate and that the laws on the transformation of the Kosovo security force would not affect that.

REGIONAL PRESS

Komsic and Dzaferovic respond to statements made by Dodik during meeting with President Vucic in Belgrade: It is impossible to achieve right to self-determination (TV1)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik travelled to Belgrade on Saturday and there he met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. After attending a meeting, the two officials held a joint press conference and commented the current situation in the region. TV1 reporter emphasized that Dodik’s visit was not an official visit to Serbia, but it will be one in a long line of his visits to Serbia, after assuming his position in the Presidency. Many reactions came from B&H officials on Sunday to the statements made by Dodik during the press conference. Dodik stated that Serbs from the RS “should have the right to self-determination” and asked President Vucic to advocate such an approach in future talks. Other two members of the B&H Presidency, Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic, believe that that is impossible to achieve. “That is impossible, because Vucic cannot deliver him such a thing, he cannot help him as such a thing could eventually only be regulated by the Constitution of B&H. Is it realistic to expect someone here to accept such a thing, to change the Constitution of B&H? I believe that is just pure fantasy,” said Komsic. Dzaferovic emphasized that the stances presented by Dodik during the meeting with Vucic and during their press conference are not and cannot be considered as official stances of the B&H Presidency. “There cannot be any ‘self-determination’ of anyone in B&H. The RS can only and exclusively be a multi-ethnic entity in B&H,” underlined Dzaferovic. He added that Dodik’s visit to Serbia was a private and not an official one.

During Saturday’s joint press conference with Dodik, President Vucic refused to disclose evidence to the public on interfering of foreign powers into B&H’s elections that were held in October. He reiterated that he is in possession of such documents, but will only show them to people directly affected by them, adding he is willing to share all his intelligence with former Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic.

Cvijanovic meets Brnabic in Banja Luka; Cvijanovic, Dodik, Brnabic attend donor night (N1/RTRS)

RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic met with Serbian Prime Minister (PM) Ana Brnabic in Banja Luka on Sunday. Chairman Dodik also attended the meeting, as well as speaker of the RS parliament Nedeljko Cubrilovic, RS PM Radovan Viskovic and several ministers from the RS and Serbia. Later during the day, a donor night ‘S ljubavlju hrabrim srcima’ was held in Banja Luka under auspices of Cvijanovic. Money collected during the event, i.e. around BAM 1.4 million will be used for purchase of robotics for children who face movement disorders. Numerous public figures from the RS and the region supported the action, as well as citizens, who dialed the number 1411, 72,080 times. RTRS reported that in this way, the RS passed a test of humanity for the ninth year in a row. Addressing attendees of the event, Cvijanovic expressed special gratitude to citizens. Dodik supported the action and stated that they helped many children during actions carried out in the previous years. A delegation of the Serbian government, led by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who also attended the donor night, donated EUR 250,000. Addressing attendees of the event, Brnabic stated that this will enable treatment of children who were disabled from receiving an adequate treatment in the RS and Serbia. Brnabic said that donation of Serbia is evidence that the claims on special relations between the RS and Serbia should not be expressed only through words but through concrete acts. She also expressed hope that cooperation between the RS and Serbia will be resumed through different joint projects. “I am glad to be part of President Vucic’s team that supports people of the RS through acts and not only words,” emphasized Brnabic.

Legal deadline by which B&H Presidency was supposed to appoint new Chairman of B&H CoM expires (TV1/RTRS)

TV1 reports that legal deadline by which the B&H Presidency was supposed to appoint a new Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) has expired. According to TV1, although majority in the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) is more than clear and although consensus was reached for a Serb to be at the head of the CoM in the next four years, name of the candidate for the post of the B&H CoM Chairman was not officially proposed. Because of the entire situation, SNSD is announcing the possibility of removal of the recently elected member of the Collegium of the B&H HoR Denis Zvizdic (SDA), who is also the outgoing B&H CoM Chairman. TV1 recalled that SNSD’s candidate for the post of B&H CoM Chairman is Zoran Tegeltija who performed the duties of the RS Finance Minister in the previous mandate. SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has warned that Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) is blocking the appointment of new B&H CoM Chairman. SDA Vice-President Safet Softic said that SDA believes that it is necessary to wait with the formation of the B&H CoM until the issue of formation of the FB&H government is solved, i.e. the issue of parliamentary majority and everything that follows the process of formation of the authorities at the FB&H level. Representatives of BH Bloc, composed of SDP B&H, DF and Our Party (NS) are of the same opinion, noting that if FB&H authorities are not formed first, the FB&H will experience the fate of Mostar. Vice-President of DF Dzenan Djonlagic said that political goals of SNSD and HDZ B&H are for them to become part of the B&H CoM together and then to leave the FB&H to roll in the political mud. Deputy Chairman of the B&H HoR Nebojsa Radmanovic (SNSD) stressed that issue of formation of the authorities at the FB&H level should not be linked to the issue of formation of the B&H CoM. “There are forces in B&H that believe that it is not the time to form the B&H CoM,” Radmanovic underlined. Member of the SNSD Presidency Stasa Kosarac assessed that an orchestrated campaign of violation of the law on B&H CoM is underway, with silent support of part of the international community. He warned that the goal is to dispute the political power of the RS through participation of Dodik, as well as political capacities SNSD got after the general elections. SDA’s Semsudin Mehmedovic stressed that FB&H and B&H levels are connected, being that election of delegates for FB&H HoP affects election of B&H HoP. He deems that it is necessary to resolve the situation regarding the motion before Constitutional Court of B&H and only then discuss awarding of mandates. Mehmedovic stressed that it is obvious that SNSD wants to “get rid” of Serb ministers from old composition of CoM and bring their own people “thus bringing their anti-state politics to perfection”.

If Law on Elections is agreed upon, authorities in FB&H, as well as in state, can be formed in one month (Vecernji list)

The daily carries an interview with President of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic who was first asked to comment on a decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H (regarding distribution of mandates in the FB&H House of Peoples (HoP)) and whether it has accelerated the process of formation of authorities. Covic replied by saying that the party he is leading and the Croat People Assembly (HNS) believe that it is only the parliament of B&H that can adopt changes to the Law on Elections of B&H, which is something they will insist on in order to get the law that will respect the principle of constituent peoples. According to him, “I am personally convinced it will be very difficult to get executive authorities in the FB&H without changes to the Law on Elections (…)”. Asked if the HNS will challenge the CEC’s decision before the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H, Covic replied by wondering if there is point to challenge the said decision since (HDZ B&H Deputy President Borjana) Kristo has submitted a motion already (to the CC of B&H, challenging provisions of the Constitution of FB&H re-election of FB&H HoP delegates). Asked to comment accusations that he (Covic) could be obstructing the process of formation of new authorities, whilst nowadays such announcements are coming from other sides, Covic replied by saying “imagine if we said that we will be boycotting or blocking the formation of authority”, which is now being done by Sarajevo-based parties. Asked when it is realistic to expect formation of new executive authorities at all levels, Covic said the executive authorities at the state level will be formed, most likely, by end of January, and that the same dynamics apply to the cantonal level, “whilst for the Federation authorities the condition is the Law on Elections, and the sooner we adopt it, we will have the executive authorities will be appointed sooner. It could be in one month (…) When we will have the Federation government, I do not know. I do not know who will be in it, but I do not the HNS will be in it”. Asked how much foreigners understand what happened at the elections and that Bosniaks elected (Croat) member of the Presidency, Covic said the foreigners understand it excellently, “however when they have to make a move, there is no such thing”. Asked to comment on the Croatian Parliament’s Declaration of Position of Croats in B&H and whether it has helped the Croats in B&H, Covic replied by saying it helped in informing people in charge of making decisions (in Croatia) realizing that things are different in B&H, stressing that 90% of politicians in Croatia do not know how the electoral system in B&H works.

RS 2019 budget adopted (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) parliament adopted in urgent procedure the RS Budget for the year 2019 amounting to BAM 3.256 billion. A net budget surplus amounting to BAM 56.6 million is also planned. MPs adopted in urgent procedure the Law on the Execution of the RS Budget for next year. The RS Program of Economic Reforms for the period 2019-2021 was also adopted at this special session in urgent procedure. The RS parliament also adopted in urgent procedure amendments and supplements to the Law on Child Protection and a decision on RS’ short-term indebtedness through the issuance of treasury notes. The RS parliament also adopted in urgent procedure the second balanced Budget for this year amounting to BAM 3.459 billion and the Law amending the Law on the Execution of the Budget for this year. After the vote on items from the agenda, the RS parliament ended its third special session.

Grabar-Kitarovic: Croats in B&H are in unenviable position where they cannot be guaranteed full and real equality (Vecernji list)

The daily carried an interview with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, which is mostly dedicated to the situation in Croatia. She was also asked to comment on “weakening of position of Croats in B&H” and the Croatian Parliament’s Declaration of Position of Croats in B&H, and subsequent attacks from Sarajevo according to which Croatia is carrying out a coup in B&H. Grabar-Kitarovic replied by saying that Croats in B&H are in an unenviable position where they cannot be guaranteed full and real equality, including election of legitimate representative. According to her, it is an undeniable fact that Croatia is B&H’s biggest advocator of B&H joining the EU and that Croatia observes sovereignty and integrity of the neighboring country, adding that Croatia has its obligations. Namely, the Croatian Constitution stipulates that Croatia must take care of Croats (outside Croatia) and that Croatia, as signatory of the Dayton agreement, is insisting on its full and consistent implementation, which includes equality of three constituent peoples. In this context the Croatian President said the equality was undermined at the last elections (in B&H) because changes were not made to the Law on Elections of B&H the way it was ordered by the Constitutional Court of B&H. According to Grabar-Kitarovic, warning about these issues is not about meddling into internal affairs of B&H, arguing that nobody is proposing any concrete solutions, adding that solutions must be adopted by leaders and people in B&H.

President Ivanov signs the amnesty law (Republika)

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov signed into law the bill that gave amnesty to participants in the April 2017 incident in the parliament. The case was abused by the ruling SDSM party to pressure at least three former VMRO-DPMNE members of parliament to vote in favor of amending the Constitution and renaming Macedonia into North Macedonia. According to the law, the members of parliament, and other participants in the incident that was provoked when SDSM and several ethnic Albanian parties staged a separate parliament session to elect a new speaker, will be able to ask for amnesty. The judge and the prosecutor in this case, both strongly criticized by VMRO-DPMNE as being SDSM partisan supporters, will also have a say in the final decision, which is widely seen as related to the way the members of parliament will vote in the last vote on the constitutional amendments.

Bulgarian President Radev objects to the name “North Macedonia” (Republika)

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said he disagrees with the renaming of Macedonia into North Macedonia, as this could cause problems with Bulgarian part of the region of Macedonia. According to Radev, the Euro-Atlantic integration of the remaining Balkan countries is happening too fast, and without ensuring consensus in Bulgaria. – You can’t resolve problems which have accumulated over centuries in six months. President Radev said in an interview with Darik radio, objecting to the speed with which the Borisov government is moving to approve the treaty with Macedonia, without discussing matters internally in Bulgaria, or with Greece. Bulgaria holds a piece of the region of Macedonia which was partitioned in 1913 – the Pirin Macedonia region – and occasionally Bulgarian politicians object that the name North Macedonia could be seen as raising territorial claims by the Republic of Macedonia on Pirin Macedonia. Radev, the Socialist general who is the main challenger to conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s power in Bulgaria, said that with a more active Bulgarian role in the Macedonian name talks, Borisov could also have been nominated for the Nobel peace prize, along with Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras.

Mickoski: Zaev is dismantling Macedonia piece by piece (Republika)

VMRO-DPMNE on Sunday marked the 27th anniversary of the founding of UMS, the party’s youth group. Party leader Hristijan Mickoski spoke at the event held in the Macedonian National Theater and warned against what he called “daily attempts to disintegrate our home”. – Each day we see how the government takes away a piece of our country, of the only home we have in the world, and which naturally belongs us and which we fought for and inherited. But we also see how a storm is coming against all who want to damage our country. This is how revolutions and revivals were born, how fight against injustice begins, Mickoski said. He called on the young activists to lead the fight over this “difficult, perhaps most difficult period for both our country and for the young people in it. – The young feel this darkness which has fallen on our country perhaps most of all of us. They are the ones who are pushed to think that the solution for them is in some other country, and that there is no future here. But, they are also the ones who are initiating the changes. They see the office bureaucrats in the government who ignore their needs and will teach this criminal government a lesson, Mickoski said. The opposition leader said that history will remember Zoran Zaev as one of the worst traitors born in Macedonia, a man whose name will be synonymous with failure and defeat. – No other Nobel prize winner has caused so much darkness in his own country. They can try all sorts of combinations of Nobel and other awards, none of them will cover up the shame of changing the name and the identity of the country. I’ve never seen a Nobel prize winner who asks for 200.000 EUR in bribes from a businessman in his darkened office, to sell him a pig sty. I’ve never seen a Nobel prize winner who pretends to be a peacemaker, and is recorded saying he will ‘eat his opponents alive’. Mickoski said. “Macedonia walks a red line between disaster and despair on one side and unity with the goal of saving the country on the other. And we are uniting more and more with each day, VMRO is woke and is where it belongs – among the people”. As for the next planned steps of the party, Mickoski said that VMRO-DPMNE will first defeat the government in the presidential elections expected in April, after it will fight for early general elections. He listed the broken promises SDSM made before taking over the government, such as the average wage of 500 EUR and 1.500 EUR in salaries for doctors who remain in the country. – Zaev did not deliver on his promise of 5 percent GDP growth, and foreign direct investments are in the negative. The debt from 4.78 billion EUR to 5.14 billion EUR in a mere year and a half, and you can’t see these money anywhere, except in the pockets of Zaev and his family. We broke through the barrier of 5 billion EUR in debt and we are approaching the one of 50% of GDP. And nothing gets built. This tells you that these money are being stolen, Mickoski told the UMS delegates.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Serbian president expresses support for Prespes accord (ekathimerini.com, 21 December 2018)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday his country will be closer connected to Greece if the deal Athens signed with Skopje to resolve a long-standing dispute on the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is completed. “For Serbia, the Prespes accord is very important because our two countries will be even more connected. We do not want to interfere in your domestic issues, but we want to show the path Serbia supports,” Vucic told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who is in Belgrade for the Greek-Serbian High-Level Cooperation Council and the sixth High Council of Cooperation between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia. Vucic said that if the name deal is approved by both parties, there could be a trilateral meeting of Greece, Serbia and FYROM. On his side, Tsipras said the Prespes agreement will improve economic prospects in the Balkans. “We have to give a positive prospect and we should wonder whether the policy of inertia can offer such a prospect,” he said. “For us, the Balkans are economically vital and so is Greece for the other Balkan countries. I believe in the vision of inter-Balkan cooperation and look forward to the prospect of unlocking this great potential of our region.”

Russia’s OSCE envoy urges Kosovo to reverse its decision on creating army (TASS, 21 December 2018)

VIENNA, Pristina’s decision to transform the Kosovo security forces into armed forces is unlawful and must be cancelled, Russia’s envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said. “We are convinced that the unlawful decision of the Pristina government, which, by the way, contradicts even the constitution of Kosovo, must be cancelled immediately. We call on Pristina’s Western sponsors to press for it. If plans to create the so-called Kosovo army are put into practice, then, in line with provision 9b of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the Kosovo Force must take immediate and sufficient action to demilitarize and dissolve any armed Kosovo-Albanian groups,” Russia’s OSCE envoy Alexander Lukashevich told a session of the organization’s Permanent Council in Vienna. He said Russia shared Serbia’s concerns about the move. “The package of bills on transforming the Kosovo security forces into the “armed forces,” adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo on December 14, is a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and poses a threat to peace and stability in Western Balkans,” the Russian diplomat continued. “The creation of the “Kosovo army” undermines the longstanding international effort to settle the Kosovo issue and makes a political compromise between Belgrade and Pristina on a mutually acceptable basis impossible.” He added that the creation of full-fledged armed forces in Kosovo will seriously increase the possibility of another violent conflict in the region. “Hostile anti-Serbian statements of the Kosovo-Albanian government, routine operations of Kosovo’s special police units in Serb-populated areas in the north of the region leave little doubt against whom the ‘Army of Kosovo’ will be created. This is a yet another episode to intimidate Kosovo Serbs, which is taking place in the context of ethnic purges,” he said. “It is quite evident that the new provocation by the Pristina government was incited by irresponsible patronage of the United States and the European Union. Washington supported the creation of the ‘armed forces’ of Kosovo, traditionally ignoring its international legal commitments and the opinion of many of its NATO allies,” Lukashevich added. He went on to say that Russia was disappointed by the European Union’s “ill-defined stance.” “The fact that Brussels is poised to keep turning a blind eye to any violation of the international law and agreements with Serbia is becoming more and more evident. This completely discredits the mediating efforts of the European Union, who bears a significant share of responsibility not only for the deadlock in the process of normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina, but also for possible consequences of Kosovo militarization. In fact, we are now witnessing a total failure of EU’s efforts as a mediator,” Lukashevich continued. “The Kosovo precedent… certainly will have a dangerous effect on situation in other zones of conflict. Now matter how hard Pristina’s sponsors will try, Kosovo will never become a ‘special case,’” he said.

On December 14, the parliament of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo voted for three bills: on creating a ministry of defense, on converting the security forces into an army and on service in Kosovo’s security force. All those present voted for. Nobody abstained. All of the parliament’s members from the Serbian party Serb List staged a walkout and did not participate in the voting. It is expected that the army of the unrecognized territorial entity will consist of 5,000 officers and men. Another 3,000 will be in reserve. The army will cost an annual 98 million euro to support.

Kosovo’s armed forces will have artillery and air defense units and also biological and chemical protection forces. The commander of Kosovo’s Security Force Rahman Rama said on Friday the army would perform its functions in the whole territory of Kosovo, including the northern areas with the predominant Serbian population.