Negotiating Team: Platform is the only official position
(KTV)
The Negotiating Team for Dialogue with Serbia has adopted the Dialogue Platform. On this occasion, the two chairmen, Fatmir Limaj and Shpend Ahmeti, said that the Platform would represent Kosovo’s single position on the Dialogue.
They have confirmed that the Platform will be submitted to the Assembly on Friday.
In a media statement, Ahmeti said that from the beginning, the Platform stipulates that this is the official position of the Republic of Kosovo, and that it will be completely based on the Constitution of Kosovo.
Ahmeti hopes that the session on the Platform will be held next week, and that appropriate discussions will happen in the Assembly.
Limaj, on the other hand, said that the Platform has covered all the concerns that have been addressed regarding the Dialogue for some period of time. “The Platform is based on the Constitution, the Independence Declaration, and on the opinion of the International Court of Justice,” he said.
Ahmeti criticised the approach of LDK, which said that it will not vote in favour of the Platform.
“It is interesting how someone can say ‘I will not vote it’, without having read it at all. I commented on the statement of the LDK leader on what cannot be discussed. What he has demanded is too little compared to the Team’s Platform. We have heard all the statements. Let them read the Platform first, and then let them decide how to vote. The opposition should not oppose a priori just everything,” Ahmeti said.
Ahmeti added that it has been decided that the Negotiating Team will open also topics that have not been discussed before in Brussels, such as war crimes, reparations, and victims of sexual violence in the war.
Asked about red lines of the Platform, the co-chairmen said that Platform derives from the Constitution, and it will not be circumvented.
“The Constitution is clear, Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is guaranteed by the Constitution. It is clear to all, and it is a legal obligation to us,” Ahmeti said.
Mustafa: LDK considers Kosovo borders non-negotiable
(KTV)
The LDK leader Isa Mustafa said that his party considers Kosovo borders sacred, and dialogue on borders must be prohibited.
On a Facebook post, Mustafa wrote that opening a dialogue on borders, is a self-aggression against the state and territory of Kosovo.
“To LDK, Kosovo borders are sacred. Any dialogue on borders, on the territory, and on the independence which was declared on 17th February 2008 is prohibited! Opening a dialogue on borders is a self-aggression against Kosovo’s state and territory. If somebody is up to bargaining with border correction, he can only correct boundaries of his fields, not Kosovo’s borders,” Mustafa wrote on Facebook.
Thaçi: Good momentum to reach agreement with Serbia in 2019
(RTK)
The President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi thinks this is a good momentum to reach an agreement for normalisation of relations with Serbia this year.
In an interview with AP, Thaçi said he enjoys strong support from the United States and the European Union, and Russia’s pledge to accept the Prishtinë/Pristina-Belgrade agreement.
According to him, many challenges lie ahead, all of which should be resolved through the EU-facilitated dialogue with Serbia.
Hahn, Vucic and Thaçi to participate on a panel at Munich Security Conference
(KTV)
European Commission has announced that the Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, along with Presidents of Serbia and Kosovo Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaçi, will participate at a panel Security in the Southeast Europe on 16 February, in the context of Munich Security Conference, which will take place between 15 and 17 February.
Commissioner Hahn will hold a series of bilateral meetings, including participation in discussions, among which is a Saturday panel “Security in the Southeast Europe,” Brussels officials announced.
Organisers of Munich Security Conference have also announced participation of 35 world leaders, 50 Foreign Ministers and 30 Defence Ministers. Among them will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Vice President Mike Pence, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Hooper criticizes Kosovo leaders on tax decision
(GazetaExpress)
James Hooper, former U.S. diplomat told Voice of America that with their position on tax, Kosovo leaders have almost made enemies from the government of the United States.
He assessed this as the most counterproductive step undertaken ever by Kosovo leaders.
“They brought the relations with the United States at the lowest level ever since the end of the war in Kosovo. With this decision, they have almost created an enemy from the government of the United States,” he said.
“Kosovo was in the position of empowerment, while the dialogue process with Belgrade was ongoing and now, they have thrown away that powerful position, created an opposition with the United States for which there was no need to exist at all,” he said.
“They have now caused a public spectacle for which the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of State and National Security Council have gathered in a manner which I have never seen in the history of the U.S. diplomacy, to warn Kosovars that they should suspend the tax,” he said
“To be honest, to me this is a very narrow, very provincial way of thinking, and this is very dangerous for Kosovo, very dangerous. Kosovo cannot allow itself to fall into the pleasure of thinking in a nationalist manner,” Hooper added.
Progress on normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations requested
(GazetaExpress)
Thirteen MPs from the Assembly of Kosovo and thirteen from the European Parliament came up today in Strasbourg with a joint statement, which stresses that progress on normalization of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia is necessary, in order for the parties to reach a legally binding agreement through the dialogue facilitated by EU.
These conclusions were made at the joint meeting co-headed by Memli Krasniqi and Tonino Picula, where fruitful discussions on a range of significant issues, including implementation of the Stabilisation Association Agreement, visa liberalization process for Kosovo citizens and importance of the resumption of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia were discussed.
They also discussed the social and economic situation in Kosovo as well as the process of transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into a regular army.
Members had different opinions on the tariff imposed for the products imported from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It was stressed that Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria for visa liberalization and that the respective EU institutions should bring decisions on the matter without further delay.
Co-heads welcomed open discussions on all the issues in the agenda and pledged to continue with very good relations between the two parliaments.
Their seventh meeting will be held in Prishtina on 28 and 29 October 2019.
Ramadani: Kosovo-NATO cooperation won’t be reduced
(RTK)
In an interview with RTK3, Deputy Minister of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Burim Ramadani spoke about the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels and about NATO’s position on KSF.
On Thursday, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that next spring they would discuss the possibility of cooperation with KSF.
Deputy Minister Ramadani said that Kosovo institutions have regular communication on a daily basis with NATO representatives, and with the Kosovo-based NATO Advisory and Liaison Team (NALT).
“In principle, we are satisfied with how the allies are dealing with the relations between NATO and Kosovo. We would like the relation between NATO and KSF to be deepened and developed in more levels, not only at the present level,” Ramadani said.
He highlighted that they would like formalisation of dialogue between NATO and Kosovo, and KSF to be considered to take part in the Partnership for Peace.
“At the next stage, we expect to receive the membership action plan, so that in a few years, we can be ready to sign the NATO membership protocol, too. This is our goal,” Ramadani added.
“The vast majority of NATO member countries are allies of Kosovo, and they will not allow the Kosovo-NATO cooperation to be reduced. Of course, we want this cooperation to be enhanced, so that we can move to formal levels of the contractual relation; however, there are some states that have not recognised Kosovo and that are not willing to change the commitment level and to move the cooperation up to a contractual level,” Ramadani stressed.
Police escorts Ferizaj/Urosevac teacher for threatening journalists
(KTV)
The teacher (R.M) from Ferizaj/Urosevac was escorted by members of the Serious Crimes Department to the Kosovo Police Station in Prishtinë/Prishtina, on Thursday, around 11:00hrs, after two journalists of Koha Group, Agim Ademi and Dorentina Thaqi, filed the case against him a day earlier at the Police.
The two journalists of the Koha Group reported a few days ago in the Koha Ditore daily and KTV for the teacher from Ferizaj/Urosevac who beat up his colleague. In the meantime, this teacher repeatedly looked for the two journalists in the newsroom with his name and surname.
Credible sources within the school in which this teacher is employed said that some Serious Crime Department police officers took the teacher (R.M) to make a statement, after he threatened journalists of Koha group.
The case was also confirmed by the Kosovo Police.
