LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: Kosovo Albanian platform is against dialogue (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Munich Friday that a Kosovo Albanian platform for a resumption of the dialogue with Belgrade was, in fact, a platform against dialogue. “They are saying this openly – that they do not want discussions,” Vucic told Serbian reporters. Under Pristina’s platform, everything must be in line with their constitution and what they call the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo must be preserved, Vucic said. I will see how they will explain that to anyone in the world, Vucic said. He also said he was not overly optimistic about the possibility of Pristina scrapping its taxes on Serbian goods but that Serbia would adapt to the situation and know how to protect itself, as well as and peace and stability.

Djuric: This platform for Kosovo dialogue aims to ruin it (Tanjug/B92)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said on Friday that the document adopted by Pristina was not a platform for the dialogue with Belgrade, but against it. “What they have adopted has nothing to do with intent to reach an agreement. This is a wish-list of the separatists in Pristina, an unrealistic document aimed at bringing down the dialogue and ruining it,” Djuric told a press conference. He stressed that if they wanted dialogue in Pristina, they should abolish the anti-civilizational taxes and stop trampling on the rights of Serbs in Kosovo. He said that Serbia is turned toward finding a genuine solution for the problems. Djuric pointed out that in the first point of Pristina’s platform, Kosovo independence is treated as “a done deal.” “I want to congratulate Vuk Jeremic, Dragan Djilas, Boris Tadic and others, because the first point speaks about the opinion of the International Court of Justice, which they asked for,” Djuric said. He pointed out that the whole document speaks about Pristina not wanting to come to an agreement with Belgrade, because it refers to “territorial integrity and sovereignty” of the so-called Kosovo. “If for them 10,887 square kilometers of the so-called independent Kosovo, for us they aren’t. That is no way to reach a compromise,” Djuric said. He pointed out that “exclusive stances” have not been accepted in either in the UN, or by much of mankind. Djuric also said that alongside the platform, a false claim was made that Kosovo has been recognized by 115 countries when this is now in fact a two-digit number, thanks to the efforts of President Aleksandar Vucic, Minister Ivica Dacic and all of our diplomacy.

Dacic: What is Pristina celebrating and what have they done in 11 years? (Tanjug)

After 11 years since the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, it is clear that Pristina’s project has experienced complete failure, since there is not solution of this issue without agreement with Belgarde, and this is the greatest contribution of Serbian politics that we have given over the past period, said Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica. He said he was not sure what the Pristina authorities celebrated on Sunday since Kosovo did not manage to become a member state of the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, Interpol or other international organizations. Without Serbia, that’s not possible, Dacic said. Addressing an event organized in honor of the countries which withdrew their recognition of Kosovo, he said that the Socialists were accused of all kinds of things during the history but the Socialists were never traitors.”

The event dubbed “Serbia is preserved with diplomacy”, presenting 13 countries, took place in front of the Belgrade’s Zvezdara municipality building and was organized by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).The people who gathered there listened to music originating from those countries, read basic details about those nations and were handed over candies that were wrapped in paper with the flags of the 13 countries.

Dacic: Pristina’s taxes divert attention from essential issues in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Sunday that the provisional institutions in Pristina imposed taxes on goods from Serbia in order to divert attention from essential issues in the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, such as clearing up the fate of the Serbs killed and disappeared in Kosovo and Metohija. Speaking at a gathering organized by the Association of Families of those Kidnapped and Killed in Kosovo and Metohija, Dacic said that the imposition of tariffs also diverted attention from the issues of the rights of Serbs, property of Serbia in the southern Serbian province, the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) and many others. He pointed out that the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, which is being celebrated in Pristina today, is made up of lies and crimes. Yesterday you could hear Hashim Thaci say that independent Kosovo was recognized by 116 countries, and that they imposed tariffs because 13 countries withdrew recognition. But 74 United Nations members voted for Kosovo to enter Interpol. Then how did they get the number of 116?, Dacic asked.

He recalled that allegations were coming from Pristina that Serbs captured Albanians at a stadium, but that no journalist who tried to record it saw it, and that Serbs took blood from Albanian children for their soldiers and other lies. Dacic pointed out that what it true is that 200,000 Serbs were expelled from Kosovo and Metohija. He asked what is it that Pristina is celebrating when, in 11 years since its unilateral declaration of independence, it has not become a member of the Council of Europe, UN, UNESCO, Interpol, and other international organizations, while at the same time recalling that the EU signed a treaty with Kosovo as a territory, not as a state. According to Dacic, Serbia does not want to aggravate its conflict with Pristina, but to discuss and reach a compromise solution. Serbia does not intend to recognize Kosovo’s independence and it will never do so, Dacic said, adding that our country will continue to pursue the policy of withdrawal of the recognition of Kosovo’s independence, although it is pressed to stop with it. He said that in the past twenty years, Serbia repaid more than 700 million Euros in loans for Trepca, which Kosovo companies were taking. We repay this because we maintain that Kosovo is part of the Serbian territory, and they do not say “do not pay for us, we are an independent state”. When it is to pay, then they are part of Serbia, Dacic underlined. In addition to all that, current leaders in Pristina are people for whom arrest warrants have been issued for the crimes they had committed in Kosovo and Metohija.

TurkStream once again stopped by Bulgaria (Novosti)

Bulgarian Bulgartransgas company temporarily suspended a tender for the construction of gas pipe line from the compressor substation Nova Provadija to the border with Serbia. All this could postpone the start of installing the pipes of TurkStream, Novosti reported. The experts claimed that this situation should not have an impact on the fate of the TurkStream, because stopping the tender was not a consequence of political barriers, but primarily “uncertainties” regarding participants in the construction works on the gas pipe line.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Only internal agreement can save B&H (Srna/Politika)

The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Milorad Dodik assessed that the international situation has changed and that in the world it has been understood and recognized that B&H cannot survive unless it finds any kind of cohesion element. “In the case of establishing a minimum of commonness between the three nations and the two entities, this should be transposed into a basic consensus, at least in something, otherwise B&H has no chance,” Dodik said in an interview for the Serbian newspaper Politika. According to him, such agreement was hampered by the misguided beliefs of those who believed in the story that an international factor will resolve something for them. “The Bosniak elite see their role as an inventor of what would be good, and after that the machinery of the international factor starts with pressures. I think in the world things have changed significantly. The world is in process of dislocating its problems and projections. International interventionism is on the end, whatever someone thought about it,” Dodik says. Dodik points out that still exist those in the world who “are contaminating the local space” by offering allegedly solutions, they continue persistently with stereotypes on which they have made their career 20 years ago. “It’s all the part of a tragic policy that does not allow to Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats to find some solutions and make progress,” Dodik said. The Chairman of the Presidency of B&H emphasizes that the principle of negation in B&H should be replaced by constructiveness if the progress is wanted, and asked why it is problem to allow everyone to work undisturbedly on the resources of the locality that they control. Dodik said that the Republika Srpska (RS) wants to develop and does not want a slow B&H, by the permanently obstruction of the projects. “If this continues B&H will not go far away. If the political elite and the people of B&H do not find their agreement, I do not see why it is illogical to conclude that we should think of something else.” Maybe a peaceful break-up, which should not mean the establishment of some hard border lines, but enabling for people and goods to get free with the highest possible level of tolerance and guarantee of property,” Dodik said. He points out that these are all hypotheses, but it is certain that the existing mode offers only agony and decay. Dodik stressed that “the possible war options” are just pure imagination and pointed out that the best for all would be to reach an agreement that B&H has two or three functions unquestionable by all, and which are the cheapest for all and that which is seized by the lower levels of authority ought to be returned. While stressing that the threat of the war is notorious nonsense, Dodik said that RS has no problem of armed threats from Bosniaks and Croats, but that its problem is from the other side. “When there were no such forces, political processes would probably have started in some other direction,” Dodik said.

Dodik: Synonym for RS can be only Western Serbia (Srna)

The Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik said that any possible initiative to change the name of the Republika Srpska (RS) it will be answered with the initiative of adding a dash next to the name RS and adding Western Serbia. Dodik stressed that demands such as the denial of the name RS irritate even though they are impossible, but to be concerned about the outvoting in the B&H Constitutional Court, where there are present three foreign judges and two which they are former vice presidents of The Party of Democratic Action (PDA). “If they initiate this initiative, we will initiate the initiative of adding a dash next to the name RS and adding – Western Serbia. Not to change the name but to supplement it, if they want to fill it in. If they want us to go, we will go to the end. The synonym for RS can be only Western Serbia,” Dodik said. Dodik remind that 15 years ago, in America, they gave him a paper in which they were seeking to rename the RS as they are now seeking – to be a republic of Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, before that they demanded that be elected one president of B&H. The Chairman of the Presidency of B&H points out that those who deny the name of RS know well that half of the people would leave RS when it no longer existed. He argues that Sarajevo has thought that Serbs are their main problem, while the only serious partner for B&H is Serbia, not only for RS. “Since I am in Sarajevo, they have asked me for urgency at the Military Medical Academy at least six times. This is just an illustration of familiarity of each other, which Serbia understands,” Dodik says. He points out that the situation needs to be calmed, pointing out that the best possible relationships are needed. When it comes to the Commission for Srebrenica headed by Israeli historian Gideon Grauf, Dodik says that the previous report was imposed by the High Representative’s story which was created under serious pressure. “How it is possible that this report from 2004 included seven days of July 1995, without a single victim of the Serbs. This is one exclusive document designed only to cover the policies of that time. In order to understand the happenings in Srebrenica as a whole, must be seen a wider period. The false and incorrect report was used as a fact for international courts which they did not have any other evidence,” Dodik says. He points out that in the Commission, headed by Grajf does not have people from RS, but only there are the foreign authorities who are not ready to sacrifice their reputation and they did not want any special fees their work. “When foreign experts find out what happened, our government will accept what they write,” Dodik says.

Cubrilovic: In B&H energy should be spend on what is possible to agree (Srna)

RS parliament speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic said that in B&H energy should not be spend on non-consenting issues such as NATO membership, but to focus on what is possible to agree. In B&H, there are different views regarding the NATO membership. At this moment, there are many more important things that we need to be focused on, especially I mean the constitution of the authorities at the B&H level, Cubrilovic told journalists.

Zvizdic at Munich Security Conference: B&H must be part of EU and NATO (Fena)

The Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic attended the opening of the 55th Munich Security Conference. This year’s security conference, which ended on Sunday, was attended by 35 heads of state or government, more than a hundred foreign ministers, officials from international organizations, experts from around the world. They all discussed, among other things, the future of defense cooperation, the crisis of the liberal international order, the arms race, as well as security in South East Europe. The conference was opened by Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Ursula von der Leyen and the United Kingdom Secretary of Defense Gavin Williamson. In his addressing, President of the Conference Wolfgang Ischinger said that this year’s conference is the most important since its establishment. Chairman Zvizdic, before the opening of the conference, said that the Munich Security Conference is an opportunity to get acquainted with the development of events, trends and global relations in the field of security, mutual cooperation and economic prosperity. Bearing in mind the introductory presentations and documents of the Conference as well as the challenges faced by the modern world in order to preserve stability and combat terrorism and organized crime, it is quite clear that B&H must be part of the family of European and NATO countries. “All other ideas are of a short-term nature, without valid arguments, based on narrow political and personal goals and certainly cannot withstand the test of global and European processes whose key principle is in the multilateral defense of European democratic values,” said Zvizdic. Chairman Zvizdic also attended the panel on “The Future of Defense Cooperation – Joint Force?”, Attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Foreign Ministers of France, Poland, Canada and Japan and a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee USA.

Stoltenberg: We are ready to accept B&H’s Annual National Programme (N1)

NATO is ready to accept Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) first Annual National Program (ANP) but this decision is on B&H authorities, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told N1. NATO’s senior official confirmed that he briefly met Denis Zvizdic, the Chairman of B&H’s Council of Minister, on the sidelines of a security conference taking place in Munich these days, and that he told him the decision on adoption of this document, which paves the way for activation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP), depends solely on B&H’s authorities.

“B&H is a valuable partner,” Stoltenberg said, adding that NATO has been present in the Western Balkans for decades and will continue cooperating with its countries. “We can see certain progress in the Western Balkans, Montenegro has become a NATO member state and the Republic of North Macedonia is in the process of accession to the NATO. We welcome that, those were two sovereign decisions of these countries in the Western Balkans,” said Stoltenberg.

President rejects allegations she changed speeches to appease Vucic (Hina)

The Office of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Saturday denied the claim by her former domestic policy adviser Mate Radeljic that she had promised to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that she would not use the terms “Greater Serbia aggression” and “the Srebrenica genocide” in her public speeches. “There is no need to again answer questions about which there is no doubt whatsoever. What happened in the 1990s was aggression on Croatia in the name of Greater Serbia policy, and an international tribunal has qualified the crimes committed in Srebrenica as genocide and no one with good intentions questions that” spokeswoman for the President’s Office Ivana Crnic said. Radeljic told the RTL that the Croatian president had promised to her Serbian counterpart that she would not use the terms “Greater Serbian aggression” and “the Srebrenica genocide”. RTL asked Radeljic who the president was referring to when she said at a press conference earlier on Saturday that she was wrong about the “For the Homeland Ready” salute because one of her advisers had told her that it was a historical Croatian greeting. “It turns out that the president was some sort of a puppet of her advisers. I don’t know who she was referring to and it would have been nice if she had said who she meant” Radeljić said. Radeljic then wondered if any of her advisers told her after Vucic’s visit to Croatia last year to give an instruction that the two terms should not be used in any of her public speeches.

“She personally told me after Aleksandar Vucic’s visit that she did not want the term Greater Serbia aggression or the Srebrenica genocide to be used in public speeches because she had promised that to Aleksandar Vucic. Let her deny this now and blame it on her advisers” Radeljic said. Radeljic claimed that Grabar-Kitarovic had not used the two terms in any of her speeches after the Serbian president’s visit. However, some media have found that this is not true and that the Croatian president used the term “Greater Serbia aggression”.

Croatian reintegration model applicable to Ukraine and Georgia, says Plenkovic (Hina)

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic reiterated on Saturday that Croatia’s experience with the peaceful reintegration of its Danube region in 1998 could benefit Ukraine and Georgia which have lost parts of their territories in wars with Russia. Similar statements in the past have provoked sharply-worded responses from Moscow which believes that “parallel domestic structures” encourage Kiev’s “war campaign” rather than call for the restoration of dialogue with Moscow through the Minsk process. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Plenkovic said that the experience of Ukraine and Georgia was comparable to that of Croatia, parts of whose territory were occupied by Serb insurgents backed by the Yugoslavia from 1990 to 1998.

“We had two solutions: a military solution and a diplomatic solution. The solution that relied on pressure and diplomacy resulted in the reintegration of our territory,” Plenkovic said. He said that this model could be applied to Ukraine and George, adding that the two countries would have fared better had they been members of the EU and NATO. “Ukraine and Georgia are neither members of the EU nor of NATO and this complicates the situation. Had they been members, the situation would have been much different,” said Plenkovic, who had formerly served as chief of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Ukraine.

Protest in Podgorica gathered several thousand citizens (TMN)

On the second civic protest under the slogan “97,000 Odupri Se” (97,000 Resist), several thousand people gathered in Podgorica on Saturday, 16 February, and urged the resignations of President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic, the Special State Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic and Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption Sreten Radonjic. “The main cause for organized crime is the loud silence of state institutions on the occasion of the current scandal – the “Koverta” affair, which represents the paradigm of the situation in our society, which is only one of many that shake Montenegro,” the organizers of the protest said. In front of the building of the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office and the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, thousands of gathered citizens responded to the organizer’s appeal and did not emphasize any national and party features. Instead, they carried the transparencies “We are a state,” “Without freedom, there is no state,” “Freedom to the people – stop crime,” “Milo, does your family know you are a starlet?”, “Bunt”…

Before the start of the protest, there was a minute of silence, followed by a whirling siren, which has been posted to all victims of the regime for the past 30 years. The actor Slavisa Grubisa as a free citizen said that “our freedom has no price and not being sold in the envelopes.” “We demand that the Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic, Special State Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic and Agency for Prevention of Corruption Director Sreten Radnjic urgently resign. We demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and President of the State Milo Djukanovic,” Grubisa submitted initial protest requests. Citizens embarked on a protest walk from the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office and then continued to institutions, to which the protest addressed – the buildings of the Central Bank of Montenegro, the Assembly, the President and the Central Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). During the protest walks, citizens screamed “Milo, Thief,” “Everyone on the Street,” “DPS Thieves,” “Resignations,” “Milo, Liar,” “We Want Justice,” “Rise, People, Street of Liberty.” Former Liberal Alliance officer Dzemal Perovic said there was no “healthy tissue” in the government, claiming that the only healthy tissue in the Montenegrin society was in protest. “Is it necessary to explain here tonight why we should resist? Do we have to say that they came as hooligans of a policy, led Montenegro into war, committed war crimes, smuggling, robbery privatization and all that we know in these 30 years” Perovic said. He told the government representatives to “hate their bests” as they robbed us, cheat, sell and buy and “what’s the most hurt, present us in the world.” “It is important to say Europe feels this shame, to know that normal people live here. We do not expect them to exploit European values. We have those values; we are demonstrating them here tonight. We are fighting for human rights, freedom, security, and dignity. From today, we are committed as Europe’s partners,” Perovic said, calling for unity:” Since we have set ourselves this magnificent goal, to free Montenegro from them (the ruling DPS and partner parties) and begin to root the system change, there is no difference between us tonight, or in the next gatherings. There are differences, we will articulate them when we build democratic institutions of the systems, which are not in Montenegro,” said Dzemal Perovic, one of the members of the Organizing Committee.

One of the organizers of the protest, Jovan Gajevic, addressing the participants in front of the President’s office, said: “It is time to act.” “We’re normal, not them. It’s the government who have no sense of responsibility and public interest, not us. They are who have no idea what they are doing, not us. They are those who lie, cheat and scorn themselves and the country they are kneeling, not us. They are the ones who steal us, not us” Gajevic said. “They deserve to disappear from our public life,” he said. The protest walk continued to the DPS Headquarters in the Jovan Tomasevic Street. Milos Krivokapic stated “We have to fight for freedom because we have a feudal system in the face. We are fighting for achievements the French bourgeois revolution in 1789.” “Have you forgotten that Svetozar Marovic has admitted that he is the leader of a criminal organization, and is now “under treatments” in Belgrade cafes? Crash in Montenegro is the best remedy for a guilty plea. Is that a proof that the reality of the wrongs is understandable and that the judiciary is going to fall?” Krivokapic said. He pointed out that there are over 700 employees in RTCG, Railways, hundreds of employees at the Central Bank, Waterworks, Cleaners, Airports of Montenegro, Electricity Services … Krivokapic emphasized that there were more than 97,000 reasons why power has to go and why a fundamental change of system is needed, with the change of government. Denis Mekic said the regime led to the collapse of northern Montenegro, whereby DPS “satellites” – representatives of the Bosniak Party and other “satellite parties” helped them. “Let’s not forget why we do this. Today there are 10,000 citizens here. We will be persistent. As long as necessary, we will return to our Street of Freedom,” Mekic said. “We call on citizens and all progressive forces of society to actively engage in formulating and designing specific demands and actions to root the changes of the system. We are investigating the achievement of our goal, all available forms of nonviolence and civil disobedience,” one of the organizers, actor Slavisa Grubisa, said. The protest has gone smoothly and in a positive atmosphere. The organizers announced the demonstration every Saturday until meeting the requirements.

Government of Montenegro supports Republic North Macedonia NATO path (TMN)

At its latest session, the government of Montenegro passed the Draft Law on the Ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of the Republic North Macedonia to NATO and sent it to parliament for adoption under the shortened procedure. The rationale of the proposed law states that, by reaching a historic agreement with Greece on the new name in June 2018, the integration of the Republic North Macedonia into NATO, after many years of stagnation, marked significant progress and at the NATO Summit in July 2018, Macedonia was invited to start accession talks with the Alliance. With the adoption of constitutional changes in the parliament and the ratification of the Prespa Agreement by the Greek Parliament, the conditions for the signing of the Protocol on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to NATO were created at the North Atlantic Council meeting (NAC) on 6 February 2019. The discussion, where several members of the Cabinet took part, highlighted the efforts, visionary and courage in the process of stabilizing the situation in Macedonia and the opening of the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective of the country, as well as the continuous support that Montenegro has provided at the meetings between the two Prime Ministers Dusko Markovic and Zoran Zaev, as well as on other occasions. Montenegro wants, the discussion stressed, to be among the first NATO members to ratify the Protocol. Prime Minister Dusko Markovic noted that Montenegro is pleased to express the desire for the friendly country to end the membership negotiations as quickly as possible and become the 30th member of NATO. “Montenegro reaffirms the support it has provided to Macedonia, which will become an additional stability factor in the region and its Euro-Atlantic perspective,” the Prime Minister concluded.

Mogherini and Hahn confirm the arrival of the notification about the new name of Macedonia (Meta)

EU High Representative and the Vice President for Common Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn confirmed the arrival of the notification by the Republic of North Macedonia about its new name and congratulated Skopje and Athens on the achievement. “The European Union has formally been notified by the Republic of North Macedonia of its new name, following the entry into force of the Prespa agreement. We warmly welcome this historic step, which sets an example of reconciliation for the Western Balkans region and beyond. We congratulate the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of North Macedonia on this major achievement, turning a new page of our common EU future,” Mogherini and Hahn state.

Zaev and Tsipras awarded with Ewald von Kleist Award for resolving the name dispute (Nezavisen vesnik)

The Munich Security Conference awarded the Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Greece, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras respectively, with the Ewald von Kleist Award for outstanding contribution to resolving the long-standing bilateral dispute. Bavarian Prime Minister Florian Herrmann hosted the awarding ceremony. Aiming to honor leading figures in security policy that have made an outstanding contribution to international peace and conflict management, MSC inaugurated the ‘Ewald von Kleist’ Award in 2009 and among its recipients thus far are Henry Kissinger, Javier Solana, Helmut Schmidt, and Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, former German President Joachim Gauck and late US Senator John McCain. This is a great honor for the citizens of North Macedonia and Greece, Zaev said. “I have three words to describe the success of our friendship: Hope, Dialogue and Unity,” Zaev said at the ceremony, extending gratitude to citizens of his country, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well the Foreign Ministers of both countries, Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias.

Zaev shared his award with his friend, Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Bosrissov, and all other leaders of the Balkan countries, the government said in a press release. “I dedicate this award to all young people I the Balkan region. What we are doing today sets the foundations for what you – the young generation – will do tomorrow,” Zaev said.

Siljanovska wins VMRO-DPMNE’s confidence for presidential candidate (Nezavisen vesnik)

Professor Gordana Siljanovska is the VMRO-DPMNE candidate for president of Macedonia. 408 out of 519 delegates voted for her at the convention. Her opponents congratulated her on her victory. Siljanovska, in her first speech as Macedonia’s presidential candidate from the ranks of VMRO-DPMNE, said that the time has come for her to pay back her fatherland for everything she has received from it. “I am not a nationalist, I am for the rule of law. Laws should be within the Constitution. I will tell you something personal. I was born in a Turkish house, and since I was 10 I have had Albanian brotherhood. Today, I have students, generations of Vlachs, Turks and Roma,” Siljanovska said. She said that at the moment we have two governments and two societies, which is why there must be an upheaval. “I know that in order to participate and win in a presidential election, you must have the support of a major party such as VMRO-DPMNE,” Siljanovska said.

SDSM convenes an emergency meeting with the coalition (Nezavisen vesnik)

The first working meeting of the parties from the SDSM-led coalition that jointly took part in the last parliamentary elections was held on Sunday at the SDSM headquarters. The SDSM EC at the last session authorized the party’s president, the general and the organizing secretary, to consult with the coalition partners, as well as with other parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, about the possibility of reaching a consensual candidate for the upcoming presidential election. “The consultations will continue in the next few days with parties that are part of the government coalition, with parliamentary parties, as well as other parties,” SDSM said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Vučić and Thaçi in Munich: Slim chances for an agreement in the near future (European Western Balkans, by Aleksandar Ivkovic, 16 February 2019)

Even though their panel on the security in South East Europe at the Munich Security Conference came immediately after the panel with Prime Ministers of Greece and North Macedonia, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, Presidents of Serbia and Kosovo Aleksandar Vučić and Hashim Thaçi agreed that the relations between these two countries are much more difficult to normalise.

The panel was moderated by Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and former mediator in the negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, while the third participant was Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. President Vučić assessed that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is currently in a stalemate. He emphasised that Serbia is doing its best to reach a compromise and that it has fulfilled all of its obligations arising from the achieved agreements. “They had only one obligation to deliver on – Association of Serbian Municipalities – and they have delivered nothing”, said Vučić. Even though Pristina imposed tariffs on Serbian goods more than 100 days ago, there has been no retaliation, Vučić added. He stressed that both the tariffs, as well as the newly adopted negotiating platform, are against the dialogue. According to him, the process of negotiations is important for the peace, stability and tranquility of the region. The most pressing issue is how to develop future Serbian-Albanian relations. Nevertheless, he assessed that the two sides are very far from the solution as of today. In his response, President Thaçi stated that, since 2013, most of the agreements reached with Serbia have been implemented or are being implemented, but they must be in accordance with the constitution of Kosovo. “We are now in a state of a frozen conflict, which, I believe, means a regression – we need a compromise that would provide mutual recognition and enable Kosovo’s UN membership”, he emphasised. According to Thaçi, the tariffs are a result of what happened in Interpol (Kosovo failed to become a member of the organisation in November after intensive lobbying of Serbia). “We have never conditioned the dialogue. Of course, there are challenges between us, but the Association of Serbian Municipalities should not be used only for the political gains for Serbia”, he said. He also expressed hope that, in the following weeks and months, an agreement that would maintain both Serbia’s and Kosovo’s multi-ethnic status, will be reached. Vučić reacted with a claim that Kosovo only has one obligation to fulfill – the establishment of the Association. He added that many of the Serbia’s obligations are not directly in accordance with its own constitution, which only recognizes the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. “We don’t care about their constitution because they do not care about our constitution”, Vučić stated. He emphasised that, if a peace axis between Albanians and Serbs is achieved, it would secure peace in the Western Balkans for the next 100, 200 years. “I am risking not only my political career, but much more, in order to achieve that peace”, he said. For his part, Commissioner Hahn reminded that the minority of citizenship in Macedonia and Greece had been in favour of reaching a solution before it was reached, and that the support for it has risen since then. This can serve as an example to Kosovo and Serbia. “The positive solution of this relationship is crucial for the whole region, because if the two sides are blocking each other, they are blocking the other four”, said Hahn. According to him, even though it does not look like that, now is the right time to strike a deal between the two sides, before the end of the current Commission’s mandate. “I urge the two sides to work on a compromise – everybody needs to give something away in order to get something”, Hahn stated. In his closing remarks, President Thaçi stressed that President Vučić needs to accept that Kosovo is a sovereign country, recognized by more than a 100 countries of the world. “There is still hope, because there is a willingness to sit down and talk – we do have differences in our opinions but we are still willing to discuss them”, he said. “I know that the recognition won’t be a present from Serbia, it has to be a compromise. EU and US must be as united as possible in their support to the agreement, there is even a chance that Russia will accept the compromise. Leaders in the region also support our agreement. We can maintain this frozen relationship, but it will have a negative impact for the entire region”, Thaçi concluded. President Vučić used his final turn to ask why Kosovo still needs a dialogue if it is already a completely sovereign country. Serbia needs peace and stability, and this is the reason behind its willingness to negotiate, he added. He remarked that his country is doing its best to lower the expectations of our public, while Kosovo doing its best to raise those expectations. The issue of demarcation needs to remain on the table, because different international actors recognize different borders, Vučić added, without going into further details. “We need a dedicated work with 1, 2 and 3% of chance that we would reach a compromise. I cannot guarantee that it will happen”, he concluded.

UN chief hails victory of ‘political will’ in historic Republic of North Macedonia accord (UN News, 14 February 2019)

The UN-brokered agreement between Athens and Skopje to formally recognize the “Republic of North Macedonia”, is a welcome, “historical” step that should be supported by regional and international Member States, António Guterres has announced. In a statement following on from the entry into force of the Prespa Agreement between the two countries on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General confirmed that he had received official notification of the development, which settles a nearly 30-year dispute between the two neighbors. Mr. Guterres congratulated the two sides and Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras, of Greece, and Zoran Zaev, of North Macedonia, “on their determination in creating a forward-looking vision for relations between the two countries and reconciliation in the Balkan region and beyond”. He added that he was “deeply grateful” to the UN’s longest-serving envoy Matthew Nimetz of the United States, for his “unwavering commitment and dedication” in pursuing the deal. On Thursday afternoon, the UN Protocol and Liaison Service announced the official switchover within the UN, from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the new name of North Macedonia. The official long version of the name will be the Republic of North Macedonia.

Name-change deal solves ‘seemingly intractable’ split

The Prespa Agreement was signed by both countries on 17 June last year and ratified by their parliaments last month. It demonstrates that “even seemingly intractable issues can be resolved through dialogue and political will” Mr. Guterres insisted. Negotiations on the name dispute began in 1993 and have been led by the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy Mr. Nimetz since 1999.