LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: Mutual recognition, in your dreams! (Tanjug)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic addressed the citizens of Serbia via social networks and said that "those who say that he is seeking amnesty for his family and does not fight for the under-threat Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are lying". "Serb people, dear citizens, Western agent Rada Trajkovic says I am asking for amnesty for my family, not for saving the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija... She is lying, she is lying! As well as all those in the parliament who were talking that nonsense. So, people, keep in mind. My family is here, we are guilty because we are defending Serbia. Mutual recognition, in your dreams! Long live Serbia," the President said on his Instagram account.

 

Vucic meets with Lajcak (Tanjug/RTS/RTV)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak in Belgrade on Monday evening. The meeting was held at Vila Mir. "An open and friendly discussion with Miroslav Lajcak. When I say open, I really mean that. You understand everything I said. Long live Serbia," Vucic wrote in a post on his Instagram profile that also included a photo from the meeting. Lajcak arrived in Belgrade from Pristina, where he met with Pristina's PM Albin Kurti earlier in the day. In a Twitter post after the meeting, Kurti wrote that Pristina accepted an EU proposal for normalisation of its relations with Belgrade. He added that the proposal was "a good basis for further discussion and a solid platform for moving forward".

 

Vucic disappointed with SPS, ready for new election (Novosti/Beta)

 

Serbian Progressive Party president Aleksandar Vucic said at a Monday meeting of the party's leadership that he was ready for an election and the possibility of becoming the opposition rather than allow "partisan and private interests to run the state", Novosti reported. "I'm prepared for an election as the prime minister candidate, but I won't cave to blackmail -- from the West, or the [Socialist Party of Serbia], or false right-wingers," Vucic said. According to a Novosti exclusive, this suggestion of a complete reshuffling of the state political scene emerged after a recap of a recent session of the Serbian parliament dedicated to Kosovo and Metohija, as Vucic, also president of the country, said the Progressive party had stood alone in defending state interests. "I am very disappointed with the behavior of the Socialists, who were neither here nor there, trying to curry favor with everyone," Progressive sources told Novosti he said. Serbian Education Minister Branko Ruzic, a Socialist party official, said he could see no foundation for the criticism that the party was courting the opposition, adding that the Socialist party's policy had always been one of statehood and that Vucic had the sincerest and most solid of allies in Socialist leader Ivica Dacic. "Tensions shouldn't be raised. The state is in a difficult time and the most healing thing would be for the [Socialist] and [Progressive] presidents to discuss the matter, because I think this is damaging Serbia," Ruzic told Radio and Television Vojvodina.

 

Dacic: SPS supports Vucic's policy on Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug)

 

The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) stands firmly with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and supports his policy on Kosovo and Metohija, the Socialists' leader Ivica Dacic said on Monday. It has been our common foreign policy for 11 years now, Dacic said in a statement to Tanjug.

A Foreign Ministry statement said that Dacic cancelled all his meetings scheduled for Tuesday.

 

Vucevic talks Kosovo, cooperation and support with Slovak, Greek Ambassadors (Beta/RTV)

 

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic met with the Ambassadors of Slovakia and Greece in Belgrade on Monday and thanked them for their countries not recognizing Kosovo and supporting Serbia's European path. Slovak Ambassador Fedor Rosocha said his country's position was "clear and rests on the principles of international law," adding that Kosovo's bid to join the EU was "premature", the Defense Ministry said in a press release. He said Serbia and Slovakia were "sincere and reliable partners", and expressed the wish to contribute as much as possible to cooperation in defense, but also in the economy, between the two countries during his tenure in Belgrade, the statement read. In his meeting with Greek Ambassador Maria Levanti, Vucevic said Greece not recognizing Kosovo was an "indicator of Athens' consistence in respecting the sovereignty of other nations" and that Greece was "an important international partner" to Serbia, the EU member with which Belgrade traditionally has the "closest ties".

 

Serbia, Hungary committed to development of cooperation in field of energy (RTS/RTV/Tanjug)

 

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto confirmed, during today’s meeting in Belgrade, the commitment of the two countries to the further development of cooperation in several spheres of energy. At a joint press conference after the meeting, Djedovic and Szijjarto emphasised the importance of building a gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria, which will also be one of the options for gas supply from Azerbaijan for Hungary. Djedovic pointed out that Serbia will work on strengthening its energy infrastructure, stressing the importance of plans for the construction of the Pannonian Corridor for the transmission of electricity, as well as the diversification of oil supply through the construction of an oil pipeline to Hungary, for which preparations have begun. Answering questions by journalists, she said that the situation in Turkey after the earthquake is being closely monitored due to the situation with the gas pipeline, and added that there are currently significant gas reserves in storage facilities in Serbia and Hungary. Szijjarto pointed out that they are working together to double the amount of electricity transmission between the two countries by 2028, and stated that cooperation is also possible regarding the nuclear capacities of PAKS 2 and 3 in Hungary, which are expected to be operational after 2030. The Minister assessed that the energy cooperation between the two countries is excellent and that, in case of need, Hungary can, as it already did in 2022, buy and store gas for Serbia’s needs in the amount of 500 million cubic metres.

 

Mojsilovic meets US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (FoNet)

 

Serbian Chief of Staff General Milan Mojsilovic, who is paying an official visit to the US, had several bilateral meetings with senior officials of the US Ministry of Defense in Washington at which they discussed the current security situation in the world and challenges in the region, as well as bilateral military cooperation between Serbia and the US. General Mojsilovic had separate meetings in the Pentagon with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milley, and other officials of the US Department of Defense and described the talks as “open, meaningful, professional and focused on the future,” said the Serbian Defense Ministry. Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric also attended the meetings.

 

Dveri Movement refuses Vucic’s invitation over unacceptable condition (N1)

 

The presidency of the Serbian Movement Dveri said that it has refused an invitation received by their MP caucus from the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic to get acquainted with the Franco-German proposal for resolving the Kosovo issue. Dveri said it finds the invitation unacceptable for a number of reasons, the main being that they have been informed that they can get acquainted with the document providing that they do not discuss it in public. “That is precisely what the public is asking for – that all Serbian citizens have the right to know what the content of the new West’s ultimatum put before Serbia is. Dveri MPs fully agree with this public expectation,” said Dveri in a press release. The movement added that it remains committed to cooperating with all parliamentary and non-parliamentary patriotic political forces in order to defend and preserve Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia.  “Our position is as stated in the St. Sava Proclamation for the Salvation of Kosovo and Metohija, that the Franco-German proposal should be rejected in its entirety and without delay, because it is contrary to the Serbian Constitution and UN Security Council 1244, which treat Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of Serbia,” said Dveri. The movement said the biggest shortcoming of the recently held special parliament session on Kosovo and Metohija is that the ruling majority refused to adopt a conclusion rejecting what Dveri described as the West’s unacceptable proposal. “It is clear that the President of the Republic did not want to be limited by a new parliamentary platform on Kosovo, which would clearly draw red lines that our negotiators would not be allowed to cross. This way, room was deliberately left for negotiations that will be to the detriment of Serbian national and state interests because they are based on the Franco-German agreement whose only goal is the entry of the fake state of Kosovo into all leading international organizations,” said Dveri. The movement repeatedly called on the Serbian President to make the proposal public, and on all political actors, public figures and citizens who, as it said, care for Kosovo and Metohija, to achieve a broad national unity on deflecting all Western pressure for Serbia to join the recognition of Kosovo in any way.

 

Tadic: West created precedent now used by Putin (Nationalinterest.org/N1/NSPM)

 

Former Serbian president Boris Tadic said in an opinion piece for Nationalinterest.org that the West that created the legal precedent which Russian President Vladimir Putin is using for his own goals. Tadic recalled Putin’s speech in which he accused the West of having “trampled on the principle of the inviolability of borders, and now it is deciding, at its own discretion, who has the right to self-determination and who does not”. “For those with long-enough memories, this refers to Kosovo. When the ethnic-Albanian leadership of the Serbian province unilaterally declared independence in 2008, most of the West immediately recognized it as a state,” Tadic wrote. “The UN Charter, which guarantees the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members, was simply ignored. For Putin, his salami slicing of other nations begins with Kosovo: it has been repeatedly cited as precedent in recognizing or annexing South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Crimea, and now the latest regions in eastern and southern Ukraine,” he added. Tadic said that this highlights the West’s “once circumstantial approach to principles it now proclaims sacrosanct in Ukraine”. He said that the principle of territorial integrity was not applied consistently in the age of Western interventionism after the Cold War but has depended on friendship and Western preference. “Unfortunately, that inconsistency has denuded international law of its authority, creating a world where unilateral declarations of border changes become permissible,” the former Serbian president said. He recalled that Putin warned in 2008 that the West did not understand the consequences of recognizing Kosovo. According to him, claims by Western politicians that Kosovo was a sui generis case did not pass muster. “Russia both criticized the decision, then also used it as a precedent. The double standard could now be used by anyone,” he said. “For Kosovo, the West would argue the ghost of the Western Balkans wars from the 1990s changed everything. Yet in 2008, Kosovo Albanians faced no existential pressures. The Serbian leadership had grappled with its history, apologized for war crimes committed at Srebrenica, Bosnia, and Vukovar, Croatia, and fulfilled all obligations towards the Hague Tribunal, established by the UN to prosecute crimes committed during conflicts in the Balkans. Our government was on a liberal and pro-European trajectory. We were a fully-fledged democracy. A deal for extensive and full Kosovo autonomy within the Serbian state was on the table,” Tadic said and recalled that the Kosovo Albanians knew they had the full support of the United States… and “this emboldened their leadership to shun compromise and reject Serbian offers of full autonomy”. Tadic said that nothing of what Putin has claimed or done is justified but that what the West did opened the door for the Russian president to step through. “The Kosovo precedent and the subsequent ICJ ruling not only has implications for the international community; it has also given license to any group that wants to secede. With global instability on the rise, this will become increasingly dangerous,” he warned. “If we are to return some semblance of stability to our increasingly fractious and decentralized world, we must return to the principle of territorial integrity,” he added. “Of course, there is a simple solution. The Western states could roll back their recognition of Kosovo, reaffirming that the principle of territorial integrity applies across time and all contexts. This may not stop the likes of Putin, but it would remove his justification for illegal land grabs whilst dampening dormant secessionist forces around the world that will feed on future instability,” Tadic said.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Results of early elections held on Sunday (BHT1)

 

SDP Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) candidate Zijad Lugavic has won in early elections for a Mayor of Tuzla with around 47 per cent of votes. However, out of 111,000 registered voters, only around 25,000 exercised that right. SDP B&H justified low voter turnout with early elections, whilst at the same time people are increasingly losing confidence in regularity of elections and possibility of change. BHT1 carries statements of Tuzla citizens who say the same officials have been on political scene for years only changing offices and they no longer expect anything from elections. Around 80 per cent of B&H citizens have the right to vote, and the Coalition ‘Pod lupom’ representatives say the fact that less than 30 per cent citizens vote in elections is devastating. Addressing a press conference, ‘Pod lupom’ representative Dario Jovanovic said that election results in local community show “that candidates elected in executive offices, in best case scenario, represent interests or have support of one in eight residents”. Candidate of POMAK Elvedin Sedic won in early elections for the Mayor of Bihac held on Sunday. In the race for the Mayor of Bihac Sedic defeated candidates of SDA, SDP and two independent candidates. Candidates of SDA and SDP, namely Hamdija Abdic and Adnan Habibija admitted defeat. Nova BH carries opinion poll among residents of Bihac, where majority expressed content with the victory of Sedic. Habibija and Abdic believe that low turnout in elections contributed to abovementioned results. In his first address after victory, Sedic thanked to citizens who supported him, as well as former Mayor of Bihac Suhret Fazlic. Abdic stated that the victory of Sedic is just continuation of policies that forced many residents of Bihac to depart to foreign countries. He stressed that during the rule of POMAK, some 6,000 people left Bihac. Habibija underlined that obviously Bihac was not prepared for changes. Habibija stressed that parties gathered around ‘The Eight’ coalition left him to fight alone against “two strong machineries, those of POMAK and SDA”. SDA’s candidate Migdad Hasanovic has been elected a Head of Vogosca Municipality in the early elections that took place on Sunday. Hasanovic won twice as many as votes as his opponent, People and Justice (NiP) candidate Adnan Serak. Hasanovic announced that he will be “the Head of the Municipality who will work to meet the needs of all citizens”. Joint candidate of NiP, SDP and Our Party Adnan Bjelic won 6,555 votes in the race for the Head of Srebrenik Municipality, while his counter candidate Nermin Tursic (SDA) won 6,239. This is result presented by B&H CEC after 99.2 percent of ballots were counted. SNSD candidate for Zvornik Mayor, Bojan Ivanovic won the early elections. Ivanovic, who was the only candidate in Zvornik, received the support of 15,293 voters. Ivanovic said he will work on infrastructure projects but also start making preparations for next year’s local elections. “A year and six months until the local elections, large capital projects are planned for Zvornik, starting with the water supply, then the improvement of the banks of the forts of the Drina and Hoca rivers, which caused great damage in the floods”, Ivanovic explained. Zvornik citizens say they are happy with the election results. They say that even if Ivanovic ran against other candidates, he would still win the majority support in this local community. The voter turnout in the early elections for the Head of the Bratunac Municipality was the highest, compared to other cities and municipalities. The official results will be known in a month, but the preliminary results said that SNSD’s candidate Lazar Prodanovic got more votes than the previous Head of the Bratunac Municipality Srdjan Rankic, who was impeached. Prodanovic said that he wants to be the Head of the Municipality for all of Bratunac citizens. He said that he will implement his plans with the best and most qualified team of people. Rankic was disappointed but he admitted defeat. Rankic claimed that SNSD won with the help of bought votes. The citizens had different opinions. While some said they do not expect anything to change, others said they hope for prosperity.

 

‘The Eight’ begins signature collection process in FB&H House of Representatives in relation to election of FB&H President and Vice Presidents and FB&H government formation (BHT1)

 

Political parties within ‘The Eight’ have begun a signature collection process in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) House of Representatives (HoR) to demonstrate parliamentary majority in relation to election of the FB&H leadership and formation of the FB&H government. BHT1 reports that SDP B&H informed the process is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, they are waiting for the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) to confirm the candidates for the FB&H President and Vice Presidents, and after the 48-hour complaint period, an urgent session of the B&H HoR will be scheduled. Delegate in the FB&H House of Peoples (HoP) and candidate for the FB&H Vice President Igor Stojanovic said for BHT1 said: “I can almost certainly say that SDP will be a part of the new majority”. He went on to say that the next step is that the FB&H HoR and the FB&H HoP confirm or reject the candidates after which the government can be formed. The reporter notes that HDZ B&H officials are also optimistic about the situation, and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic said he is confident that Lidija Bradara will be elected the FB&H President and announced the FB&H government formation within next 20 days, because he is of view there will be no issues with partners from ‘The Eight’. During the session of the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) held on Saturday in Mostar, Covic said: “We should have a convincing majority, i.e. around two thirds of representatives from the FB&H HoR that will support the government and approximately two thirds of delegates in the FB&H HoP. That would be a comfortable majority for the executive authority to work fast”. In an interview for FTV, NiP leader Elmedin Konakovic said once the FB&H leadership is confirmed, “we will soon nominate the FB&H Prime Minister-designate and government, prove our parliamentary majorities and reach the stage when SDA will decide if it will block the life in the FB&H”. According to SDA and DF, ‘The Eight’ does not have majority in the Bosniak Caucus in the FB&H HoP and the power to nominate the candidate for the FB&H Vice President from the rank of Bosniak people, in that regard collecting signatures means nothing, because the parliamentary majority does not appoint the FB&H government, only the FB&H President and Vice Presidents. In an interview for BHT1, SDA Vice President Sefik Dzaferovic said that if ‘The Eight’ counts on SB&H and NES, “then that majority exists. There is a narrow majority even without them. They claim they have the majority, but they do not have what is necessary to form the FB&H government, i.e. majority in the Bosniak Caucus that can nominate (candidate for) the FB&H President/Vice President”. FB&H Vice President Milan Dunovic (DF) said that in case SDA’s Refik Lendo is elected the FB&H Vice President and ‘The Eight’ has the majority, which is questionable, and “if Mr. Lendo refuses to give his signature for the government appointment – which is his constitutional right – then we find ourselves in a situation when the High Representative (Christian Schmidt) could make an intervention.”.

 

Konakovic meets Ambassadors Reilly, Stromquist, discuss bilateral relations, B&H’s EU and NATO path (Dnevni list)

 

Foreign Minister of B&H Elmedin Konakovic met with UK Ambassador to B&H Julian Reilly with whom he talked about bilateral relations between the two countries, B&H’s path to the EU and NATO, reform processes, regional cooperation and geopolitical challenges. FM Konakovic thanked for the support and assistance the UK has been providing to B&H’s Euro-Atlantic path, stressing the importance of strengthening relations between the two countries, both on bilateral and multilateral plan. Ambassador Reilly conveyed his country’s strong dedication to further development of relations with B&H, announcing continuation of implementation of the UK’s policy aimed at building stable and prosperous B&H. FM Konakovic also met with Swedish Ambassador to B&H Johanna Stromquist is a separate meeting, with the Ambassador stressing traditionally very good relations between B&H and Sweden, which is of great importance for both countries, especially because many people with origins from B&H live and work in Sweden. It was stressed that the connections between B&H and Sweden should contribute to development and faster achieving of B&H’s priorities on the EU path. FM Konakovic thanked Ambassador Stromquist on project Sweden has been supporting and carrying out with the FB&H government.

 

US Embassy: Massacre in Markale committed by RS Army (Dnevni avaz)

 

The US Embassy to B&H issued a statement commenting the “shameful comment” of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik who commented marking of the anniversary of massacre in Markale saying that “a false high representative is attending marking of the crime described in lies”. “The 5 February 1994 attack on the Markale market was a senseless act of violence against civilians and a war crime committed by VRS forces laying siege to the city of Sarajevo. The facts of the Markale attack are well established and immutable. Lies and misinformation about this war crime or others that occurred during the 1992-1995 war re-traumatize victims and their families and undermine reconciliation and mutual understanding,” reads the statement of the US Embassy posted on Twitter.

 

Croatian MP barred from entering Serbia over claims of national security concerns (HRT)

 

A Croatian member of parliament was banned from entering Serbia on Saturday after he was invited to attend a cultural event in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in northern Serbia as a member of the parliamentary committee on Croats outside Croatia. Croatian MP and the President of the Croatian Sovereigntists Party, Marijan Pavlicek, held a press conference after Serbian authorities banned him from entering the country over claims that he threatens Serbia's security, this in spite of the fact that he presented them with his diplomatic passport. He called on Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman to look into the matter: "The Croatian Sovereigntists bench in parliament is calling on Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman to send a letter of protest to Serbia regarding this case, and insomuch as no progress is made that we introduce a reciprocal policy for Serbian officials who travel to Croatia." Upon hearing of Serbia's actions, Minister Grlic Radman contacted his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, to voice his concern over the matter: "We want to resolve these problems together with Serbia. Perhaps there are some other forces in Serbia who feel that it is not in their interest to resolve open issues, who might have a different agenda. But I personally, have the assurances of Mr. Dacic that they want to resolve these problems so that these kinds of situations at the border no longer happen, and he has promised me that he will look into the situation."

 

Croatia’s demarche to protest against Serbia’s decision to ban an entry to Croatian MP (Hina)

 

Croatia has sent a demarche to Serbia after a Croatian MP, who is also the president of the Sovereignists party, Marijan Pavlicek, was banned an entry into Serbia on Feb. 4, Croatian

media reported. Having learned about the decision, Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman contacted his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, on Feb. 5, expressing discontent over the way Serbia had treated a citizen of Croatia, and his ministry sent a demarche to the Serbian ambassador to Croatia, Jelena Milic, the day after.

The MP of the right-wing conservative Sovereignists and a member of Croatia’s parliamentary committee on Croats outside Croatia was invited to attend the 6th Sokac Evening in Vajska, Vojvodina, organized by the Croatian folklore association “Antun Sorg.” Pavlicek said in a comment for Vecernji list that his diplomatic passport was confiscated after three hours of waiting at the border, and he was delivered a decree banning him from entering Serbia, because, as he was told, “he’s a threat to the security of the state and its citizens.”

 

Spajic: We are not ready for Open Balkans, to focus on European integration and open up to the world (RTV Niksic/CdM)

 

I don't think we are ready at the moment for the Open Balkans, I think we need to work on it. You need to be completely focused on European integration, said this evening the president of the Europe Now Movement, Milojko Spajic, as a guest on the show on Radio Television Niksic. "I think this is a very poor region which, whether we like it or not, is a European province. Instead of wanting to cooperate with others who are much bigger and richer than us, with whom we could profit, we look at which of the countries in the region we will visit first. I think we have to focus on big countries where there are big innovations, where, in popular terms, there is a lot of money... You can't do that in our region, it's very difficult. There are no conditions for that," Spajic said. He added that we as a country "were afraid of opening for a long time". "We need to open up to the world. We should not be afraid of opening up and competition," he added.

 

Kovacevski-Novak: Europe needs Macedonia (Republika)

 

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski met Monday with Hungarian President Katalin Novak. At the meeting, they expressed the expectation this visit will give impetus to the intensification of bilateral relations between the two countries, especially since this is the first visit of a Hungarian president to Macedonia in the last 20 years. A clear message was conveyed that our country can count on further support from Hungary in European integration. It has been assessed that the Republic of Macedonia needs the EU, in terms of security and stability, and as a country that practices European values, and whose culture is special and European and will enrich the European family of peoples, states and cultures. It was jointly assessed that Macedonia’s EU integration is of national and strategic importance, for our country, but also for the entire Western Balkans and Europe, and therefore the focus of all political subjects in the country is needed, towards the realization of this goal. Kovacevski thanked Hungary for its vocal support for the European prospects of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as for its support of EU enlargement, as the most important strategic policy of the EU. Kovacevski emphasized that for Macedonia, the preservation of peace and stability in the Western Balkans is one of the top foreign policy priorities of the country and that the government is firmly committed to dialogue as a mechanism for solving any open issues. He also pointed to the government’s determination to implement the reforms, which are taking place in parallel with the current handling of the challenges of the global economic and energy crisis. Regarding the OSCE chairpersonship, Kovacevski expressed his belief that Macedonia will contribute to the stability and security of Europe, in the context of the current developments due to the war in Ukraine, with the country being placed one hundred percent in line with the EU’s foreign policies. At the meeting, it was assessed that Macedonia and Hungary have good cooperation as NATO members, that the economic cooperation is showing an upward trend, as well as that opportunities are seen for further development of trade relations, investments, energy, and education. Kovacevski expressed his gratitude to Hungarian President Novak for the donations and the shared humanitarian aid from Hungary during the pandemic.

 

Novak-Pendarovski: Hungary is one of the loudest and most active countries in supporting Macedonia’s EU membership (Republika)

 

We believe that your country’s membership in the EU is key to the stability of the Western Balkans and the whole of Europe, said Hungarian President Katalin Novak, who is paying an official visit to Macedonia. At the joint press conference with President Stevo Pendarovski, Novak expressed hope that Hungary will be able to help speed up the process of joining the EU. Apart from Macedonia’s membership in the EU, Novak also talked about the war in Ukraine, the fight against illegal migration, for which she indicated that 30 Hungarian police officers are serving on the Macedonian-Greek border, the issue of demography and the exchange of experiences that Hungary is doing in support of families, as well as for the exchange of cultural values. We believe that it is quite unfair that you have to suffer delays and we are aware that if this process cannot continue as it should, pessimism regarding the membership will appear, noted Novak. We, emphasized Novak, condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and stand for the inviolability of sovereignty. The war has brought many problems, and therefore we would like a ceasefire as soon as possible and a model of peace to be found, thus ensuring the long-term security of Europe, said Novak. Novak assessed mutual bilateral cooperation as progressing well lately and expressed a hope that her visit will contribute to bilateral relations developing in that direction. Pendarovski, at the joint press conference with Novak said that this is the first, after 20 years, since the last official visit of a Hungarian president to our country. Hungary is one of the loudest and most active members of the EU in supporting the enlargement process with the countries of the Western Balkans and a country that played a significant role in the decision to start accession negotiations for our country, Pendarovski said. At the meeting, Pendarovski indicated that he was assured that the support will continue and that Hungary considers the enlargement as one of the most strategic policies of the EU, with political and advisory support it will continue to promote Macedonian integration. We have dynamic economic cooperation with Hungary, which is on an upward trend. Hungary is among our ten largest trade partners, with trade exchange last year of almost half a billion euros and a continuous trend of surplus on the Macedonian side, Pendaroski pointed out.

 

Pendarovski believes that the latest Bulgarian declaration is for election purposes (Republika)

 

President Stevo Pendarovski qualifies the Declaration adopted by the Bulgarian parliament four days ago as a “domestic political necessity ahead of the election campaign”. We have a framework, after the EU negotiating framework, we have a normal framework called the screening phase which should end by the end of November this year. The declaration of the Bulgarian parliament ahead of their elections does not differ in any way from the declaration, it is not even as bad as the declarations we saw three years ago in the previous parliament as well. What is important is that it is an EU negotiation framework approved by all 27 EU member states, including the Republic of Bulgaria. These are unilateral declarations that until now have not received support from anyone in Brussels, and of course, they will not. I want to interpret them as their domestic political need ahead of the election campaign, explained Pendarovski.

 

Begaj receives head of the NATO Military Committee: Albania committed in NATO missions and operations (Radio Tirana)

 

President Bajram Begaj received this Monday the chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer. He appreciated the commitment of NATO in the region and the role of the KFOR mission in maintaining peace and security. Begaj thanked Admiral Bauer for visiting Albania at this time of challenges for peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic space, due to Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine. Begaj praised Admiral Bauer for leading the Military Committee with vision and dedication and the contribution that the Military Committee gives in terms of adapting and strengthening the capacities and cohesion of the alliance. The Head of State announced that Albania remains committed in NATO missions and operations, has increased contributions for 2023 to KFOR, and is ready for their increase if necessary. Albania stands by and will continue to support Ukraine in political, diplomatic and military terms. Albania supports the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo mediated by the EU and supported by the US in order to reach a final agreement that will lead to mutual recognition. Begaj emphasized that Kosovo has been independent since 2008 and has a clear Euro-Atlantic vision and in this context supports an even closer and deeper cooperation with NATO. The Head of State also discussed the cyber-attack sponsored by Iran against Albania and appreciated the cooperation with NATO for the recovery from this attack. In this regard, Begaj appreciated the deepening of cooperation and the contribution that NATO's structures, agencies and entities can give in terms of strengthening cyber defense.