Thaçi informs Quint, ignores Speaker of Parliament (Koha Ditore – front page)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi has not included Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi on the list of leaders he is informing separately about the meetings in Brussels with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic. Thaçi however did choose to inform President Jahjaga, the Quint ambassadors and part of the opposition on topics he opened with Milosevic’s “political son”.

Although they are colleagues in the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Thaçi chose to leave Krasniqi in the same group with all MPs, despite Krasniqi being one of the three central leaders of the state. The situation between the two leaders deteriorated after Krasniqi openly said Thaçi is not a monarch and therefore should not make decisions on his own when general interests of the state are concerned.

Krasniqi meanwhile does not seem concerned with Thaçi’s recent behavior. “He chose this form of action,” Krasniqi said yesterday, adding that he is well informed about the content of the discussions being mediated by EU High Representative Ashton. “The Parliament informs me,” he said. Asked if he feels ignored by Thaçi not meeting him face to face, Krasniqi said, “on the contrary, I feel just fine.”

Kosovo customs officers to be stationed in the north (Zëri – front page)

Authorities in Pristina reiterated that members of the Kosovo Customs Service will be deployed to the Bërnjak and Jarinje border points in the north, along with other crossings in Merdare and Dheu i Bardhë. Kosovo officials say was agreed during the second meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic.

“Naturally, implementing the IBM at this stage will focus on existing border points, in accordance with the agreement reached between the experts. At a later stage, the EU pledged to fund the construction of the joint border crossings for efficient implementation of IBM,” Thaçi said.

Serb gendarmerie elite unit patrolling in the north (Koha Ditore – page 3)

According to sources, an elite unit of the Serb gendarmerie is patrolling the north under the direct supervision of the Serbian Government. Its goal is to act on the ground, depending on the way the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue goes.

The Government of Kosovo, international community, and the unit dealing with the ‘management’ of northern leaders - who are disobedient to Belgrade - knows about the presence of Serb police in the north.

Gordon: Division of Kosovo is not an option (Epoka e Re – front page)

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, reiterated the U.S. position that supports the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Kosovo.  Gordon also does not expect Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo at this point.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council, Gordon stressed that Kosovo and Serbia should normalize their relations and dividing Kosovo is not an option. “In order to move forward, Belgrade should end support of parallel structures of security and law in northern Kosovo, and work with the international community to attain freedom of movement,” he said.

Kosovo wants liaison office, Serbia liaison officer (Koha Ditore – front page)

Pristina and Belgrade governments continue to contradict themselves regarding the possibility of opening liaison offices. Pristina insists that the issue of opening liaison offices was discussed in Brussels, while Belgrade maintains that they spoke of appointing liaison officers. “We are talking here about liaising officers,” said Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic in an interview for RTS. Meanwhile, Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi said that it is impossible to have liaising officers without having an office first.

They don’t know about the north (Express – front page)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi is expected to hold a third meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, next month. At the meeting, the Kosovar side will ask for the practical implementation of the integrated border management agreement and the dissolution of parallel structures.

Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi meanwhile told the paper that Kosovar authorities have no idea when Brussels is going to address the issue of northern Kosovo. Kuçi added that Pristina will call on Belgrade to stop financing parallel security structures and to make concrete steps toward the dissolution of such structures.

Vetëvendosje MPs to join PDK? (Epoka e Re – front page)

According to sources, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) will be joined by several members of Vetëvendosje Movement during the upcoming internal elections, most notably Alma Lama, Afrim Hoti, and Afrim Kasolli. The three MPs are not pleased with Vetëvendosje politics.

In exchange for joining PDK, Lama is allegedly insisting on being appointed deputy ambassador to Albania, while Hoti and Kasolli want to be included in PDK’s list for the next general elections.

Strasburg Court obliges Serbia to pay Kosovo pensions (Epoka e Re – page 2)

The Strasburg Court is aiding Serbia on four major problems, said the Serbian judicial representative at this court, Slavolub Caric. According to Vecernje Novosti, the second group of problems concerns Kosovo pensions, which Serbia should pay after the decision in power for Grudic case: the Kosovo couple residing in Novi Pazar, who awhile back won the case against the state of Serbia.

This concerns the debts to Albanian, Serb, and Bosniak citizens that stemmed from after the international protectorate in Kosovo. Serbia’s Minister of Work and Social Issues justified this with lack of access to documentation of pensioners and that there were no payments of Kosovo to Serbia’s Pension Fund. The European Court, however, concluded that pensioners are not guilty for this and that they were denied their right on their property.

Three escape from Dubrava Prison (Koha Ditore – page 5)

Three escaped from Dubrava Prison Tuesday morning. “The fugitives include: Haxhë Krasniqi from Klina, Nexhdet Ramaj from Rakosh near Istog, and Gazmend Mujaj from Jabllanica, near Peja,” an information officer from the prison told reporters.

An unnamed source said that one of the fugitives was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Another fugitive was found guilty on terrorism charges in Macedonia and was transferred to Dubrava to serve his sentence. A spokesman for Kosovo Police in Peja told the media that one of the fugitives voluntarily returned to prison.

Velija suspected of moving money to state officials  (Koha Ditore – front page)

It is suspected that the German citizen, Natali Velija, did not embezzle €1.4 million for personal gain, but transferred the money to four different bank accounts to bribe state officials.

On Monday, she was ready to witness at the Prosecution in order “to illuminate the corruption” at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, according to her defense, the prosecutors did not want to listen.

On Tuesday, she did not wish to speak during an attempt to interview her because she said she is not able to. Sources within this process said that the owner of “Consulting EU” transferred over a million euros to four Kosovars as a bribe for the €1.4 million tender for producing passports, which was won by Austrian-based company “Österreichiche Staatsdruckerei.”