UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 17, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

State Department reiterates Kosovo-Serbia dialogue the only way forward (media)
Kurti on Vucic measures: Desperation, part of campaign for new conflicts (media)
Kurti: Association only as part of package for normalization with mutual recognition (media)
House built by government funds in Mitrovica North set on fire (media)
Ramadani: Serbia wants situation in north to go from fragile to escalation (media)
Kurti meets mayor of Zubin Potok municipality and department heads (media)
Threatening message left on car of Zvecan municipal assembly member (media)
Maqedonci: Serbia’s approach does not scare Kosovo (Klan Kosova)
Joseph: U.S. needs to change its position towards Belgrade (media)
Orav meets Aliu; “the Green Agenda remains one of EU’s top priorities!” (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbian List meets SRSG Ziadeh, discusses position of Serbs in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
230 hectares of usurped Serb properties in village of Miroce village still unresolved, owners appeal to competent Prosecutor's Office to act (KoSSev)
Serbian delegation warned of Pristina’s terror against Serbs at meetings during NATO Parliamentary Assembly (Tanjug)
Brnabic: For Serbs in Kosovo there is no bigger threat than Kurti (RTV, TV Pink)
Kurti again with Canak and Baskin, this time reinforced by Rasic and Boris Bojovic (KoSSev)
Haziri: Presence of Kosovo special police in north does not represent de-escalation (Kosovo Online)
Strategic agreement cooperation soon between Serbia and USA in Washington (Tanjug)
Former police officer in Prizren refuted allegations of committing war crimes in Kosovo (RTS)
Threatening message written on vehicle of Zvecan municipal assembly official in Mitrovica South (KoSSev, media)
Signing of decision to abolish visas for Serbian Administration Directorate passport holders to take place tomorrow (Kosovo Online)
Bieber: Support for Jadar lithium mining project a tragic mistake of EU (N1, Radar)

Opinion:

U.S. policy reset in the Western Balkans (media)
The inaugural editorial, or why is everyone acting oblivious? (EWB)

International:

Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania among world’s worst in household waste disposal - report (BIRN)
Marta Kos from Slovenia nominated as the new European Commissioner for Enlargement (EWB)

Albanian Language Media

State Department reiterates Kosovo-Serbia dialogue the only way forward (media)

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Radio Free Europe that the future of Kosovo and Serbia is in the institutions of the European Union and that the EU-facilitated dialogue is the only way forward. Asked to comment on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s recent demands on Kosovo, the spokesperson said that the U.S. “continues to strongly support the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia as a way to reach a peaceful and productive agreement between the two countries”. The spokesperson also called on Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from further inciting rhetoric, uncoordinated actions or legislative acts that go against the normalization of relations or that threaten stability and security.

In a response to Koha news website, the State Department said it strongly supports the EU-facilitated dialogue as the only way forward. It also said that “Kosovo is a sovereign, independent and multiethnic country, which we want to see fully integrated in Euro-Atlantic and international structures”.

Kurti on Vucic measures: Desperation, part of campaign for new conflicts (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s recently announced measures on Kosovo are an act of desperation and irrationality. “His demands, his measures, come from desperation, they are irrational, and they are not peaceful at all but rather part of an aggressive campaign for new conflicts which without a doubt have no place in Kosovo,” he told reporters.

Kurti further argued that first there should be talks about his three conditions, and which he said are peaceful and rational. “First, hand over Milan Radoicic, second sign the [Basic] agreement, and third, withdraw Brnabic’s letter which says that it [Serbia] doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s independence, neither a seat for Kosovo at the United Nations, nor Kosovo’s territorial integrity,” he said.

Kurti: Association only as part of package for normalization with mutual recognition (media)

Several news websites cover the second part of a documentary published by Al Jazeera five years titled “Kosovo: The Making of a State” and highlight Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s interview in the documentary.

Kurti is quoted as saying: “We have 93 percent of the population Albanians but I’m not Prime Minister only of Albanians. We have four percent Serbs, and we have three percent other minorities. They have reserved seats in our parliament. Our parliament has 120 seats, 10 are reserved for the Serb minority and 10 are reserved for other minorities. Serbian language is the official language all over Kosovo, at every level of administration, and out of 38 municipalities we have, ten of them are with Serb majority. And we have been allocating 62 percent on average more budget from the central level to Serb majority municipalities, so we have this positive discrimination so to speak, affirmative action for Serbs in Kosovo in order to integrate them and we have to compete in this respect with the violence of Serbia”.

Asked “a direct question the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities] yes, or no?”, Kurti said: “Well of course the Association of Serb majority municipalities is something that I have inherited from my predecessors, however, this is part of the Basic Agreement now. Article 7 says that Serb community must have self-management. On the other hand, Article 10 says that all previously signed agreements must be implemented. So, I’m not denying that. However, only as a part of a package of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia with mutual recognition. You cannot pick out of 39 previously signed agreements, one of them which is your favorite, as if it is a Swedish buffet, where you pick your favorite dish, nor put it in front of the Basic Agreement. As a package I said yes”.

House built by government funds in Mitrovica North set on fire (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said in a Facebook post today that on the night between Monday and Tuesday, a police patrol saw smoke coming from a house built by the government in the Bergjani neighborhood in Mitrovica North. “The fire was extinguished, and the damage was repaired. Fortunately, there were no injuries and only material damages. This is not the first time such attacks are happening, but it is also not the last time that new houses will be built,” he said.

Krasniqi also said that the Kosovo government strongly condemns the act and that “neither this act nor any other attack against the return of residents to their properties, the threats, blackmails, terrorist pamphlets, do not scare the citizens and will not stop us from our work to secure sustainable housing. This attack incites ethnic intolerance which was incited by [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic who has remained closed in his propaganda and has lost control over the parallel structures in the north”.

Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, told the media that it is believed that the fire was caused by a Molotov cocktail. “For the time being, we have no suspects or arrests, and we are working to resolve the case,” he said.

Ramadani: Serbia wants situation in north to go from fragile to escalation (media)

Former chief inspector of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI), Burim Ramadani, argued in a Facebook post today that “Serbia is aiming for the situation in the north of Kosovo to go from ‘fragile’ to ‘escalation’”. According to Ramadani, last night’s attack with a Molotov cocktail against a government-built house in the north “is an additional indication for this”.

Kurti meets mayor of Zubin Potok municipality and department heads (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met today in Pristina with the mayor of the municipality of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri, and directors of municipal departments. They discussed the work, progress, achievements so far, and the current and inherited challenges and the opportunities to address them during the remaining part of the mandate.

Zeqiri highlighted his commitment to provide the best municipal services and for including all communities in social and institutional life. He said that in recent meetings with the people they have noticed growing interest to take part and cooperate in decision-making processes.

Threatening message left on car of Zvecan municipal assembly member (media)

Several media outlets report that a member of the municipal assembly of Zvecan reported to the police that an unknown suspect left a threatening message on his car.

Maqedonci: Serbia’s approach does not scare Kosovo (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an interview with the TV station this morning, that Serbia’s approach does not scare Kosovo and that “the Kosovo Security Force is developing to face any possible threat”. He also said that the armament of the KSF is always based on NATO standards.

Joseph: U.S. needs to change its position towards Belgrade (media)

U.S. political commentator on the Balkans, Edward Joseph, said in an interview with RTSH that the situation between Kosovo and Serbia and the positions towards the parties by the leaders of the European Union and the United States are wrong. “What is happening in Kosovo is not a new situation. We have seen this for years now and the reason is that the U.S., as the main leader, together with the European Union, are not showing the force they have … Instead of showing their force, they have supported Vucic and Kurti has noticed this. My message is very clear: weakness begets weakness. We have been weak towards Vucic although we know his strong ties with Russia and China. And we have all seen Vulin meet with Putin and Vucic hosting Xi Jinping. This is the situation and Kurti says ‘I see how weak you are being’, and I am going to benefit from this and he becomes provocative with the Kosovo Serbs and this is a big problem,” he is quoted as saying.

According to Joseph, “the U.S. needs to immediately change its position towards Belgrade and then we can have a chance with Pristina. For now, the U.S. and the EU are keeping the focus on Pristina and what more they can do to Kurti, and even though in my opinion what Kurti is doing is problematic, on the other hand the leaders are not doing anything with Vucic because they want Serbia’s support for Ukraine, and they want its lithium. It should be the opposite, the more pressure that the U.S. and EU exert on Vucic, the greater his support will be for Ukraine, and we will have a greater chance of convincing the Serbian people that digging for lithium will not harm the environment. If we continue to support Vucic, we will lose the Serbian people because they won’t believe us about lithium, and we will lose Albin Kurti who will no longer trust us”.

Orav meets Aliu; “the Green Agenda remains one of EU’s top priorities!” (media)

EU Special Representative and Head of the EU Office, Aivo Orav, said in a post on X that he met with Kosovo’s Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, and “exchanged views on the current situation and future cooperation in the areas of environment, climate change, and transport”. “The Green Agenda remains one of the EU's top priorities!” Orav said.

Serbian Language Media

Serbian List meets SRSG Ziadeh, discusses position of Serbs in Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Serbian List President, Zlatan Elek and his associates met with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh in Mitrovica North, Radio KIM reported.

As a statement issued by Serbian List said, Elek once again pointed out the extremely difficult position of the Serbian people in Kosovo.

“Repression by regime in Pristina was particularly pointed out, same as brutal beatings of young men in Kosovska Mitrovica by members of Kosovo police”, Serbian List said in a statement.

As it was added, the Serbian List requested the international community to most urgently react and prevent further unilateral acts of Pristina authorities, protect the rights of the Serbian people and demand from Pristina the return to the previous situation on the ground.

230 hectares of usurped Serb properties in village of Miroce village still unresolved, owners appeal to competent Prosecutor's Office to act (KoSSev)

The inhabitants of the village of Miroce, municipality of Vucitrn, have been trying for almost a quarter of a century to return their properties, which, as they said, are the subject of systematic robbery, destruction and exploitation by an Albanian family from the neighboring village of Karace, KoSSev portal reported.

This family, they assume, with the tacit support of the central and local authorities, occupied around 230 hectares of Serbian properties - houses, fields, pastures, orchards and forests, and 34 owners are suffering the consequences.

Despite numerous attempts to solve the problem through local and higher government institutions, as well as international organizations, the situation remains unchanged. The reactions so far have been superficial and insufficiently effective, and the property owners are still helpless, the portal added.

Dusko Milenkovic, representative of the affected property owners said he appealed on numerous occasions to Kosovo local, central-level institutions, embassies, all international organizations and missions, seeking their support in resolving this issue but to no avail. He argued their problem is unique and particularly complex on three accounts:

1- By nature, because it is a consequence of the wanton looting, destruction and exploitation of Serbian properties by an Albanian family from the neighboring Albanian village of Karace, which occupied all available Serbian property in "one piece" and in the total dimensions of the area on the ground.

2- In terms of dimensions, because the robbery covered an area of about 230 hectares (houses and yards, fields, pastures, orchards, meadows, forests), privately owned by 34 owners. It is about a large number of serious crimes (over 50), a huge amount of direct damage (at least three million euros for 14 destroyed households and all orchards and forests cut down), a huge amount of compensation for the exploitation of all agricultural land, which has yet to be determined by expertise.

3- By duration, because the seizure, destruction and exploitation of our properties has been going on continuously since 2000. According to the satellite and cadastral images that we submitted to the authorities, the systematic destruction of houses and courtyard buildings was completed around 2018.

He also claimed that the usurper of their properties, an Albanian family, had been rewarded by subsidies for agriculture.

Full article in Serbian is available at: https://shorturl.at/F4QTS

Serbian delegation warned of Pristina’s terror against Serbs at meetings during NATO Parliamentary Assembly (Tanjug)

Serbian Assembly Delegation taking part in a 106^th Rous-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Warsaw during the meeting with NATO PA Deputy Chair, Markos de Vasconcelos (Portugal) and the head of Portugal Delegation at NATO PA Hugo Olivier pointed out to the terror and violence Pristina authorities carry out almost on a daily basis against Serbian people in Kosovo, aiming at expelling the Serbian population and carrying out policy of ethnic cleansing, Tanjug news agency reported citing the statement.

During the meeting with the head of Italian Delegation at NATO PA Lorenzo Ceza, and members of the House of Representatives and Italian Senate delegation, Serbian delegation expressed gratitude for years-long engagement of Italian soldiers within KFOR, making the largest national contingent within those forces, in particular for the protection of historic and cultural heritage of the Serbian people in Kosovo, the statement added.

Brnabic: For Serbs in Kosovo there is no bigger threat than Kurti (RTV, TV Pink)

Serbian Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic told TV Pink today there is no greater threat to the Serbs in Kosovo than Prime Minister Albin Kurti. She added Kosovo was never an issue for the opposition or for the former (opposition) government. She said that in 2001 the-then government released (Albanian) prisoners from prison, and then in 2004 allowed the pogrom of Serbian people in Kosovo, as well as the burning of churches and monasteries.

According to her secession of Montenegro in 2006 was a prerequisite for Kosovo to declare independence, and that “the state acted back then as if it was relieved”. As she said, only five years after Pristina declared independence in 2008, the issue of Kosovo returned to the agenda, when the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power. “It wasn’t until 2014 that Aleksandar Vucic became Prime Minister and then President, so the fight began and states began to withdraw their recognition (of Kosovo)”, Brnabic noted.

Brnabic also said Serbia is militarily neutral and is trying to keep it that way. She opined that the questions of opposition politicians as to whether Serbia was preparing for the war because the government intends to re-introduce mandatory military service were ridiculous. She added that a few weeks ago, Croatia also announced a decision on the introduction of mandatory military service, and at that time the opposition did not say Croatia was preparing for war.

Kurti again with Canak and Baskin, this time reinforced by Rasic and Boris Bojovic (KoSSev)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, together with the Minister of Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic, welcomed the co-founder and former leader of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Nenad Canak, again in Pristina, this time at a working breakfast. Mark Baskin, professor, and senior advisor at the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, attended the meeting.

Another of Kurti's guests was, as reported, "Metropolitan of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church", Boris Bojovic. It is a canonically unrecognized self-proclaimed church group, i.e., one of a total of three groups, each of which considers itself the ''Montenegrin Orthodox Church'', reported KoSSev.

They talked about current issues, events in the region, but also about "the ongoing consequences of Russian military aggression in Ukraine and the danger of the war still represents for the security of the European continent and the Balkan region," according to the Kosovo Prime Minister's office.

Milan Canak, son of Nenad Canak, who was also at this meeting, as reported, recently returned from a humanitarian mission in Ukraine.

The meeting also discussed the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, their history, current events, and perspectives, as well as the position of Serbs in Kosovo.

Kurti emphasized that "Russia's aggression against Ukraine has clearly revealed the dangers that authoritarian regimes present to neighboring countries, in addition to human rights and the well-being of the local population."

He emphasized the importance of democratization of societies, party pluralism, rule of law, protection and improvement of human rights and regional cooperation, in addition to, as he said, "continuous support for Ukraine in its liberation struggle - which the Republic of Kosovo strongly supports with all its capacities."

The Kosovo government did not report what the other participants in this meeting said.

Previous meeting and information about the ''relocation of Serbs to Raska''

This is the second time that Nenad Canak and Mark Baskin have met Kurti this month.

Kurti hosted them on September 1, together with the president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko.

Kosovo Government announced at the time that the interlocutors informed Albin Kurti about Belgrade's alleged plans to relocate Serbs from Kosovo, especially from the North to the Raska region (Sandzak), where houses and apartments are being built for them, and that they asked him to try to prevent such scenario.

Baskin, however, in a statement to KoSSev then denied the allegations that he was the one who informed Kurti about these alleged plans, claiming that Canak and Biserko did it, recalled KoSSev.

The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic on the other hand, meanwhile denied that such a plan existed, saying that it would never have occurred to him, and that these allegations were "short, but stupid".

"Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija will remain in Kosovo and Metohija despite the wish of Albin Kurti and Nenad Canak and Sonja Biserko and many others - that the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija disappear."

The first visit of the much-welcomed guests in Pristina followed a wave of criticism from Western officials in Pristina, along with NATO and the EU, about new uncoordinated government actions with, as stated by the US Embassy, "the government's constant instrumentalization of the Kosovo Police for the implementation of uncoordinated actions", along with singling out concerns for the Serbian community this time.

At the end of last month, in another simultaneous action by Kosovo security authorities, in all four municipalities in the North, the facilities where the remaining institutions of the Republic of Serbia functioned, primarily municipal services, were closed, recalled KoSSev.

In a similar way earlier in August, the Post of Serbia was closed, as well as the remaining financial institutions of Serbia.

In response to Pristina's moves in the North of Kosovo, the President of Serbia announced new measures last week.

Haziri: Presence of Kosovo special police in north does not represent de-escalation (Kosovo Online)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Vice President Lutfi Haziri said Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government brought Kosovo in danger of being excluded from the Berlin Process, and this, as he said, would be the second serious blow, after the debacle for Council of Europe membership. He added that the presence of Kosovo special police forces in the north of Kosovo does not represent de-escalation, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Haziri argued the current government did not create an environment in which the world mechanism would make Kosovo a member of the CoE. According to him, Kurti in dialogue with Serbia made “one step ahead and two steps backward”, adding he breached the promises he gave prior to taking the power.

Talking about the Ibar River Bridge, Haziri said that Kurti attempting to open the bridge to vehicular traffic, risked it being closed for pedestrians even. He added KFOR has a mandate not only to protect the peace in Kosovo, but also to “force in any manner the peace in the territory of Kosovo and protect it from internal and external threats”.

As far as the north of Kosovo is concerned Haziri noted that presence of Kosovo police special forces does not mean sovereignty and democracy.

“300 special police officers had to go to the north because of four swimmers jumping off the bridge. Presence of police in the north is not de-escalation”, he underlined.

Strategic agreement cooperation soon between Serbia and USA in Washington (Tanjug)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Marko Djuric said yesterday that the economic cooperation between Serbia and the USA has progressed significantly, adding that he expected to conclude an agreement on strategic partnership in the field of energy soon. According to Djuric it would be a new, important step forward in the relations between the two countries, reported Tanjug agency.

The Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic and the US Ambassador Christopher Hill held a meeting and agreed that the Agreement on Strategic Cooperation between the Governments of Serbia and the US, soon to be signed in Washington, represented an important step in improving bilateral cooperation between the two countries, in which the sector of energy occupies an increasingly important place, the ministry announced today.

"The USA was one of the biggest investors in Serbia in the previous decade, and I believe that this agreement will open the door for new investments in the field of energy, which will contribute to greater energy security and a sustainable transition to clean energy sources," the minister said.

She pointed out that Serbia has made significant progress in the previous two years in terms of attracting investments, through the improvement of the legislative framework and the successful implementation of auctions for market premiums for renewable energy sources, Tanjug reported.

Former police officer in Prizren refuted allegations of committing war crimes in Kosovo (RTS)

Former Serbian MIA police officer in Prizren, Sacir Lutfija, from the village of Krstac, near Dragas, pleaded not guilty on the accounts of allegedly committing war crimes in Kosovo, as accused by prosecution, RTS reported.

Latfija was arrested in October last year, and spent almost a year in Grdovac prison near Podujevo, before attending the first court hearing in Pristina today.

“I do not feel guilty at all, I did not take part in those events and all this is a lie”, Litvija said responding to the judge’s question. According to the indictment Lutvija allegedly “applied repressive measures of murders, arrests, beatings, mistreatments and inhuman treatments”.

His lawyer Jovana Filipovic said her client is not the person responsible for the crimes as noted in the indictment, adding that at that time another police officer with a mole on his face was active in Prizren, which was the main distinction based on which affected parties identified Lutvija as a suspect.

Adis Lutvia, son of the accused Sacir, also said his father was mistaken with another person who was a police inspector in Prizren at that time, and had similar physical appearance as described by affected parties, adding they identified his father based on facial marking and mustache, same as that person had.

Threatening message written on vehicle of Zvecan municipal assembly official in Mitrovica South (KoSSev, media)

Unknown persons have written a threatening message on a vehicle of a Zvecan municipal assembly official yesterday, Kosovo police said, adding the case happened the day before at 10.20. The case is under investigation.

The case occurred in Mitrovica South.

Signing of decision to abolish visas for Serbian Administration Directorate passport holders to take place tomorrow (Kosovo Online)

A signing of the decision to abolish visas for Serbian Administration Directorate passport holders in Kosovo is scheduled to take place tomorrow, the Serbian Mission to the EU has confirmed. The decision will be signed by the European Parliament and the EU Council.

This news was also shared by Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of the National Convent Working Group for Chapter 35. “Signing of Decision to abolish visas for Serbian Administration Directorate passport holders is scheduled to take place tomorrow at 15.15 at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg”, Mijacic wrote in a post on X social platform.

Bieber: Support for Jadar lithium mining project a tragic mistake of EU (N1, Radar)

Political scientist and University of Graz Professor Florian Bieber said he believes that the costs and risks of supporting the decision to go ahead with the Jadar lithium mining project in Serbia will outweigh the benefits.

“I think the cost of supporting this decision (on Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium mining project) is much greater than the benefits – first of all, you push people away from the European Union (EU) in Serbia but also in the region, because you say we care more about your raw materials than about you as human beings. The second problem is that empowering someone like (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic in the region is dangerous, because he is not just happy to be a strongman in Serbia, but he also has a negative influence on Bosnia, on Montenegro, on Kosovo, on North Macedonia. He poisons in a certain way the whole region. So there are lots of consequences of supporting him and making him more powerful that are very dangerous. The price will be very high. I think the benefits the EU gains from this project are much smaller than the risks and the costs,” Bieber told Serbian director Stevan Filipovic in the sixth episode of the Radar podcast.

As one of the experts who popularized the term “stabilocracy” – a concept often used to describe Aleksandar Vucic’s regime, where the international community allows a local autocrat to undermine democratic principles as long as they ensure regional stability – Filipovic’s guest discussed the importance of the Jadar lithium mining project for Europe and the Serbian government, the visits of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron to Belgrade, the support they offered as guests of Vucic, as well as the potential political alternatives that could shift the sociopolitical landscape in Serbia.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/msczyxts

Opinion

U.S. policy reset in the Western Balkans (media)

Several Kosovo Albanian news websites cover an opinion piece by U.S. political commentator Daniel Serwer, originally published in peacefare.net.

Friday, Serbia President Vucic announced measures intended to reverse Kosovo independence. He is no longer content to refuse to recognize Kosovo but wants instead to take at least part of it. Meanwhile, the American Embassy in Belgrade continues to profess confidence that he is moving Serbia toward the West.

Jasmin Mujanovic tweeted week before last:

US policy in the Western Balkans is clear as mud. The US supports Vucic despite his pro-Russian associations, whereas it opposes Kurti despite his pro-Western positions. In Bosnia, the US opposes Vucic’s proxies, whose counterparts in Montenegro it helped depose a pro-NATO govt.

All this is true. The State Department has lost the bubble. It is time to find it again.

Long-term objectives

US objectives in the Balkans should be clear, not confused. They should apply separately to all the states of the region, while recognizing that interactions among them may affect progress. Let me offer these longer-term goals for those countries that want a good relationship with the US:

Democratic governance based on equal rights, with reasonable guarantees for minorities;

Secure sovereignty and territorial integrity without use or threat of force.

These goals are consistent with NATO and EU membership for any state that wants to join those institutions.