• Ex-Kosovo leader Thaci tells war crimes court he will be exonerated (Reuters)
• Petkovic: We agreed on text of declaration for missing persons (RFE)
• Chollet meets Lajcak; “strong support for EU-led dialogue” (media)
• Varhelyi and Bislimi meet, discuss tasks ahead (media)
• Osmani on NATO anniversary: It is our future (media)
• Kurti meets Guerot, discuss developments in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• UN Special Rapporteur Khan visits RTK (RTK)
• Serbia must implement agreements, compromise with Kosovo to see EU progression (Euractiv)

Ex-Kosovo leader Thaci tells war crimes court he will be exonerated (Reuters)

Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci expressed sorrow on Tuesday for all victims of the 1998-99 insurgency against Serbian rule but told judges on the second day of his war crimes trial that he expects to be exonerated.

Thaci and three co-defendants face 10 charges of persecution, murder, torture and forced disappearance of people during and shortly after the guerrilla uprising that eventually brought Kosovo independence from Serbia and made him a hero among many compatriots at home and abroad.

"I feel sorrow and pain for all the victims of this terrible war (regardless of) their ethnicity, religion or political affiliation," he said in a short statement in court, translated from Albanian.

Standing in the dock in a dark suit and red tie, the 54-year-old Thaci repeated that he was "innocent of all these allegations" and that Kosovo was "on the right side of history".

In their opening statement earlier on Tuesday, defence lawyers said Thaci did not control the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in which he was a senior commander, at the time of the war crimes charges against him.

Read more at: https://reut.rs/3ZVSrwt

Petkovic: We agreed on text of declaration for missing persons (RFE)

Kosovo and Serbia have agreed on the text of the declaration for missing persons, said Serbian Government’s office for Kosovo chief Petar Petkovic on Tuesday after the tripartite meeting with Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak.

“I would just like to add that we were very careful on all the terms and that we did not accept the term mentioned in the international convention on forcible disappearance, because we were careful not to threaten Serbia’s interests,” Petkovic said.

Bislimi said after the meeting that the parties have agreed for the next high-level meeting to be held on April 22. “This is however not so certain because there are indications that the President of Serbia is not ready or cannot come on this date, so an alternative date will have to be considered,” he said.

According to Petkovic, the text of the declaration for missing persons, which he said was agreed in Brussels, will be officially adopted in the meeting.

Bislimi also said that they discussed the re-registration of vehicles with KM plates to RKS plates, saying that “we reported that until early March there was good development, but after threats and burning of vehicles, no other vehicles were registered”.

According to Petkovic there were violations of the agreement on license plates. “We made concrete proposals, but Pristina refused them for now. The most important thing is to insist in a peaceful way,” he said.

Petkovic also said that there were discussions on the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “After so many years, today we discussed for the first time more concrete steps on the formation of the Association. More precisely, what the management team needs to do in line with the agreements in 2013 and 2015. It is clear that the first step is the presentation of the statute,” he said.

Chollet meets Lajcak; “strong support for EU-led dialogue” (media)

Counselor to the U.S. State Department, Derek Chollet, met with EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, on Tuesday. “Enjoyed speaking with EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak about our strong support for the EU-led dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and shared commitment to supporting the Western Balkans’ path toward EU integration,” Chollet tweeted after the meeting.

Varhelyi and Bislimi meet, discuss tasks ahead (media)

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, met on Tuesday with Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi in Brussels. Varhelyi tweeted after the meeting: “Starting the day with Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi discussing the EU reform agenda and tasks ahead of us and how the Commission will be able to help the implementation of the results when the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is successful.”

Osmani on NATO anniversary: It is our future (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani took to Twitter on Tuesday to write on the 74^th anniversary of NATO: “Today 74 years ago, democratic nations came together to form the greatest security alliance the world has ever seen. NATO isn't just an important partner for Kosovo. It is embedded in our history. But most importantly, it is our future.”

Kurti meets Guerot, discuss developments in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met French Ambassador Olivier Guerot on Tuesday and discussed current political developments, with focus on bilateral relations. They also discussed relations between Kosovo and Serbia, the process of dialogue, the Basic Agreement, and the implementation annex, as well as the meeting between the chief negotiators in Brussels.

UN Special Rapporteur Khan visits RTK (RTK)

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, met on Tuesday with the RTK Director General Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj and RTK Board member Birol Urcan. Khan was interested to get upclose information about the work of the public broadcaster and the work being done on the implementation of its mission. Ahmetxhekaj and Urcan informed Khan about reforms launched by the new management of RTK to put in the full service of the public. Ahmetxhekaj highlighted the major challenges faced by RTK as a result of budget cuts. He assured Khan that RTK managers are committed to maintaining the editorial independence of the broadcaster. “RTK is a model of the genuine functioning of a multiethnic public broadcaster, not only in the region but also beyond,” he said.

Serbia must implement agreements, compromise with Kosovo to see EU progression (Euractiv)

The head of the EU delegation and the Ambassador of the EU to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, said Serbia must implement old and new agreements and be prepared to compromise with Kosovo if it wants to continue on its EU path.

At an event attended by EU ambassadors and Serbian European Integrations Minister Tanja Miščević, Giaufret explained that the EU cares about Serbia and its place is within the union. However, there is work to be done to achieve this.

“We have spoken many times about the geopolitical situation, great reforms, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, but seldom about why we invest so much into Serbia, its agriculture, education… We want to explain that we care about Serbia and its citizens, so we are here. We want to help, support and create a better situation for the Serbian people,” Giaufret said.

He continued that agreements needed to be implemented on both sides for progression to be achieved.

“At this moment, everything boils down to implementing the old and new agreements. The Serbian Municipalities Association is an important topic that needs to be seen through, and we need to go towards implementation as soon as possible. Of course, everything needs to happen in the context of both sides being ready to compromise,” he added.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3zvZfpC