• COVID-19 report: 171 new cases, 13 deaths (media)
• Haradinaj to Hoti: You have degraded the dialogue (media)
• Tahiri: Ramush Haradinaj should be new President of Kosovo (T7)
• Haliti: PDK must join Hoti-led government (media)
• Gashi: PDK will not sign Vetevendosje’s no-confidence motion (media)
• Konjufca: Good governance will be restored soon (Gazeta Express)
• Vetevendosje: This government must be dismissed ASAP (media)

COVID-19 report: 171 new cases, 13 deaths (media)

The latest figures presented by the Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health indicate that 171 new cases of coronavirus and 13 deaths have been recorded in Kosovo over the last twenty-four hours.

The Institute also said that 190 recoveries were confirmed over the same time period.

Prishtina has the highest number of new cases (46), followed by Gjilan (24), Gjakova (15), Vitia (13). The rest of the municipalities have less than ten new recorded cases.

Haradinaj to Hoti: You have degraded the dialogue (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj argued in an interview with RTV21 on Tuesday that Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has degraded the dialogue with Serbia by sending a coordinator to represent Kosovo in the EU-facilitated process in Brussels.

“I am telling this Prime Minister and my colleagues in the LDK that they have degraded the dialogue even lower than it was in the time of Thaci and Mogherini. The dialogue was at the level of decision-makers, President Trump, President Macron and Chancellor Merkel,” Haradinaj said.

Haradinaj advised Hoti to “make several steps backwards” in the dialogue. “Don’t let them tell you that this is the dialogue. This is not dialogue. Dialogue is when at the table are Prime Minister Hoti, President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, President Trump or his envoy in the process. We don’t need a process of dialogue where our people wander around,” he said.

Haradinaj said the AAK does not want to lead the process of the dialogue but that it will also not be part of it in the current circumstances. “We know that the Prime Minister leads the dialogue, but the Alliance will not agree to be part of deviating the dialogue from the hands of decision-makers to Lajcak and Skender Hyseni. The LDK is approving this. I think this is a problem and I will not stand behind it. I will not assume the political consequences of this. They can deal with the consequences of a technical dialogue,” he added.

Tahiri: Ramush Haradinaj should be new President of Kosovo (T7)

Kosovo’s Principal Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Tahiri, said in an interview with T7 that AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj should be the new President of Kosovo. He argued that the new President will be elected either in October this year or the latest by March next year. According to Tahiri, the new President "will not be elected through an envelope" but by members of the Kosovo Assembly.

“I personally think Ramush Haradinaj should be the new President. First and foremost, this would be a win for Kosovo. Second, the concept of a President that can address any topic. Only the Alliance would lose in this case. This is a person that would lead the country with great courage and leadership. He was unwavering in many situations that we have faced so far,” Tahiri said.

Haliti: PDK must join Hoti-led government (media)

Xhavit Haliti, senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said on Tuesday that this party must join the Hoti-led government. Haliti said in a debate on TV Dukagjini: “Yes, the PDK must join the Hoti government”. Meanwhile, Kujtim Gashi, another senior member of the PDK, said during the debate that their party has never discussed the option.

Gashi: PDK will not sign Vetevendosje’s no-confidence motion (media)

Kujtim Gashi, senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said in a debate on TV Dukagjini on Tuesday that his party will not sign Vetevendosje’s no-confidence motion against the Hoti-led government. Gashi said that if Vetevendosje manages to collect the required signatures for the motion and it is sent to the Assembly, PDK representatives will discuss how they will vote on the motion.

Gashi also argued that the current government is but a continuation of the previous government led by Vetevendosje’s Albin Kurti and that both are damaging for Kosovo.

Konjufca: Good governance will be restored soon (Gazeta Express)

Vetevendosje senior member and former Kosovo Foreign Minister, Glauk Konjufca, said on Tuesday that a Kurti-led government will be restored soon. “They brought down the Kurti-led government claiming that it was not properly managing the pandemic. But at the time the number of cases was constantly under 30. And today when 200 new cases every day have become a normality, Abran Abrashi [Minister of Infrastructure] claims with irritating cynicism that the situation is stable and blames the Vetevendosje Movement. Back to the day when we had 19 cases with COVID – 19, Agim Veliu in coordination with Thaci proposed a state of emergency … But with 219 new cases they believe the situation is normal. This goes to show that together with the PDK, they were not thinking about the virus, but rather how to bring down the Kurti-led government,” he said.

Konjufca said the current government has a terrible approach in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, “thousands of people can die but they will not introduce stricter measures”.

Konjufca added that “the dialogue with Serbia has not only degenerated completely, but seeing the passive government, Vucic’s gendarmerie is easily crossing the borders of our country”.

According to Konjufca, “a person without any legitimacy from the people” has been appointed as Kosovo’s coordinator for the talks with Serbia.

“At a time when the people have been left to the mercy of fate, it is important not to lose the will and hope. The time when the people will use their votes as punishment, will come very soon … The people cannot wait to restore the good governance that began in February but was cut short in March.”

Vetevendosje: This government must be dismissed ASAP (media)

The Vetevendosje Movement (VV) said in a video published on social media on Tuesday that the Hoti-led government must be dismissed as soon as possible. VV argues that the decisions of the current government have blocked Kosovo and that the increasing number of fatalities and infected persons with COVID – 19 are sending Kosovo to a humanitarian catastrophe.

“The ad-hoc decisions of this confused government to set restrictions have only blocked the country. The increasing number of fatalities and infected persons is sending us to a humanitarian catastrophe. This government must be dismissed as soon as possible,” the video says.