• Osmani: Preparations by Serbia to escalate Western Balkans and Kosovo (BBC)
• Kurti: Russia is helping Serbia to destabilize the Balkans (RTK)
• Kurti-Vucic meeting on August 18? (RTK)
• Vucic: I will go to Brussels; I expect nothing from the meeting (media)
• “Moderation is needed, Pristina is doing well by postponing measures” (RTK)
• Kosovo Police issues statement rebutting reports in Serbian media (media)
• Police stops vehicle in the north suspected of smuggling medicaments (media)
• A Dispute Over License Plates Is a Reminder of Deep, Ongoing Kosovo-Serbia Tensions (Time)
• Kosovo: Why is trouble flaring between Serbs and Albanian-led government? (BBC)
• How to stop Serbia spat from spiraling out of control (atlanticcouncil.org)
• How pro-Russian and Russian Telegram channels spread misinformation about Kosovo (The Geopost)
• Hoxhaj: September will shift talks to dialogue on mutual recognition (Nacionale)
• Kosovo Issues Emergency Energy Measures Ahead of Winter (Prishtina Insight)

Osmani: Preparations by Serbia to escalate Western Balkans and Kosovo (BBC)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said in an interview with the BBC that “tensions are escalating right now. However, there have been preparations by Serbia, aided and abetted by Russia, for quite some time, to try to escalate the Western Balkans in general and Kosovo in particular. In the past decade that Vucic has been running Serbia but especially in the past couple of months they kept supporting illegal structures in north Kosovo that are made of criminal gangs,” Osmani said.

Watch full interview here: https://bit.ly/3ztoVCH

Kurti: Russia is helping Serbia to destabilize the Balkans (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti held on Tuesday a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. Kurti informed Stoltenberg that the citizens of Kosovo have been well informed about the upcoming measures (for license plates and identity cards issued by Serbia), that the measures are fully in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo, and that their implementation has been coordinated with the international community.

"Under the new measure of border crossing at the border crossings of Kosovo, on August 1, until 18:00, 2,521 citizens with identification documents from Serbia had passed. For this new procedure, they waited an average of only 20 seconds, since everything has been digitized from the institutions of Kosovo. The same procedure at the Serbian crossings lasts from 10 minutes to over an hour," the communiqué states.

Kurti informed Stoltenberg that media controlled by the Government of Serbia have implemented a disinformation campaign over the past month, trying to build a false and negative narrative about these upcoming measures.

"It has already been proven that these disinformation campaigns are being helped by the Russian state, in the attempt to destabilize the Balkans," Kurti said.

Stoltenberg on the other hand assured Kurti of the commitment and cooperation of NATO and KFOR to maintain opeace and stability in Kosovo and the region.

Kurti-Vucic meeting on August 18? (RTK)

The next meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, is expected to be held in Brussels on August 18. Based on the reports of some media in Serbia, this meeting has been confirmed by sources close to the Serbian presidency. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced the possibility of such a meeting a few days ago, during his visit to the U.S. although he did not give any date.

Vucic: I will go to Brussels; I expect nothing from the meeting (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that he will go to Brussels on August 18 for an EU-brokered meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but that he “does not know what we can talk about”. “Everything has been consumed. I will go, but I don’t expect anything. Anyone who thinks that there is a chance of maintaining peace with Kurti, is very wrong,” Vucic told Radio Television of Serbia.

“Moderation is needed, Pristina is doing well by postponing measures” (RTK)

The Italian Ambassador to Kosovo Antonello De Riu told the Italian news agency Nova that Italy welcomes "Pristina's decision to give the Serbian-Kosovar citizens a longer period of time, bearing in mind that the measures in question, as the EU envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak also emphasized, are fully legitimate under the previous Brussels agreements.”

He added that the Kosovo authorities ‘make every effort to clearly communicate to the citizens who live in the north, the new procedures for the entry and exit of people and vehicles, ensuring an appropriate time for their implementation.’

At the same time, he stressed that Prishtina and Belgrade are truly committed to ensuring that the free movement of their respective citizens is ensured in accordance with the principles of the European Union, which both countries wish to be a part of.

Kosovo Police issues statement rebutting reports in Serbian media (media)

Kosovo Police issued a statement on Tuesday evening rebutting reports in some Serbian media according to which Kosovo Police was stopping and mistreating citizens in the north. Kosovo Police said this fake news is aimed at misinforming and creating insecurity among the people. Below is the full statement from Kosovo Police:

The Kosovo Police, through this official information, informs the public and citizens that all its police actions are undertaken based on legal authorizations, in the interest of all citizens and the country.

At the same time, through this official information, we deny various, false information that is circulating according to which the Kosovo Police, in the north of Mitrovica, is arresting and mistreating citizens, while exercising their police duties.

The circulation of these false information is aimed at disinformation and creating insecurity among citizens.

We assure you that the Kosovo Police, through the performance of police duties and authorizations, has the sole purpose of preventing and fighting all types of crime and smuggling, maintaining order and public safety, as well as providing security to all citizens without distinction.

During the performance of police duties at a checkpoint in the north of Mitrovica, the border police officers were prevented from performing their duties by a person who was in a drunken state, who according to police procedures was escorted to the police station. All actions against the same will be undertaken in cooperation and coordination with the justice bodies.

We invite citizens not to fall prey to such inaccurate information.

Police stops vehicle in the north suspected of smuggling medicaments (media)

Kosovo Police issued a press release on Tuesday saying that as part of efforts in the fight against smuggling in the north, police in the village of Rudare in Zvecan stopped a vehicle that was smuggling medicaments. While checking the vehicle, police found packages of medicaments with Serbian flags. Police also said the driver of the vehicle did not have documents on the origin of the medical products, therefore there is a reasonable suspicion that they have entered the territory of the Republic of Kosovo illegally, that is, they have been smuggled to avoid customs duties. The police have notified the prosecutor of the Basic Prosecutor's Office about the case.

Koha reports that Serbian authorities tried to dramatize the case by accusing Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti that is allegedly leaving citizens in the north without medicaments.

A Dispute Over License Plates Is a Reminder of Deep, Ongoing Kosovo-Serbia Tensions (Time)

A Kosovo government measure set to take effect on Monday would have required Serbs living in northern Kosovo to apply for local license plates, replacing their Serbian ones. But ahead of its implementation, protests and gunfire broke out on Sunday evening—pushing Kosovo authorities to delay the measure. (Serbia has long had a similar rule for Kosovars.)

The flare-up has since quieted, with NATO-led peacekeepers removing roadblocks set up by Serbian protesters. But it’s a reminder of longstanding tensions between the two countries. Kosovo and Serbia fought a bloody war between 1998-1999, which saw Serbian forces under Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević commit war crimes against largely Muslim ethnic Albanians who form the majority of Kosovo’s population, drawing international condemnation. U.S.-backed NATO forces launched an aerial bombing campaign against Serbian military targets between March-June 1999.

Since June 1999, NATO has led a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo. Some 3,700 troops remain in the country today.

Although the Western-backed Kosovo government declared independence in February 2008, Serbia has blocked its efforts to join the U.N. More than 100 countries have recognized Kosovo.

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

Kosovo: Why is trouble flaring between Serbs and Albanian-led government? (BBC)

Tensions are running high between ethnic Serbs and the Albanian-led government in Kosovo, south-east Europe.

Protesters have blockaded roads and reportedly fired guns after being made to put Kosovan-issued number plates on their cars.

There are fears violence between ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians could flare up again, 23 years after the Kosovo war.

Where is Kosovo and who lives there?

Kosovo is a small, landlocked country in the Balkans, bordering Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Many Serbs consider it the birthplace of their own nation.

But of the 1.8 million people living in Kosovo, 92% are Albanian and only 6% Serbian. The rest are Bosniaks, Gorans, Turks and Roma.

How did Kosovo gain independence?

After the break-up of the Yugoslavia, in the 1990s, Kosovo - a province of the former country - sought its own autonomy and independence.

Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanians seeking independence.

This ended in 1999, with a Nato bombing campaign against Serbia, between March and June.

Read more at: https://bbc.in/3zsWSn3

How to stop Serbia spat from spiraling out of control (atlanticcouncil.org)

Opinion piece by Petrit Selimi, former Foreign Minister of Kosovo.

In recent weeks, my country has promoted itself as a culturally vibrant destination for curious visitors. But on Sunday, Kosovo landed in global headlines for a much more unfortunate reason: A border flare-up between local Serbs and Kosovars in the north appeared to risk escalating into an open conflict.

For Western governments already jittery over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, fresh Balkan violence was the last thing they needed. Through quick-action diplomacy, they seemed to have averted the worst—but shouldn’t keep their eyes off what could still grow into a serious issue.

The fact that a spat over official documentation—requiring local Serbs to obtain Kosovan IDs and car registrations—sparked such tensions is a testament to the fragility of the situation.

The issue has been discussed for more than a decade as part of the ongoing dialogue facilitated by the European Union (EU). Moreover, the recent decision by the Kosovo government to require new documentation was fully reciprocal to what the Serbian government has been doing to Kosovars for fifteen years. But as the deadline for the implementation of these decisions loomed Sunday, Russia-friendly Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his allies—backed up by state media—accused Kosovars of preparing attacks on the north and hunting Serbs.

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

How pro-Russian and Russian Telegram channels spread misinformation about Kosovo (The Geopost)

Russian and pro-Russian channels on Telegram, which until then were focused on the war in Ukraine and justifying the invasion, became interested in the situation in the north of Kosovo almost simultaneously.

The situation in the north is gradually normalizing on August 1, while trucks and barricades are being removed from the roads, with which the local Serbs blocked the roads leading to the two border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia the day before.

The blockades followed after the authorities in Kosovo announced the implementation of two decisions of the Government of Kosovo on license plates and documents of Serbia from August 1. The deadline for implementing decisions, after tensions, was subsequently extended by one month.

Organized dissemination of disinformation

The consistency that points to an organized network was shown on July 31 after 7:00 p.m., when the channels broadcasting in Russian and Serbian published the same announcement with a difference of a few minutes.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Qc22v3

Hoxhaj: September will shift talks to dialogue on mutual recognition (Nacionale)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP and Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, Enver Hoxhaj, said in an interview with the news website on Tuesday that the decision on reciprocity for license plates and travel documents in the implementation of the Brussels agreements was necessary but that it is only a tactical and not a strategic decision. “In September, Kosovo must resort to dialogue as a strategic decision-making process and to reach an agreement on mutual recognition, and only this approach will ensure political reciprocity and full inter-state equality between Kosovo and Serbia as two independent and sovereign countries! The Kurti-led government is making dialogue without principles and without a state platform. The technical dialogue is against the interests of Kosovo!” Hoxhaj argued.

Kosovo Issues Emergency Energy Measures Ahead of Winter (Prishtina Insight)

Government says emergency measures reflect concern over fast-rising prices of imported energy, which could worsen over winter.

The government of Kosovo has announced emergency measures in the energy sector.

It said the decision was made due to the current global energy situation and that the measures will be valid for the next 60 days, with the possibility of an extension.

The justification for the measures is more specifically the rapid rise in the price of energy imports and concern that the ban on the export of fossil materials from some European countries may further increase the price of imports.

The main actions included in the emergency measures that the government notified in a press release are: “Support measures for citizens in order to provide heating during the winter; Ban on the use of electricity for cryptocurrency mining; Support of the Transmission and Market System Operator (KOSTT) to undertake necessary actions in order to maintain the security of the electrical energy system; Measures to save electricity consumption by all institutions.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3A1HMGR

Russia reacts to Albania’s resolution against organ trafficking allegations (media)

The Foreign Ministry of Russia has reacted regarding the adoption of the resolution against Dick Marty’s report in the Albanian Parliament. The Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that people involved in these war crimes must be severely punished.

“The Albanian parliament approved a resolution that opposes the accusations related to organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania. We remain firm in our position that those involved in these crimes must face a harsh and fair punishment,” she said.

With 125 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions, the resolution passed by the Parliament of Albania calls on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to review Resolution 1782, which served as the starting point for the establishment of the Special Court.