• EU concerned that crisis may spread to Western Balkans (Telegrafi)
• Kosovo President: Vucic obviously playing by Putin’s book (Koha)
• Kosovo joins Western sanctions on Russia (BIRN)
• Kosovo asks US for permanent military base, NATO membership (Al Jazeera)
• Threat from Russian scenario, KFOR is asked to step up presence in north (Koha)
• Kosovo Police reacts to statement by Serbia’s Office for Kosovo (media)
• Haradinaj wants a fund to be created for the army (Ekonomia Online)
• Media commission: Stopping Russian channels in Kosovo deemed necessary (Koha)
• COVID-19: 81 new cases, one death (media)

EU concerned that crisis may spread to Western Balkans (Telegrafi)

The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, said on Sunday that EU member states are concerned that the crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine could spread to neighboring countries, including Moldavia, Georgia and the Western Balkans.

“We are worried about what can happen in the region,” Borrell told a media conference in Brussels after a virtual meeting with EU Foreign Ministers about the Ukraine crisis.

“We fear that Russia will not stop in Ukraine and that Russian influence could start to function in neighboring countries too,” he said.

Kosovo President: Vucic obviously playing by Putin’s book (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in an interview with Times Radio that the situation in Ukraine could destabilize the Western Balkans too. According to Osmani, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “is playing by Putin’s playbook”. Full interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHinmg1oxrQ

Kosovo joins Western sanctions on Russia (BIRN)

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kosovo has joined sanctions on entities that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and the independence of Ukraine, consisting of freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals or entities, a travel ban for sanctioned individuals and a ban on individuals and entities making funds available, either directly or indirectly, to sanctioned individuals and entities.

The names of those sanctioned individuals and entities are listed in the annexes to the Council of the European Union. According to the Kosovo Government, sanctions will be in effect until further notice and may be updated.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti told a government meeting on Friday: “We are starting the day by joining our partners in sanctions on Russia. The response of the Western democratic world must be unified and determined. Our reaction should be read as a clear message of our political and diplomatic orientation,” Kurti said.

Kosovo asks US for permanent military base, NATO membership (Al Jazeera/Reuters)

Kosovo has asked the US to establish a permanent military base in the country and speed up its integration into NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Accelerating Kosovo’s membership in NATO and having a permanent base of American forces is an immediate need to guarantee peace, security and stability in the Western Balkans,” Kosovo’s Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said on his Facebook page.

Threat from Russian scenario, KFOR is asked to step up presence in north (Koha)

The news website reported on Sunday that Kosovo Police detained five people on Sunday suspecting that they were plotting a plan to cause unrest in the north. Police confirmed on Sunday that in cooperation with the Special Prosecution, three Serbian nationals and two Kosovo nationals were detained after they were believed to have bought KLA emblems in a store in Prishtina. The suspects were reportedly planning to purchase military uniforms too. Police did not say what were the reasons behind the arrest but that they were conducting verifications in coordination with the Special Prosecution. The suspects were later released.

The escalating situation in Ukraine has increased the vigilance of Kosovo institutions. On Saturday, Kosovo Police sent logistical equipment and containers at the Bernjak border crossing point, which was closed for several days last year after barricades were set up by local Serbs. Police said in a statement that the equipment was sent there to create better conditions for work. Police also stepped up controls in mountain roads which Serbia used for smuggling in the north, the news website notes.

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, meanwhile called on the commander of KFOR peacekeeping troops to increase the presence of troops in the north of Kosovo after the situation in Ukraine. “With the aim of closer coordination with KFOR, following the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, I met at KFOR Headquarters with COMKFOR, General Ferenc Kajari. I used the opportunity to call for a greater presence of KFOR troops in the northern part of Kosovo and the reinforcement of its contingent. The destabilizing tendencies of Russia and its satellites against our countries and the region of the Western Balkans are now clear and we will confront them together with our allies,” Mehaj said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Serbia meanwhile said the increased police presence in the north is an attempt the destabilize the north. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he will not accept “the game of provocations”. He said he notified KFOR about the movements and that he is in daily communication with Serbs in the north.

Kosovo Police reacts to statement by Serbia’s Office for Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Police issued a reaction after the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo said that the establishment of a police basis near Bernjak is a violation of the Kumanovo Agreement. The police said in a statement: “Kosovo Police, pursuant to the "Law on State Border Control and Surveillance" as well as in support of police personnel with workspaces and logistics equipment, today sent logistics equipment and containers to Brnjak. These devices will be used by border police officers to perform police duties, in the interest of providing security for citizens and carrying out their legal duties.

Police officers for the supervision of the green line in this area, have lacked space and working conditions, this sending of logistics equipment and containers, will create better spaces and conditions for work, will increase efficiency in fulfillment of duties and prevention of smuggling. In the continuation of the fight against criminal-smuggling activities, concrete actions were taken days ago to close some illegal roads that were used for smuggling.

These actions, which have the sole purpose of providing better working conditions for border police officers and combating illegal smuggling, by the so-called Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, have been interpreted in a political-tendentious way, distorting the reality. for alleged actions aimed at destabilizing the security situation, which in fact these actions were carried out to provide security and law enforcement.

Kosovo Police will continue its commitment in carrying out police duties in the service of citizens and general security.”

Haradinaj wants a fund to be created for the army (Ekonomia Online)

Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and former Prime Minister of Kosovo, said in an interview with the news website that he has called on the government and the Ministry of Defense to initiate a draft law for creating a fund to strengthen the capacities of the Kosovo Security Force. Haradinaj said the events in Ukraine show how necessary it is for Kosovo to strengthen its defense capacities. “I have asked the Government, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense to proceed to the Parliament a law, which as far as I know is already ready, to create a fund for the army, for defense, where people can contribute with donations, and this would accelerate completing Kosovo’s defense needs,” he said.

According to Haradinaj, even though the situation in the region is not stable, Kosovo is lucky to have NATO led by the United States protecting its borders.

Media commission: Stopping Russian channels in Kosovo deemed necessary (Koha)

The daily reports on page five that due to the Russian propaganda about the conflict in Ukraine, the Independent Media Commission in Kosovo has deemed necessary to temporarily stop Russian programs in cable platforms in Kosovo. Violeta Hyseni-Kelmendi, a member of the IMC, said the decision was made to fight disinformation. “This decision was certainly necessary given the ongoing attacks and the reports about the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” she said.

Hyseni-Kelmendi also said the IMC has called on the media to be very cautious when reporting at a time of crisis as the one in Ukraine. She also said they will monitor the media in the coming days to see if they are following the Commission’s guidance against fake news. “The current situation certainly requires us as regulators to be very mindful about the program content related to the war in Ukraine. Therefore, in the next couple of days, we will intensify our monitoring to see if the IMC decision to stop Russian channels is being implemented,” she added.

Dren Gerguri, professor at the Journalism Department at Prishtina University, said the decision of the IMC was right and that fake news are extremely dangerous. “Disinformation has proved to be very dangerous because it creates beliefs among the people and then they act based on their beliefs. If let’s say an anti-NATO or an anti-Kosovo dominates among a certain number of people, then the consequences could be grave

COVID-19: 81 new cases, one death (media)

81 new cases with COVID-19 and one death from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 403 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 2,058 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.