• Osmani signs Charter of Board of Peace as a founding member (media)
• Kosovo, Bulgaria, Turkey join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ (Prishtina Insight)
• Kosovo and Serbia reach deal to operationalize missing persons commission (media)
• Petkovic talks to reporters after meeting in Brussels (Kosovo Online)
• Kurti writes about his meetings in Davos (media)
• COMKFOR holds separate meetings with Mitrovica South and North mayors (media)
• COMKFOR Ulutas meets Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north (media)
• US donates a $3 million scanner to Kosovo to counter illicit trafficking (media)
• Serbia’s Albanians welcome US Congress bill to assess discrimination (BIRN)

Osmani signs Charter of Board of Peace as a founding member (media)

All news websites reported on Thursday that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani signed in Davos on behalf of Kosovo, the Charter of the Board of Peace, as a founding member, equal and with full rights, side by side with the United States of America. Osmani wrote: “When America leads, peace is always more enduring! Today, in Davos, on behalf of the Republic of Kosovo, I signed the Charter of the Board of Peace as a founding member, equal and with full rights, side by side with the United States of America. Membership in international peace organizations led by our strategic ally strengthens our sovereignty, our international position, and is in the highest interest of the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, this historic agreement will be sent to the Assembly of Kosovo for ratification, in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo, to receive the final approval of the people’s representatives. Grateful to President Trump for his leadership and for the invitation to represent the Republic of Kosovo at this historic moment. Kosovo will stand in service of peace, today and always!”

Kosovo, Bulgaria, Turkey join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo Bulgaria and Turkey, along with representatives of other countries, joined US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, at the signing ceremony of the Board of Peace Charter, creating a new international body supposedly aimed at resolving conflicts around the world.

Trump, who was presented as the chairman of the Board of Peace, told the audience that “everybody wants to be a part of it and we will work with many others, including the United Nations”.

Trump originally proposed the creation of the Board as part of his plan to end the war in Gaza last September, but has since expanded the initiative to cover various other conflicts around the globe.

However, Trump admitted at the ceremony that resolving the Russian war in Ukraine, which he thought was going to be “an easy one”, has “turned out to be probably the most difficult”.

A draft charter sent by the US to some 60 countries requires members to pay $1 billion each to extend their membership beyond three years, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo, a staunch US ally, was all smiles when she was called to sign the charter and moments after the signature, she took to Facebook to post a photo of herself with Trump under the statement: “Because the alliance with America is the only way”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who also signed the Board of Peace charter, said that Ankara values the efforts being made for peace in Palestine and Gaza.

“The board may have its shortcomings, but having it is a valuable development for us. We also value that the invitation was also extended to countries we worked with closely, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan,” Fidan said.

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Kosovo and Serbia reach deal to operationalize missing persons commission (media)

All news websites reported on Thursday that chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia, with the mediation of the European Union, have reached an agreement to operationalize the joint commission for forcibly disappeared persons. Kosovo’s chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi told reporters after meeting in Brussels: “most of them was spent on bilateral meetings. Initially the Kosovo side with the European Union, and then the Serbian side. The objective was to reach an agreement to operationalize today the Joint Commission for the implementation of the agreement on missing persons between Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic. The meetings were successful and we have managed to achieve this objective. Our deputies will meet in the coming weeks and determine the first priorities of the Joint Commission”.

Asked if there was another topic of discussion at the meetings, Bislimi said that the missing persons commission was the main topic. “Of course other elements were briefly addressed where developments are expected after the formation of the government [in Kosovo] but most of the time was dedicated to implementing the commission for the implementation of the Agreement of Forcibly Disappeared Persons,” he said.

Petkovic talks to reporters after the meetings in Brussels (Kosovo Online)

Head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said on Thursday evening that the first meeting of the Joint Commission for the implementation of the Declaration on Missing Persons was finally held in Brussels, adding that Belgrade had been fighting for years for this meeting to take place. Petkovic also said that he discussed with Peter Sorensen the urgency of establishing the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

Speaking to journalists in Brussels after the meeting of the Commission, Petkovic said that its convening was of exceptional importance and expressed hope that, following this first meeting, efforts to locate all missing persons would be accelerated. He specified that the Joint Commission meeting held this evening took place at the level of chief negotiators, at the technical level. “I must say that Belgrade has been fighting for years to reach precisely this first meeting. For every comma, for every letter of the numerous agreements concerning missing persons, we have all these years—speaking on behalf of the entire team—fought together. I hope that we are now giving additional hope to all families who are still waiting to learn the truth about the fate of their loved ones,” Petkovic emphasized.

As he added, for Belgrade the issue of missing persons has never been a political matter, but a purely humanitarian one, and it has been approached as such. “We were ready in December to come here to Brussels and hold that first meeting; however, Pristina refused at the time due to elections in Kosovo and Metohija. What is particularly important is that the Joint Commission, as envisaged by the Declaration on Missing Persons previously adopted at the high level, serves as a kind of political body providing support to the Working Group, while the Working Group itself—operating under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross and existing for years—remains the main body when it comes to locating missing persons,” Petkovic said.

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Kurti writes about his meetings in Davos (media)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday that he welcomed to the House of Kosova in Davos, Switzerland, Dr. Sabeeh Al-Mukhaizeem, Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy; Acting Minister of Finance; and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investments of the State of Kuwait. “In a positive and productive meeting, I thanked Minister al-Mukhaizeem for Kuwait's strong and continuing support for Kosova's economic progress and international recognition. A key focus was also our Government's ambitious plans for our upcoming mandate. Specifically, we discussed a number of investment opportunities of potential interest for the State of Kuwait and Kuwaiti businesses, including in energy, railways, stadiums, and water reservoirs,” Kurti said in a post on X.

COMKFOR holds separate meetings with Mitrovica South and North mayors (media)

Commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, held separate meetings on Thursday with the mayors of the municipalities of Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North. KFOR said in two posts after the meetings that “discussions focused on the general security situation and on issues affecting municipalities. General Ulutas underlined KFOR’s continued commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all people living in Kosovo, equally and without distinction, both in the north and in the south”. 

COMKFOR meets Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north (media)

Most news websites reported that the commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Ozkan Ulutas met with the Kosovo Police Deputy Regional Commander for the North, Lieutenant Colonel Veton Elshani. “The meeting, part of General Ulutas’s interactions with his institutional counterparts, focused on the security situation, regional stability, and cooperation between KFOR and Institutions in Kosovo. Such regular engagements are a key element to provide valuable firsthand insight into local realities, foster mutual trust, and enhance KFOR’s ability to effectively fulfill its mandate,” KFOR said in a Facebook post after the meeting.

US donates a $3 million scanner to Kosovo to counter illicit trafficking (media)

All news websites reported on Thursday that the US Embassy in Kosovo donated a €3 million American-made Rapiscan scanner to Kosovo’s authorities to counter illicit trafficking and to prevent the spread of counterfeit goods. “Countering illicit trafficking and preventing the spread of counterfeit goods makes American and Kosovan business stronger and more prosperous. That is why the United States is proud to bolster Kosovo’s border security through a $3 million American-made Rapiscan scanner. The technology enhances detection, supports legitimate trade, and advances shared security and economic interests,” the US Embassy said in a Facebook post.

Serbia’s Albanians welcome US Congress bill to assess discrimination (BIRN)

Ethnic Albanians in the US and Serbia have hailed a bill introduced into the US Congress on Wednesday, which if it becomes law will mean the State Department must assess discrimination against ethnic Albanians in the Presevo Valley area of southern Serbia.

“The Presheva Valley Discrimination Assessment Act, championed by Keith Self … mandates a State Department assessment of discrimination faced by ethnic Albanians, including political disenfranchisement, language restrictions, educational barriers, economic neglect, and institutional intimidation,” the lobbying group Albanians for America wrote on X.

The bill was introduced in response to claims that thousands of ethnic Albanians from three municipalities in southern Serbia, Medvedja, Bujanovac, and Presevo, have had their addresses marked “inactive” by the Serbian authorities.

This so-called “address passivisation” means they cannot renew their Serbian identification documents, or exercise basic human rights that require IDs, such as voting.

The bill requires an “assessment whether or not such mistreatments are in fact happening and the scope”.

Self explained that the passivisation of addresses strips ethnic Albanians of civil rights. He alleged that other examples of discrimination include “Belgrade’s refusal to recognize diplomas and degrees earned in Kosovo, the prevention or hinderance of school textbooks for Albanian language speakers and the use of law enforcement to interrogate, threaten, and intimidate local ethnic Albanians without due course or process”.

Ardita Sinani, mayor of Presevo, praised the bill’s introduction, writing on Facebook: “Today, the US is demanding legal and political accountability for the systematic discrimination against Albanians in the Presevo Valley … Our voice was heard. Our work is being seen.”

According to Saip Kamberi, an ethnic Albanian MP in Serbia, the practice dates from November 2011 and the adoption of the Law on Residence of Citizens, under which, if authorities determine a person is not living at their registered address, that address can be classified as inactive. That person is then obliged to register their true address within eight days of receiving confirmation of the decision.

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