• Kurti meets EP rapporteur Viola von Cramon (media)
• Bislimi: The parties should be equal in dialogue (media)
• Kurti and Szunyog, discuss war against corruption (media)
• Kajari: KFOR has full control over its monitoring points (media)
• NATO: Kosovo airspace remains open (Koha)
• Meta meets Osmani: Kosovo in NATO as soon as possible (RTK)
• Kurti: We have condemned, and continue to strongly condemn the Russian aggression (media)
• Xhavit Haliti: Serbia is preparing scenarios to attack the north of Kosovo (Klan)
• Balje claims her opinion against same-sex marriages is the same as of all Kosovars (Express)
• Kosovo parliament urges government to start NATO membership bid (Reuters)
• Ukraine is a ‘Sarajevo in the making’, warns Kosovo’s PM (The Independent, media)
• Why Putin keeps talking about Kosovo (Foreign Policy)
• Kosovo whistleblower ‘fired’ for warning of safety risks at Airport (BIRN)

Kurti meets EP rapporteur Viola von Cramon (media)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti received on Thursday the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament Viola von Cramon. They discussed the developments in Ukraine, justice reforms, the fight against crime and corruption, legislative changes, security, and energy.

Kurti informed Viola von Cramon about the government's decisions against Russia and in support of Ukraine, which on the one hand include sanctions against Russia in line with those of the EU and the United States, and on the other hand the decision to accept 20 Ukrainian journalists.

"Clear and immediate alignment with the democratic world and against a despotic government, is a clear indicator of the democratic values and Euro-Atlantic orientation of the Republic of Kosovo," Kurti said.

Bislimi: parties should be equal in dialogue (media)

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Besnik Bislmi said that the dialogue with Serbia should be based on certain principles and the parties should be equal.

According to him, the Kosovar and Serbian sides have different views on how they see the end of the dialogue.

"In every context when we have encountered unequal access we have decided to set the principle of priority and this has been observed on the ground and at the negotiating table," Bislimi said at a roundtable organized by the Group for Legal and Political Studies, where they discussed the progress of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue under the leadership of the Kurti government.

"The other party in the dialogue is represented by Petkovic, who is only the head of an office for Kosovo and has no position within the government of Serbia," he added.

Bislmi said that the Kurti government at the beginning of the mandate came up with statements on basic priorities.

"We have mentioned that management of the pandemic is a priority for us, EU integration and the like. In this context, dialogue as a process is the fourth priority, and then based on this, someone came up with findings that the Kurti government does not take dialogue seriously," he said.

On February 23, Bislimi had denied the claims of the Serbian chief negotiator Petar Petkovic that the Kosovar side has refused a tripartite meeting in dialogue, and that according to him, the meeting within the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue was aimed at preparing future talks between The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

"I insisted on meeting with Petkovic. However, it seems that the Serbian side was not interested in this but later appeared before the media claiming that I refused this. This will be confirmed by Lajcak's cabinet," Bislimi told reporters in Brussels.

Kurti and Szunyog, discuss war against corruption (media)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated today that the government of Kosovo remains committed to justice reform and that he sees vetting in the justice system as the most appropriate process that enables it.

He made these comments during a meeting with the Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Ambassador Tomash Szunyog, where they discussed justice and the fight against corruption.

Kurti said that they should learn from the experience of Albania and put it in the service of a successful vetting in Kosovo.

"We want to do the vetting process together with the European Union," said Kurti, stressing the importance of partnering with the EU, especially after the situation in Ukraine.

He said that the commitment of the Kosovo Police in the fight against organized crime and corruption should be complemented by effective prosecutors and judges, who lack neither integrity nor competence.

While Ambassador Szunyog said that the rule of law in Kosovo is an important issue for the European Union. He said he agrees with the need for a justice system that is efficient and impartial.

He positively assessed the prioritization of the legislative agenda in the field of anti-corruption, as well as the willingness of institutions to cooperate with the Venice Commission, as in the case of the draft law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the vetting process, and the draft law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets.

Kajari: KFOR has full control over its monitoring points (media)

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, was received today in a meeting by the KFOR Commander, Major General Ferenc Kajari, with whom they discussed the cooperation and coordination between KFOR and Kosovo institutions.

According to the announcement, KFOR Commander Kajari informed Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi on current events and assured him that KFOR is in full control of the points monitored by it.

NATO: Kosovo airspace remains open (Koha)

The news website quotes a NATO official as saying on Thursday that Kosovo airspace remains open.

"The KFOR Commander has the primary authority to use low airspace over Kosovo, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999. KFOR remains fully focused on the day-to-day implementation of its mandate of UN to ensure a safe environment and freedom of movement for all communities living in Kosovo. Such a closure would have no operational impact. KFOR remains fully focused on the day-to-day implementation of its mandate according to the UN," said the NATO official.

Meta meets Osmani: Kosovo in NATO as soon as possible (RTK)

President of Albania Ilir Meta held a meeting in Malta with the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani.

Meta and Osmani exchanged views on the fraternal relations between the two countries and the will to enrich them further.

"We reiterated how vital are the common vision and Euro-Atlantic values that Albania and Kosovo share in these moments of regional, European and global challenges," Meta said.

Kosovo as soon as possible in NATO, according to Meta is a response in favor of peace, stability, security, and development.

Kurti: We have condemned, and we continue to strongly condemn the Russian aggression (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti participated in the plenary session of the Assembly of Kosovo, where a resolution condemning the Russian aggression in Ukraine was adopted.

“Attack on Ukraine is an attack on the civilized world, it is an attack on freedom and democracy, on our most precious values for which whole generations have been sacrificed, so it is an attack on all of us,” said Prime Minister Kurti.

“We are a peace-loving and freedom-loving people, so we find ourselves in their heroism to fight for their freedom and their country because we know very well the high price of freedom,” he said.

Read the entire speech here: https://bit.ly/3IG1J7H

Xhavit Haliti: Serbia is preparing scenarios to attack the north of Kosovo (Klan)

Xhavit Haliti, Kosovo Assembly MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) told Klan Kosova that he sees Serbia’s vote for UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine as a signal that Serbia has begun to change its stance on Russia.

"I am glad that Serbia in the UN General Assembly distanced itself from Russia in a way, condemned the aggression in Ukraine and for me it is a very significant sign and I hope, although I do not believe, but I hope that maybe Serbia has decided not to be an instrument in Russia's hands to destabilize the Balkans," he said>

He added however that Serbia is sufficiently armed and has never shown cooperation with either the international community or Kosovo to recognize the situation, and the status of Kosovo, recognized by about 120 countries of the world.

The PDK MP said that according to his sources, Serbia has several scenarios prepared to attack the north of Kosovo.

"The danger is permanent, and I do not know how our services work, but I have data that they have several prepared scenarios for an eventual attack, or occupation of northern Kosovo which represents a danger and a problem that we have faced in discussions. I am saying what Westerners know," he said.

"I believe that they (KIA) know as they cooperate with international institutions, but it is worrying because they have bought KLA uniforms in Kosovo, they have bought KLA symbols in Kosovo and this reminds me of a secret project that Albania used to have in the communist-era on how to attack Albanian forces in Kosovo by wearing Yugoslav uniforms and accuse Serbia then to justify the attack to take over Kosovo on behalf of saving Kosovo Albanian people. ”

"The provocation they can do is to carry out an attack on behalf of the KLA forces with an emblem and it would be recorded with cameras and presented to the whole world that we have an attack against Serbs in Kosovo, and we were forced to protect them.”

"Another problem is the issue of the elections that will be held in Serbia, whether they will be allowed to be held or not, and the third problem that can create an unpleasant situation is the electricity transmission center. According to the data, Serbian forces have mobilized hundreds of special forces with weapons that do not have numbers, mainly automatic, Kalashnikovs, maybe Chinese, to say that these are weapons of the KLA, but with the new position of Serbia I do not know if any of these scenarios can apply," Haliti said.

Balje claims her opinion against same-sex marriages is the same as of all Kosovars (Express)

The MP from the Bosniak community Duda Balje has insisted on her position that same-sex marriages should not be allowed in Kosovo.

Balje stated that it is a personal opinion of hers and according to her, Kosovo is not yet ready for such a transition.

"To be honest, I wrote on Facebook my personal opinion, I did not write on behalf of the commission, but as a person and an MP. What I have published, is an opinion, I have the right to have an opinion. The LGBTI community should be ready that we cannot think quite like them. I am right in my opinion, I know that we are a secular state, but I am not a secular one and in fact even if I am of the same opinion I cannot support this because I think we are not ready yet," she said.

Asked about calls for her resignation, she said that she did not take them close to heart and added that no one in Kosovo can accept same-sex marriage.

Kosovo parliament urges government to start NATO membership bid (Reuters)

Kosovo's parliament approved a resolution on Thursday asking the government to start negotiations on NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Kosovo has been guarded by NATO troops since 1999 when a war between ethnic Albanians and Serb forces ended, but the country of 1.8 million people now wants to join the alliance.

"Kosovo's parliament asks the government to take all necessary steps, in coordination with international partners, to submit the request for NATO membership, European Union, Council of Europe and other international organisations," says the resolution, backed by 94 votes in the 120-seat parliament. Lawmakers from the Serb minority boycotted the session.

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

Ukraine is a ‘Sarajevo in the making’, warns Kosovo’s PM (The Independent, media)

Albin Kurti doesn’t want to talk about war. He would rather be drumming up foreign investment and courting the Kosovan diaspora in London.

Kurti was elected as prime minister of the country in March 2021, and he’s keen to emphasise its healthy economic growth; its relatively high vaccination rate compared to other Balkan states and its new commercial court aimed at encouraging investors to the small country.

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given fresh urgency to Kosovo’s sense of insecurity and drive to join the transatlantic defence pact, Nato.

“We would like to join Nato as soon as possible,” Kurti says, leaning forward for emphasis. The political leader has used meetings with British officials in London this week to lay out his case for membership.

“It looks as if this is another Sarajevo in the making. We are looking at a siege of the capital [in Ukraine],” he says.

Kosovans do not see a TV screen when they look at Ukraine at the moment: it brings back sharply their experiences of the recent past, Kurti says, when Serbia carried out massacres and mass expulsions of Kosovan Albanians.

Fear for the elderly and children becomes all-consuming: “Not just every day, but every hour, maybe even every minute. And that amount of anxiety that deteriorates your being, its integrity. You turn yourself into the living dead, you consider yourself already dead,” he says.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/36PBBt0

Why Putin keeps talking about Kosovo (Foreign Policy)

For the Kremlin, NATO’s 1999 war against Serbia is the West’s original sin—and a humiliating affront that Russia must avenge.

In the early hours of Feb. 24, the Kremlin launched a new full-scale war in the heart of Europe. Shaky video footage from the outskirts of Ukrainian cities provides snapshots of a chaotic scene: blankets strewn across hard bunker floors, expletive-laden declarations of epic heroism, children’s hysterical cries.

In the face of such horror, it is natural to ascribe these crimes to a madman, to a leader entirely divorced from reality. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s historically unhinged pre-invasion speech, in which he premised his desire to resurrect the Soviet Union on the claim that Vladimir Lenin invented Ukraine, does little to contradict that assessment—at least at first glance.

History has long been Putin’s war language, his way of analogizing and justifying Russia’s modern-day aggressions within past glories and humiliations. The Russian government’s lies that its current violence against the Ukrainian people is actually just a special operation to “de-Nazify” Ukraine simply extends the pro-Kremlin argument that Nazis came to power in Kyiv after the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-2014.

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

Kosovo whistleblower ‘fired’ for warning of safety risks at Airport (BIRN)

Airport engineer tells BIRN's TV show that he lost his job there for pointing out dangerous defects in the extended runway – allegations that the airport's Turkish bosses deny.Kosovo airport aeronautical lighting engineer Deme Elezaj, who was suspended for whistleblowing about alleged defects in the recently extended runaway, has told BIRN’s TV show in Kosovo, Kallxo Pernime, that lighting defects pose safety risks.

Elezaj, who has worked at Adem Jashari International Airport since 2002, first noticed problems with the lighting of the runway where airplanes take off and land at the end of 2019.

“During an inspection, it was noticed that the bases of the lights were deformed, which poses a risk to operations. We immediately notified the (safety) department,” Elezaj said.

“If the lights have defects, there’s a direct risk of an air accident, and the risk is very high,” Elezaj told BIRN. “Despite addressing the issue, we did not get an answer,” he underlined.

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