• COVID-19: 24 deaths, 357 new cases (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo to introduce reciprocity with Serbia (media)
• Merkel: Open Balkans cannot replace the Common Regional Market (Exit)
• Kosovo’s Kurti lists four crucial elements to secure peace and stability in the region (Euronews.al)
• Gervalla: We made it clear to Merkel that Kosovo cannot go back before 2008 (Klan)
• President Osmani met with President of Germany Steinmeier (media)
• U.S. ambassador Philip Kosnett gives interview to Kallxo.com
• EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak visits Kosovo today (media)
• EFJ slams Albanian PM for ignoring questions of Kosovo journalists during press conference with Merkel (Express)
• Kosovo war crimes court begins first case (AFP/France 24)

COVID-19: 24 deaths, 357 new cases (media)

24 deaths from COVID-19 and 357 new cases have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 1,498 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 15,835 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Kurti: Kosovo to introduce reciprocity with Serbia (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, addressing media after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Tirana, said that Kosovo will introduce reciprocity with Serbia, adding that there can be no equality without reciprocity.

“I have written a letter to all EU governments when I have identified 11 violations of Serbia with systematic and sporadic barriers and i am expecting their answer. The reciprocity will be introduced because there is no other way, there is no equality without reciprocity,” Kurti said. He also said the government is preparing to successfully implement reciprocity with Serbia.

“With the Minister of Industry and Kosovo Customs we are preparing to successfully implement (reciprocity) and once we start implementing, we dare not to fail in this process,” Kurti said.

He also reiterated his opposition to the regional initiative of Open Balkan initiated by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Kurti said that during the meeting he had with Chancellor Merkel, Kosovo was not asked to join the Open Balkan initiative. Kosovo PM said that no regional initiative can be successful without European Union’s involvement.

He also commented the statements of Albanian PM Rama who during the joint press conference with Chancellor Merkel said that Kosovo is “spreading conspiracy theories” by refusing to join the Open Balkan. He told journalists that he does not know what conspiracies PM Rama was referring, adding however that the EU-backed Berlin Process is necessary and sufficient for region’s European path and there is no need for alternatives, implying on the Open Balkan backed by Rama, Vucic and Zaev. When speaking on Rama’s approach, Kurti said: “The pressure should be on Serbia which denies crimes and refuses recognition of Kosovo’s independence.”

Merkel: Open Balkans cannot replace the Common Regional Market (Exit)

At the joint press conference after the meeting with Prime Minister Rama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel put an end to doubts about Germany's position on the Open Balkans project.

Driven by reporters, she clarified that Open Balkans could not replace the Common Regional Market as part of the Berlin Process, although any co-operation initiative was welcome.

Earlier, she stated that the Berlin Process has increased co-operation between Balkan countries.

Merkel welcomed the Common Regional Market Agreement, signed by the Western Balkan countries to implement the 4 freedoms, although not all countries are equally committed.

She also clarified that the Berlin Process in turn does not replace integration, but it is a step towards it and countries are in different stages of integration.

Merkel hailed the efforts to restructure justice and affirmed that Albania and Macedonia have met the conditions for opening negotiations with the EU.

She informed that at lunch with the leaders of the region were also discussed the infrastructure projects, for which she said that the first results are being seen, mentioning the start of works for the peace highway.

Merkel stated that the integration of the countries of the region into the EU was a strategic interest of Germany.

Kosovo’s Kurti lists four crucial elements to secure peace and stability in the region (Euronews.al)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, in a press conference following his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, listed the four key elements in order to attain peace, stability, and security in the Western Balkans.

Rule of law, to fight corruption and oligarchs

Democratization, to enable free and independent media and weaken autocrats

Facing the past, in order to imprison war criminals and prevent them from being in power

Reciprocity, asymmetry, and balancing the rights of national minorities, in face of nationalistic hegemonies in the Balkans

In reference to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Kurti said that both countries have entered the dialogue to determine what the status of their relations will look like.

He emphasized that Kosovo’s status is ‘indisputable’. ‘From 2008 to 2012, Kosovo did not have full independence as it was being looked over by Western powers, who were the ones to grant the independence altogether’, Kurti said.

Albin Kurti said that the country intends to have good neighborly relations, but without undermining its sovereignty and borders.

‘We are in favor of good neighborly relations, but obviously, we cannot grant Serbia any territory for the losses it incurred due to the regime of Milosevic from nearly two decades ago,’ he said.

‘Kosovo will not join the Open Balkan initiative’

‘Kosovo will not join the Open Balkan initiative’, said Albin Kurti, taking aim at a previous statement made by PM Edi Rama calling on Kosovo to ‘renounce from conspiracy theories’ and adding that regional initiative does not contradict the Balkan Process.

According to Kurti, the Berlin Process is “necessary and sufficient” for the region’s integration path, hence there is no need for new variants.

‘I am not aware of which conspiracy theory. Have you asked him which theory he’s referring to? I am giving you mu stance, which is that the Berlin Process is necessary, as well as sufficient, for the European path’, concluded Kurti.

Gervalla: We made it clear to Merkel that Kosovo cannot go back before 2008 (Klan)

Kosovo's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, said that in the meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Kosovo side made it clear that in the process of normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, Kosovo cannot go back to the situation prior to 2008 when it declared independence.

Gervalla said that the meeting also discussed in detail the new political reality in Kosovo and the fruitful partnership between Kosovo and Germany. "In discussing regional developments in the Western Balkans it was stressed that the Berlin Process is the common platform during the integration process of the Western Balkans countries in the EU. Prime Minister Kurti also stressed the necessity of the EU's presence in regional initiatives," she wrote.

President Osmani met with President of Germany Steinmeier (media)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani on the first day of her official visit to Germany met the country’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and thanked him for the support so far and committed to deepen relations. Furthermore, President Osmani requested the support of Germany for new recognitions, as well as for Kosovo's membership in international organizations.

"Germany has supported Kosovo in all its international and European integration aspirations: the EU integration process, membership in international organizations and especially lobbying and support for visa liberalization. We need a strong voice on our visa liberalization demand, and there is no better voice than Germany. We have met all the criteria for liberalization. We expect Germany's support in this process ", President Osmani emphasized in the meeting with President Steinmeier. Osmani described the Berlin process as a strong impetus for the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

"The Republic of Kosovo aims to advance regional cooperation - in accordance with the action plan established in Sofia (2020) for the creation of a common market of four fundamental freedoms (movement of people, goods, services and capital)," she said. According to her, any other idea that aims to be parallel to the EU enlargement and the Berlin Process, undermining the principle of equal participation of the Western Balkan states, will not have the support of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, regarding the dialogue with Serbia, President Osmani reiterated that its final result should be mutual recognition and preservation of the current constitutional order and the current borders of Kosovo.

In the meeting with President Steinmeier, Osmani mentioned Kosovo's special connection with Germany due to over 400,000 Kosovars living in the German state, informs the Office of the President.

U.S. ambassador Philip Kosnett gives interview to Kallxo.com

The outgoing ambassador of the United States to Kosovo, Philip Kosnett, spoke in an interview with Kallxo.com about the country's approach to Kosovo, noting that not much has changed in it compared to that of the previous administration under Donald Trump. He said that while the methods have been different, the U.S. strategy on Kosovo does not change.

Asked on whether he believed that the Kosovo-Serbia conflict can be improved through economy and not by addressing the past, Kosnett said: "You can never achieve true reconciliation by ignoring the past." He added that the U.S. did not try to take a position that only economy matters. "What the previous administration was trying to emphasise, and this is still a policy of the Biden administration, is that stronger economic ties between Kosovo and its neighbours will improve the lives of the ordinary citizens."

Speaking about whether the U.S. troops could pull out of Kosovo as they did from Afghanistan, Kosnett said that Kosovo and Afghanistan are very different and that lessons can however be learnt from the latter. He said one of them includes corruption where the people of Afghanistan did not consider that the Government was working enough for the ordinary citizens. At the same time, he noted, Kosovo has chosen through democratic elections to make a change that would fight corruption.

He said the U.S. would not be leaving Kosovo. "I believe that in the United States, and among our NATO allies, there is a strong support to keep KFOR. This is one aspect. However, KFOR is not only a gift for Kosovo. One of the first fields where the people in Serbia and Kosovo seem to agree on is that KFOR plays an important role in maintaining security and stability of the two countries."

On whether the Government of Kosovo led by Albin Kurti is fighting corruption sufficiently, Kosnett said people who voted for the current government expect a quick change but that the corruption and organised crime in Kosovo and the neighbouring countries has deep roots and a lot of time will be required to change this. I must say that I personally and other international partners have advised the new Government and the Ministry of Interior, the Police and others that if you want to fight corruption, then fight it properly. Do it consistently. You need to conduct investigations. You have to build evidence against people. You can not just fire everyone in the country," he added. He said however that he believed that the Government of Kosovo is on the right track of this process.

Watch the interview at: https://bit.ly/3A8xaDs

EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak visits Kosovo today (media)

The European Union Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and other Western Balkans regional issues, Miroslav Lajcak, will be  arriving in Kosovo today to discuss implementation of the agreements reached within the framework of the dialogue and the achievement of a comprehensive agreement for normalisation of relations.

"During his visit from 15 to 17 September, he will meet political leaders, parliamentarians, the international community, representatives of the business and the media communities and the youth," the EU Office in Kosovo said.

EFJ slams Albanian PM for ignoring questions of Kosovo journalists during press conference with Merkel (Express)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has reacted after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama ignored Kosovo media journalists who were not allowed to make questions during his press conference in Tirana with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Secretary of the EFJ, Ricardo Gutiérrez, called as shameful Rama’s actions to ignore Kosovo-based media. “Shame on Albanian PM Edi Rama, who deliberately ignored the questions of Kosovo journalists. The EFJ EUROPE condemns this outrageous segregation,” Gutiérrez wrote on Twitter.

Kosovo journalists were not allowed to make questions during the joint press conference of Rama and Merkel. The Klan Kosova TV journalist Enis Recica has confirmed this in a Facebook post. He said that the press conference was covered by six media outlets from Kosovo, and they asked for 40 minutes to adress questions to Chancellor Merkel, but as he said, this was impossible. Recica said that their questions were about Kosovo, final agreement with Serbia, dialogue, visa liberalisation and regional initiative Open Balkan. Recica even posted a video depicting Kosovo journalists raising their hands to make questions, but they were deliberately ignored.

Kosovo war crimes court begins first case (AFP/France 24)

The first case at a special court probing Kosovo's 1998-1999 independence conflict begins on Wednesday in The Hague, with the war crimes trial of a former rebel leader.

Salih Mustafa, 49, a commander in the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), faces charges of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention that date back to the war with Serbia.

Mustafa, who was arrested last year while working as an adviser at Kosovo's defence ministry, is alleged to have mistreated prisoners at a detention compound in Zllash, a village east of the capital Pristina, in April 1999.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3zcOYMn