UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 17, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Lajcak: Important agreement expected next week (euronews.al/media)
No agreement reached between government and KLA veterans (media)
Kosovo Government issues statement following meeting with KLA veterans (media)
At Prespa Forum, Osmani has meetings with U.S., UK, German envoys (media)
Milanovic: Kosovo's non-recognition by Serbia, obstacle for EU enlargement (media)
Several agreements expected to be signed in the Kosovo-Albania meeting of governments (KP)
Konjufca travels to The Hague today to meet former KLA leaders (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Varhelyi: Cooperation with the Western Balkans is the EU's geostrategic choice (RTS)
Brnabic from Ohrid: General progress requires integration of the region into the EU (RTS)
Starovic: The negotiation framework with the EU does not mention the recognition of Kosovo's independence (Kosovo Online, RTS)
Botsan Kharchenko: EU forcing Serbia to impose sanctions while remaining Russia's largest economic partner (NMagazin, N1, Beta)
Selakovic, Cavusoglu: Excellent relations to be advanced further (Tanjug)
Petkovic on Twitter: “Freedom for Albanians accused of planning attacks on KFOR and SOC, real image of justice in Pristina” (Kosovo Online)

International:

Paris moves to solve Sofia’s N. Macedonia veto, diplomats say (Euractiv)
Ukraine should become a membership candidate to join the EU, commission says (CNBC)
Montenegro PM Accuses Partners of Blocking Serbian Church Agreement (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

Kosovo Digs Deeper as Search for Wartime Missing Intensifies (Balkan Insight)
Eight journalists from Kosovo visited Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) (KoSSev, Radio Mitrovica sever)

Albanian Language Media

Lajcak: Important agreement expected next week (euronews.al/media)

The European Union Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, in an exclusive interview for Euronews Albania, stated that an important agreement is expected next week in the dialogue between the two parties.

Lajcak did not reveal on what topic the agreement is expected but also spoke about a possible new meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. “We will have another meeting between the chief negotiators next week. Hopefully, we will be able to announce a very important agreement, and I am also hoping to bring the two leaders together in Brussels, for the third summit before the summer holidays,” he said.

On the issue of visa liberalisation for Kosovo, Lajcak said the decision is long overdue. “But I can say that this issue is being raised between member countries much more often, during meetings of various European bodies, so I think it is close. I cannot speak of a date but I can say with complete certainty that it is coming.”

No agreement reached between government and KLA veterans (media)

After a more than two-hour meeting with Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, representatives of the KLA War Veterans Organisations said no agreement was reached on the category's inclusion in the minimum wage draft law.

Acting head of KLA war veterans, Faton Klinaku, said a number of issues were discussed in the meeting but that no agreement was reached. He said the protests will continue and also that they expect Kurti to be sending the organisation a written proposal. "We will see what he sends," Klinaku said.

Klinaku said they also discussed the KLA veterans' list noting that PM Kurti considers that the real number of the veterans has been inflated but Klinaku said this is something that needs to be dealt with by the courts.

Kosovo Government issues statement following meeting with KLA veterans (media)

The Government of Kosovo issued a statement after Prime Minister Albin Kurti met today representatives of the KLA War Veterans Organisation, who are protesting over their non-inclusion in the draft law for minimum wage.

The Government expressed commitment to deepen cooperation with the KLA organisations “in order to improve the well-being of KLA veterans.”

It stressed that the issue of clearing the lists of KLA veterans was also discussed as well as other important topics related to the status and condition of the KLA veterans.

At Prespa Forum, Osmani has meetings with U.S., UK, German envoys (media)

At the sidelines of this year's Prespa Dialogue Forum, President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani had separate meetings with the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, UK's Special Envoy Stuart Peach, and Germany's Manuel Sarrazin.

"Integration of Kosovo and other democratic countries of the region into Euro-Atlantic structures is the only answer to prevent destabilising agenda and malign influence of Russia and its proxies in our region," Osmani said on social media, noting that she reconfirmed this position in het meetings with envoys.

"Our partners' engagement in the Western Balkans is the right step towards re-energising the integrating process, which ensures sustainable peace, security and democracy in our region," she underlined.

Milanovic: Kosovo's non-recognition by Serbia, obstacle for EU enlargement (media)

President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, said at the Prespa Forum Dialogue that the European Union should lower standards to enable Western Balkans to join the bloc.

Milanovic also said that without Serbia recognising Kosovo there can be no EU enlargement to the Western Balkans: "This is something on which we need to focus and to send a message to Serbia about which path it wants." "The European Union could accept all those countries of the Western Balkans if certain European Union countries wanted such a thing. There are only a few countries that always have some very high criteria of their own, which I appreciate. However, this is really a serious situation, in which countries see no perspective," Milanovic continued.

Several agreements expected to be signed in the Kosovo-Albania meeting of governments (KP)

The eighth joint meeting between the governments of Kosovo and Albania will take place next week in Pristina. The two governments are expected to reach several agreements in the field of justice, education, agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, and public safety.

Kosovo Government spokesperson Perparim Kryeziu told Kosovapress that the agreements are being finalised. He said that there have been concrete results from the agreements signed in the meeting of November last year which include: “The facilitation of the procedures for the five-year residence permit of the citizens of the two countries, the opening of the joint border crossing point Shishtavec-Krushevo, the facilitation of the procedure for mutual recognition and assessment of diplomas, mutual legal assistance in civil and trade matters, the creation of a joint cultural calendar…”

On the disagreements with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama about the Open Balkan initiative, Kryeziu said that the joint meeting is the best evidence of the level of cooperation between Kosovo and Albania. "The fact that we have two joint meetings of the two governments in less than a year, speaks volumes about the will for cooperation between our two countries.”

Konjufca travels to The Hague today to meet former KLA leaders (media)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca travels to The Hague today to visit the former KLA leaders who are awaiting trial at the Specialist Chambers.

Ilir Kerceli, chief of staff to the speaker, confirmed that Konjufca will be meeting with all former KLA leaders while Konjufca earlier said that the purpose of the visit is to see up close how the defendants are being treated. "It is clear that in some respects their rights are being violated. They are approaching the second year in detention and nothing has been done. They were not even provided with conditional release. We as institutions are concerned," Konjufca had told Tirana's TVSH, Telegrafi reports.

Serbian Language Media

Varhelyi: Cooperation with the Western Balkans is the EU's geostrategic choice (RTS)

European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that the Western Balkans is a priority for the EU and that Brussels will provide full support so that the countries of the region would not have to depend on Russian energy, reported RTS.

In a recorded message at the panel within the Prespa Forum in Ohrid, Varhelyi said that the times were difficult and challenging for the economy and pointed out that first the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the economy, and then the war in Ukraine.

"The consequences of that war are visible both outside Ukraine and in the entire region, when it comes to insecurity, energy prices ... The challenges we are facing are global," Varhelyi said.

He points out that the WB does not have to depend on Russian oil and gas and says that one of the ways to do that is to participate in the EU's energy platform.

He adds that the EU has included the Western Balkans in the European food security program and the response mechanism for food security coordination.

"The main instrument of support is the economic investment platform for the Western Balkans, which will have 30 billion euros at its disposal over the next seven years. This could increase GDP in the region by 3% by 2027 and speed up Western Balkans' EU integration," Varhelyi said.

As he says, the implementation of that plan is already underway, i.e., there are 21 investment projects in the plan whose total value is 3.2 billion euros with 1.1 non-refundable funds from IPA funds.

"We believe that this plan is moving in the right direction and will make our economies greener and more digital. This will help independence from Russian energy. The plan will enable young people, women, and vulnerable groups to make our economies and societies more resilient," said Varhelyi.

The WB leaders gathered in Ohrid to discuss improving relations and political dialogues between the countries of the region, as well as the integration of this part of Europe into the EU.

The main topic of this year's forum is "Building the future of the Western Balkans in a modern European security architecture".

The Prespa Forum was launched last year as a framework for building trust and political dialogue between the countries of the Western Balkans, and the authorities in Skopje marked the event as a platform for protecting and promoting political agreements.

Brnabic from Ohrid: General progress requires integration of the region into the EU (RTS)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, said at the Prespa Forum in Ohrid that for the general progress of the region, it is necessary for the Western Balkans to integrate into the European Union, reported RTS today.

Brnabic pointed out that two key priorities of Serbia are joining the EU and cooperation with the countries of the region, pointing out the importance of the "Open Balkans" initiative. European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that the Western Balkans is a priority for the EU.

At the panel "65 years after the Treaty of Rome: Is Europe economically renewed and integrated", Brnabic assessed that this is still not the case and that there can be no general development and progress without the integration of the Western Balkans into the Union.

She also pointed out that Serbia is building roads to improve the transport of goods, but also the flow of people and capital, both by highway to North Macedonia and Bulgaria, and by building a highway to Montenegro and BiH.

"When Serbia gets a new government, the number one issue will be energy and energy supply, as well as the construction of interconnectors with North Macedonia and gas connections with Greece and Bulgaria," Brnabic said.

Responding to criticism that the Open Balkans initiative is not in line with the Berlin Process, the Prime Minister said that it was the opposite, because the initiative, which should make life easier for the citizens of this region, but also facilitate economic cooperation and transport, is fully in line with the Berlin Process.

She states that she is satisfied that she is participating in the panel within the Prespa forum today, adding that she is honored to be visiting her friends.

"Serbia is not pretending to be crazy, the official position of the EU is known"

Serbian PM Brnabic stated today in Ohrid that "incredible things" about Serbia could be heard from the presidents of some countries in the region at the Prespa Forum, emphasizing that the EU's negotiating position with Serbia is clear, in the form of an official document which did not mention recognition of the so-called Kosovo, but which mentioned it in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"Yesterday, the largest percentage of time was dedicated to Serbia at the presidential panel, although we did not have a representative, but that did not deter them from saying incredible things about Serbia, so we heard from (Croatian President Zoran) Milanovic that Serbia is pretending to be crazy, like it does not know that for participation in the EU, it is necessary to recognize Kosovo," Brnabic said in a statement to reporters.

That is why, she says, today at the panel she showed everyone a document, ''the official negotiating position of the EU with Serbia, in which Chapter 35, where other issues remain, under paragraph 1, mentions the normalization of relations between Serbia and the so-called Kosovo, where it is marked with an asterisk''.

"This means that the EU negotiating position with Serbia calls for and says that the designation of Kosovo is in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which recognizes the territorial integrity of internationally recognized Serbia, which means Kosovo as an autonomous province within Serbia," Brnabic said.

She says that Serbia remains committed to dialogue under the auspices of the EU, is engaged in reaching new agreements in new areas, improving the process of normalization of relations in good faith, with the aim of gradually leading to "comprehensive normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo in accordance with a negotiating framework ".

The Prime Minister pointed out that nowhere in the official position of the EU is a single word mentioning the recognition of the so-called Kosovo by Serbia.

"Serbia is not pretending to be crazy, but those who say that it is obvious, they are pretending like they do not know the official position of the EU. If the EU stands by that, then it must change its negotiating position, and while it is in force it is an official document and other stories cannot play a role, "Brnabic said.

That is why, she pointed to Serbia's position, just to clarify these things, stating that Serbia must fight in complex circumstances, to continue economic development and progress and its European path.

She stated that there was never greater focus on Serbia on some regional forum, as on the Prespa Forum, since the preparatory meeting on May 30 and its first session, at which, as she said, incredible things were heard from Professor Edward Joseph from Johns Hopkins University.

''He said that the problem of the entire region is the ethno-nationalism of Serbia and Bulgaria, that Serbia is the one that distracts the region from European integration, that it is best to keep the Serbian influence in the countries as small as possible and cited Croatia as the most positive example. These are amazing things from a professor," Brnabic said.

Starovic: The negotiation framework with the EU does not mention the recognition of Kosovo's independence (Kosovo Online, RTS)

State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nemanja Starovic said that the EU must know Serbia has not and will not deviate from the defense of vital national interests, its own sovereignty and territorial integrity in the coming period.

Starovic reminded that in the negotiating framework with the EU, in Chapter 35, talks about comprehensive normalization, and nowhere it mentions Serbia's obligation to recognize Kosovo's independence, reported Kosovo Online, citing RTS.

Regarding the statement of MEP Viola von Cramon that Serbia must recognize Kosovo's independence and impose sanctions on Russia if it wants to join the EU, Starovic said that Von Cramon was probably referring to a resolution on Serbia recently adopted by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, and which has ''those very unpleasant formulations'' concerning demands for Serbia to join the sanctions regime against Russia, but also very clearly and decisively talk about mutual recognition as a goal of the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina.

"I would not underestimate the importance of this type of European Parliament resolution, but the resolutions adopted in the European Parliament do not necessarily reflect what the EU's common foreign and security policy represents. The EP is not competent for such a thing and resolutions are adopted in accordance with the political affiliations of the members of the EP, and we know that the majority of MPs are those who come from countries that have unfortunately recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija. It is also a reminder for us that, even though we have significantly raised our rating in the international arena, it will still be difficult to change the decision of 22 of the 27 EU member states," Starovic told RTS.

He stated that Serbia takes note of such resolutions, just as the EU must know Serbia has not and will not deviate from the defense of vital national interests, its own sovereignty and territorial integrity in the coming period.

"If they really wanted to be completely consistent, MEPs should appeal not only to Serbia, but also to the European Commission itself to return the mandate for conducting negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina to the United Nations, because the EU did not receive a mandate to lead negotiations that would lead to the so-called. mutual recognition. The EU has been given a mandate to lead negotiations leading to comprehensive normalization, i.e., a comprehensive legally binding agreement between Belgrade and Pristina," Starovic said.

According to him, Serbia's negotiating framework with the EU in Chapter 35 also speaks of comprehensive normalization, and nowhere Serbia's obligation to recognize Kosovo's independence was mentioned.

Asked that some EU members warn that the continuation of a harsh policy of blackmail on the introduction of sanctions against Russia could return like a boomerang, Starovic said that he agreed that the policy of pressure was always counterproductive and that it was about additional lack of principle.

As he explained, what was Serbia's essential obligation, included in the negotiating framework, as well as any other country a candidate for EU membership, was the gradual harmonization of foreign policy with the common foreign and security policy of the EU, until Serbia becomes a full member.

"Only on that day we have the obligation to fully harmonize with that common policy, the formulation of which we will be participating as a full member from that day. Until then, it represents a not at all pleasant relationship in which we just need to implement some decisions that are made at a table where we have no place. There are common sense attitudes, which call for giving up the policy of pressure that does not provide any solution," Starovic said.

Starovic mentioned the example of Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, which have fully complied with EU foreign policy and acceded to all packages of sanctions against Russia, but that ultimately did not help them much to unblock their EU accession process.

"Fortunately, many in Brussels are aware of that," said Starovic, adding that it is expected that all these discussions on changing certain principles when it comes to the expanded process will give their concrete results by the end of the year and that an opportunity would be there to get involved in the accession process on a slightly different basis, which would mean far greater pre-accession assistance that candidate countries would receive.

He stated that the date of the visit of the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Belgrade, which he stated would be extremely important for Serbia, was being intensively agreed upon.

Botsan Kharchenko: EU forcing Serbia to impose sanctions while remaining Russia's largest economic partner (NMagazin, N1, Beta)

Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan Kharchenko said last night that he did not see that Belgrade was fundamentally changing its attitude towards Moscow, reported portal NMagazin, citing N1.

He pointed out for N1 TV that the EU was forcing Serbia to impose sanctions, while, as he pointed out, "it remains Russia's largest international economic partner", reported the portal

Speaking about Serbian-Russian relations, he said that they were not fundamentally changing, despite some steps taken by Serbia, such as voting for a UN resolution against the invasion of Ukraine.

"Some steps have disappointed us; I mean the UN resolution. Keeping a friendly relationship, we seek and understand the real reason why," Botsan Kharchenko said.

He added that Belgrade's move was a consequence of pressure from the West.

"It would be foolish to say that we don't care. We are disappointed, but we understand very well the reason why Serbia had to vote in that way," he said.

According to him, Serbia had to vote "because of the incredible pressure from the West beyond any understandable lines".

He added that Serbia has never suffered pressure from Russia and stated that he did not see his statement that the introduction of sanctions would cause damage in the economic and social sphere as pressure.

He said that it would be "foolish and stupid" to say that sanctions would remain without any harm and that this was a reality, not a message.

Speaking about Lavrov's visit to Belgrade, which was not realized because the Russian minister could not fly in, Botsan Kharchenko said that it would have been even better for Serbia if Lavrov had come.

He added that the visit was prevented from "outside" and that "they do not care that Serbia leads and implements an independent foreign policy"

"Can you imagine someone from Russia saying that the visit of (German Chancellor Olaf) Scholz or anybody else is a damage to our relations? It is impossible to imagine such a statement," he said.

He pointed out that Russia has nothing against Serbia's European path if it was in its national interest, although, as he said, it was now "difficult to say that the EU is a friendly institution".

Asked about Russia's attitude towards Kosovo and the statement of President Vladimir Putin, he stated that Putin, in a conversation with the UN Secretary General, mentioned the decision of the International Court of Justice to point to the double standard of the West once again.

Asked why Russia did not recognize Kosovo, Botsan Kharchenko answered that to Moscow, Belgrade's position is the most important, and that recognition of Kosovo would be contrary to Resolution 1244, reported NMagazin.

Selakovic, Cavusoglu: Excellent relations to be advanced further (Tanjug)

After meeting in Belgrade on Thursday, the FMs of Serbia and Turkey, Nikola Selakovic and Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the leaderships of the two countries were determined to work on advancing further the excellent bilateral and economic relations, reported Tanjug agency.

Selakovic said the meeting had been an opportunity to advance the comprehensive friendly relations, marked and encouraged to the greatest extent by the personal relationship between the two presidents - Aleksandar Vucic and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Serbia attaches special significance to advancing the political dialogue and bilateral cooperation," Selakovic said and added that he was pleased the 142-year-long diplomatic relations between Serbia and Turkey were now at an all-time-high.

He said they had exchanged views on economic cooperation, continuation of projects, investments in energy, cultural cooperation, as well as on regional affairs of mutual interest.

"We also talked about the global situation and the situation in the region, the regional cooperation also recognised by Turkey in the Open Balkan initiative. We also talked about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and affirmed our consistent position of respect of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as respect of the Dayton Agreement. Solutions coming through dialogue, with consent of all three peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are the only ones acceptable to Serbia," Selakovic said.

Noting that they had also discussed the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Selakovic thanked Turkey for supporting a continuation of the dialogue.

Cavusoglu said that, during a discussion about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he had noted the significance of Serbia's role for stability across the region.

"We have a great desire to and we are ready to implement a trilateral of Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," Cavusoglu said, adding that Turkey would continue to support the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

International

Paris moves to solve Sofia’s N. Macedonia veto, diplomats say (Euractiv)

Paris is ready to include Bulgarian demands in North Macedonia’s EU negotiations roadmap to lift Sofia’s veto on starting the talks, diplomats told local media on Thursday, but it is yet unclear whether the move will suffice to assuage doubt of Bulgarian lawmakers.

Sofia demands North Macedonia includes Bulgarians in the constitution while paying attention to settling historical disputes.

In 2020, Bulgaria refused to give a green light in Brussels to Skopje’s EU negotiations roadmap, called the negotiations framework, over language and shared history disputes. For their part, Skopje has called for the veto to be lifted and all areas of disagreement to be addressed during the opening of chapters.

They also say that constitutional amendments would be challenging to achieve as it requires a consensus in parliament which may be tough to achieve.

Humanitarian/Development

Kosovo Digs Deeper as Search for Wartime Missing Intensifies (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo has stepped up exhumations of suspected graves of people who disappeared during the 1998-99 war, amid suggestions from officials that a deal could be reached with Serbia to help find the remaining missing persons.

Kosovo’s Institute of Forensic Medicine began a new exhumation of a suspected war grave this week in the mountain village of Koshare/Kosare in the west of the country as the authorities stepped up efforts to find around the remaining missing persons from the 1998-99 war.

Exhumations at six other locations have recently been completed, but the remains of only one person were found, the head of Kosovo’s Missing Persons Commission, Andin Hoti, told BIRN.