UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 27, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Kosovo-Serbia agreement possible before end of year (media)
State Department: EU proposal, good opportunity for Kosovo and Serbia (RFE)
Stano: We cannot predict the result, but parties must make compromises (Koha)
Sarrazin on the European plan: A strong signal for Kosovo and Serbia (Klan)
Kearns: Why are you looking for entrenchment of ethnic territoriality in Kosovo (Koha)
Bieber: There is risk of imbalanced agreement (Gazeta Express/Der Standard)
Mandl: It's time for an agreement (RTK)
Rama: French-German plan, the best one proposed so far (media)

Serbian Language Media:

There will be no capitulation, no return to the nineties, says Vucic prior to Brussels trip (media)
Hill ahead of the meeting in Brussels: I can't say that I expect quick results, Escobar in Brussel (RTS, Tanjug, N1, nova.rs)
PM Brnabic expects difficult talks in Brussels: It won’t be easy, red lines are clear (FoNet, N1)
Vucevic: Vucic will almost certainly be under pressure to sign the proposal for Kosovo (Kontakt plus radio, TV Pink, Beta, N1)
Serbian opposition leaders on Franco-German proposal, meeting in Brussels today (N1, FoNet, media)
Fatherland: By accepting proposal Serbia opens path for Kosovo to join NATO, creates foundations of “Greater Albania” (KoSSev)
Stano: Today’s meeting is not last one, Belgrade and Pristina to take step by step (Kosovo Online)
Serb families robbed in Donja Brnjica (Kosovo Online, Radio KIM)
Kamberi: A delegation of Albanians from Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo in Washington today (FoNet, Danas, Kosovo Online, KoSSev)

Opinion:

Serwer: How to assess a Pristina/Belgrade agreement (peacefare.net)
Possible consequences of adoption of Franco-German plan: Recognition? ASM? Withdrawal of bases? Hope? (KoSSev)

International:

Belgrade-Pristina deal possible by end of year, Kosovo PM Kurti says (Euractiv)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Kosovo-Serbia agreement possible before end of year (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave to Euractiv, highlighting his statement that Kosovo and Serbia aim to conclude a landmark agreement on normalising relations this year. “We need normalisation of relations, and this can be achieved with mutual recognition as the centrepiece,” Kurti said.

Serbian Language Media

There will be no capitulation, no return to the nineties, says Vucic prior to Brussels trip (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today, before leaving for Brussels, that there will be no capitulation or return to the 1990s and that Serbia will move forward no matter how difficult it may be, reported Serbian media.

"We are leaving for Brussels in 15 minutes, we have completed the final preparations. I want to thank that part of Serbia that has confidence in its state leadership and believes that we will do what is best for our country. And those who are preparing in advance to attack us because we signed something and that way, we will be traitors and in fact, they were never worried about their country. And the others who, if we don't sign something, in advance know that we are guilty and that we are going back to the nineties, I can only tell them not to worry ," Vucic stated on Instagram, buducnostsrbijeav.

He added that there will be no capitulation, nor will there be a return to the nineties.

"Serbia will move forward no matter how difficult it is, and we will manage to fight for it," Vucic said.

Hill ahead of the meeting in Brussels: I can't say that I expect quick results, Escobar in Brussel (RTS, Tanjug, N1, nova.rs)

The Ambassador of the United States of America to Belgrade, Christopher Hill, said, before the meeting of the representatives of Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels, that this was another important meeting in a series, but he could not say that he expected quick results, reported Serbian media.

Ambassador Hill said in Kragujevac that the EU was working very hard to find a solution that would be favourable to everyone.

"The Brussels process is taking a long time and certainly cannot satisfy those who expect a satisfactory outcome immediately," said Hill, who believed that progress must be made, as many years passed without concrete agreements.

"I must say that from the USA point of view, it is very important to achieve and realize the Community/Association of Serbian Municipalities as soon as possible," the American ambassador pointed out.

He said that the USA and the EU cooperate closely, and that the representative of the USA is participating in the dialogue in Brussels today

"Our representative (Gabriel) Escobar is in Brussels today, so we are in that process. I want to emphasize that the US and the EU are cooperating very closely on this issue, and we are very committed to working together on it. I would also say that last year we have been especially connected in the performance in relation to Russia's aggression in Ukraine," said Hill.

"And I would especially like to point out that last week we had a vote at the UN, where the overwhelming majority of participants supported the decision that refers to the call on Russia to withdraw and stop the terrible aggression against its neighbour. In this vote, Serbia was also united with the others who supported it, so a very clear signal was given to Russia that it should stop its aggression," said Hill.

He stated that only six countries on the entire planet supported Russia, and the vast majority of 141 countries, including the USA and Serbia, called for the cessation of hostilities by Russia, which speaks, as he says, of the balance of power of all countries and the close cooperation of the vast majority state in this unique position.

PM Brnabic expects difficult talks in Brussels: It won’t be easy, red lines are clear (FoNet, N1)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that the day of talks in Brussels on Monday, will certainly not be easy, but that Serbia's red lines are clear, namely the non-recognition of Kosovo and the non-approval of its entry into the UN.

“I believe that (Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic) will be able to preserve the national interests of the state of Serbia,” said Brnabic.

The PM pointed out that after this round of talks in Brussels she expects the formation of the Community of the Serb Municipalities after 10 years.

She also said that if Vucic wanted to recognise Kosovo and capitulation, he should have just done nothing, because his “predecessors #sold, capitulated, betrayed, and gave what no one asked for.”

When asked about the letter from France, Germany and Italy addressed to the President, the Prime Minister said that the letter was addressed to the Presidency and that it would not be all right for her to comment on it.

Brnabic said that this year even US President Joe Biden said in his National Day congratulation that dialogue leads to mutual recognition.

Vucevic: Vucic will almost certainly be under pressure to sign the proposal for Kosovo (Kontakt plus radio, TV Pink, Beta, N1)

The Minister of Defense of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, said yesterday before the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels, that the President of Serbia will "almost certainly" be exposed to enormous pressure to sign the European, that is, the Franco-German proposal, reported Serbian media.

Vucevic told TV Pink that no one still knows how the day will unfold in Brussels, where Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti are supposed to meet with EU representatives.

"Tomorrow is neither a fateful day nor a day of judgement, it is a difficult day, above all for the President of the Republic who has to experience it personally... New days will come, there will be many more matches, and we will fight," he said yesterday and added that it is necessary to "make decisions rationally and preserve Serbia for the future".

He assessed that Serbia would "hear what it does not want to hear" in Brussels, because the "screenwriters and directors" are ''the ones who fight for Kosovo's independence and expect Serbia to come to terms with it''.

"(It is necessary) to conduct politics a little to withstand all these blows now, not to stick out, not to be heroic so that we are not hit by the first bullet and cut by the first sabre. This does not mean that we are cowards, it does not mean that we are someone who surrenders, that we will betray something, but to overtake, to strengthen, to fight and to accept that this is a marathon, not a sprint," said Vucevic.

Serbian opposition leaders on Franco-German proposal, meeting in Brussels today (N1, FoNet, media)

President of the opposition New Democratic Party of Serbia (Nova DSS) Milos Jovanovic said today that the EU and US with their plan on Kosovo request from Serbian authorities “to recognize secession of its southern province”, N1 reports.

“The agreement represents an implicit recognition of secession. The Article 2 of that Agreement brings Serbia and Kosovo on equal footing in their rights, which is a definition of a silent recognition”, Jovanovic said. He accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of being “a traitor”, adding he has to leave from power. He also assessed that Community of Serb-majority Municipalities would mean “definite integration of northern Kosovo into some independent Kosovo”, and that it was a lie ZSO would be a guarantee of the Serbian survival in Kosovo, as according to him in ten years’ time there will be no a single Serb left in Kosovo.

Leader of the Dveri Movement, Bosko Obradovic said unification of all Serbian patriots into a joint block should occur. He opined that President Aleksandar Vucic “practically agreed on Franco-German agreement”. He noted the time has come to draw a line “on what authorities have been doing for the last ten years and their steps to recognize secession of Kosovo”.

Leader of the Movement Serbia-Centre (SRCE) and former presidential candidate Zdravko Ponos assessed that President Aleksandar Vucic received guarantees “but only for himself” if he accepts to sign Franco-German agreement.

“He received guarantees, but for himself only. Support to remain in power until that agreement is implemented and to turn blind eye to the suffocation of democracy, human rights, and undermining institutions during that period”, Ponos said.

Leader of the Peoples' Party (NS) Vuk Jeremic warned of possible consequences signing of the Franco-German plan could bring. According to him, should the plan granting Kosovo to become a state be accepted, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic would carry out “a hellish grand-treason, certainly the biggest one Serbia faced in this century, and probably the biggest ever”.

In an op-ed for Nova.rs portal Jeremic said acceptance of this plan would be a national disaster and it would mean that Vucic on behalf of Serbia, in “an international and legally binding manner would accept that Kosovo is a state”.

According to Jeremic soon afterwards five non-recognizing EU member states would recognize Kosovo. Kosovo in accelerated procedure would be admitted to NATO and Council of Europe, while membership to the UN and UNESCO would come next on the agenda. He also warned of the possibility of Kosovo and Albania getting officially united into one Albanian state, that would, as he said, have further territorial pretension towards Serbia but also towards other Western Balkans states. Regardless of guarantees the Serbian Orthodox Church would get on paper regarding its rights in Kosovo and Metohija, Jeremic said that in a decade-time all churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo “would be taken over and Albanized”.

Fatherland: By accepting proposal Serbia opens path for Kosovo to join NATO, creates foundations of “Greater Albania” (KoSSev)

“Franco-German proposal is insulting, humiliating and at very end improper for survival of the Serbian state”, Serb Movement Fatherland from Kosovo said in a statement, ahead of President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti meeting in Brussels today, KoSSev portal reports.

The Fatherland Movement also said in a statement that by accepting the European proposal President Aleksandar Vucic will also recognize Kosovo independence, and urged “all Serbs across the world and patriots not to allow the Serbian President to renounce Kosovo and Metohija”. They also accused President Vucic of trampling upon the Constitution and UN SC Resolution 1244, the portal added.

The Movement also argued that Serbia by accepting the proposal and thus Kosovo independence will open a path for the latter to join international organisations, terming as a “political deception” statement of the President Vucic that Serbia will not agree to membership of Kosovo in the UN.

According to them, by accepting proposal Serbian President Vucic is also paving the foundations of “Greater Albania”, while existence of Serbian holy shrines including Pec Patriarchate, Visoki Decani, Holly Mother of Ljevis, Gracanica and others in such a “Greater Albania” would become problematic. They termed the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities as “deception” of the Serbian President.

They also compared Kosovo with Crimea and Donbas, noting that Serbian President advocates for those two to be integral part of Ukraine, “while on the other hand, he dismembers Serbia by renouncing Kosovo and Metohija”.

Stano: Today’s meeting is not last one, Belgrade and Pristina to take step by step (Kosovo Online)

European Union Spokesperson, Peter Stano said the EU expects Belgrade and Pristina leaders to demonstrate European behaviour and readiness for compromise for the benefit of their respective citizens and European perspective, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Stano told a media conference that the meeting within the high-level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will start this afternoon.

“This is not the only and the last meeting. This is the meeting at a high level that comes after a number of similar meetings. Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo attempt to go step to step in order to resolve all the open issues leading towards comprehensive agreement on normalisation of relations. We expect both sides, their leaders, main negotiators and their representatives to demonstrate European behaviour and find political strength, courage, readiness for European compromise for the benefits of their citizens and their EU perspective, in order to fulfil their strategic ambition and priority”, Stano said.

Serb families robbed in Donja Brnjica (Kosovo Online, Radio KIM)

A family of Aleksandar Milanovic, from Donja Brnjica village near Pristina was robbed last night, the owner told Kosovo Online portal, adding that apart from his family, few more families have also been robbed.

Milanovic said his house was burglarized last night around 21.30 while they were visiting the house of his father, located in the same yard, adding the house was ransacked and money and jewelry were stolen. He also expressed security concerns for the safety of his family, because of the incident.

Kamberi: A delegation of Albanians from Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo in Washington today (FoNet, Danas, Kosovo Online, KoSSev)

A delegation of Albanians from Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo to visit Washington today, where they will speak in front of the US Senate about their situation and position in Serbia, announced Serbian Parliament member Shaip Kamberi, reported Danas daily.

Kamberi wrote on Facebook, that the delegation will include Ardita Sinani, Ragmi Mustafa, Flora Ferati, Nagip Arifi and Ragmi Mustafa, reported Danas.

"Our efforts to achieve full rights and create equal opportunities for everyone, in addition to common political struggles, are also the daily needs of every Albanian citizen in the Presevo Valley. Effort is our obligation in the country and abroad. Let's not get tired, let alone give up," Kamberi wrote.

He stated that after the end of ''the war in Kosovo, the Albanians from the Presevo Valley signed three agreements with the governments in Belgrade, with the mediation of an international factor''.

"Today, 22 years later, we are still talking about our daily needs and obligations that the Belgrade governments failed to fulfil. Instead of solving our legitimate demands, various local factors have been trying for years to block our joint coordination, every healthy initiative, and every attempt," said Kamberi.

KoSSev portal reported that Kamberi said that internal coordination and close cooperation with Pristina and Tirana was needed now, as well as policy alignment with international friends and awareness of the issue of Albanians in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac.

"That's why we're going to be in Washington, and that's not going to end our commitment," Kamberi said.

He stated that the issue of minorities was entering a new phase in the Balkans, and that this was a good opportunity for "symmetrical treatment of their positions everywhere".

"Europe and the European Union must remain the only orientation of the Western Balkans. And there, in the EU, not a single country, not even Serbia, will be able to go without seriously working on improving the position of minorities and ensuring equal rights. Equality and our collective rights will be our theme in Washington and our request to Brussels and other European capitals," Kamberi added and announced the conference on his return from Washington.

He thanked the Kosovo government for, as he said, allowing them to visit the USA for the third time within a year.

The portal reported that the delegation will be in Washington, the same day when a new round of high-level dialogue is being held in Brussels, during which discussions are expected on the European plan, as well as the implementation of previously reached agreements, including the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities.

The establishment of this body has been increasingly demanded by the West from Pristina, which was explicitly refused by the Kosovo government led by Albina Kurti, until January of this year, when the Kosovo Prime Minister listed six conditions.

Among which was the one related to reciprocity in minority rights between Kosovo and Serbia.

The Albanians from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja were then increasingly active, reported KoSSev and added that Kamberi, accompanied by representatives of the Bosniak community in Serbia, met with Kurti in Pristina, from where it was ordered that they all seek reciprocity of rights with the Serbs in Kosovo.

"They agreed that for lasting peace and security in the Western Balkans, there should be a symmetry of rights, not a privileged access to a minority or a community."

At the same time, in a letter to the US envoy, Gabriel Escobar, Kamberi requested that Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja be included in the dialogue.

Symmetry and reciprocity in rights are messages that Kurti repeated in the following days, and this weekend he confirmed that he was working on the internationalisation of the Albanian issue in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

He said that this was one of the key national obligations of his government, and that Pristina supported diplomatic and lobbying activities for the internationalisation of the rights of Albanians who, as he said, "live on their land in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, under the state of Serbia."

And while Kurti asked for reciprocity for Albanians in Serbia, a similar request appeared in North Macedonia, where the party "Alternativa" requested the formation of the Community of Albanian Municipalities, precisely on the example of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, and along with calls for the application of reciprocity.

And while some are looking for a "Community" for the Albanians, others are protesting a "Community" for the Serbs.

At least three rallies were held this month against the CSM (ZSO). One was held in Berlin, organised by activists of Albanian associations and the centre of the Self-Determination movement in Germany, the second by students in Pristina, and the third was organised yesterday by the former mayor of the southern part of Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri.

Ahead of the high-level meeting in Brussels, in the southern part of Mitrovica was said that they do not want an association that turns Kosovo into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The protest, which expressed opposition to the alleged "Bosniaization" of Kosovo, was held only a few hundred metres from the bridge that connects the southern and northern parts of the city, and on which there are flags of "greater Albania", reported KoSSev portal.

Opinion

Serwer: How to assess a Pristina/Belgrade agreement (peacefare.net)

Opinion piece by Daniel Serwer, expert in Balkan affairs and professor at John Hopkins University.

My Balkanite friends are clamoring to know what is going to happen tomorrow when Serbian President Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti meet once again. The Europeans and Americans are pressing hard for a “normalization” agreement. No one knows quite what that means.

But I have some ideas about how to evaluate whatever happens tomorrow. These come from my personal perspective, which supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Kosovo. Those who imagine Serbia ever again governing Kosovo, or annexing part of its territory, need read no further.

My assessment criteria include these:

Improved state-to-state relations

Normalization should mean making the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo more like a “normal” state-to-state relationship between respectful neighbors. This requires agreement, at least in principle, on the line of control between them. A commitment to agree and demarcate that line would be a clear positive signal. Normalization should also mean forswearing the threat or use of force to settle disputes. Serbia has recently mobilized its army and threatened the use of force in response to imagined abuses against Serbs in Kosovo.

Good neighbors need however to do more than respect a line and not use force or threats of it. They need also to respect their neighbor’s state institutions. This applies in particular to Belgrade. Serbian state security and other personnel remain in the Serb communities inside Kosovo. The situation is especially egregious in the four northern municipalities contiguous with Serbia. But Serbian security agents intimidate Serbs throughout Kosovo who seek to join the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and other Kosovo institutions.

International

Belgrade-Pristina deal possible by end of year, Kosovo PM Kurti says (Euractiv)

Kosovo and Serbia aim to conclude a landmark agreement on normalising relations “this year”, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview but made clear it would not be smooth sailing, despite increased Western engagement.

“We need normalisation of relations, and this can be achieved with mutual recognition as the centrepiece,” Kurti said, zeroing in on a key problem: Belgrade has been adamant it would not formally recognise the independence of its former province, although it may agree to a ‘de facto’ recognition.

Kurti’s comments came ahead of a high-level meeting in Brussels on Monday (27 February), where leaders of Serbia and Kosovo are expected to endorse a deal to normalise strained relations.

The updated EU proposal, received by both parties before the start of an EU-Western Balkan summit in Tirana last December but not yet made public, is said to include mutual recognition of official documents, increased financial aid and other measures to improve people’s lives in both countries.