Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti to Bloomberg: Euro rules won’t be reversed (media)
• Prime Minister Kurti travels to United Kingdom (media)
• Kosovo Police initiate case for new graffiti in the north (Koha)
• Rrahmani on the Dinar: Every action must be in agreement with U.S. (Gazeta Blic)
• Serbs protest: Cancel the decision on dinar (media)
• 108 million euros used for armament of KSF during 2023 (media)
• Journalists’ Association condemn threatening messages against reporter (media)
• Lack of progress in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, one of main challenges of EU Growth Plan (Albanian Post)
• Hoti: Data from 2023 budget report create impression that there is no master of house (media)
• Tahiri: PDK to propose establishment of two Inquiry Parliamentary Commissions (media)
• Tahiri: The average salary in the public sector should be 1000 euros (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Serbs protest in Mitrovica North: CBK’s decision means end of life for Serbian people (Kosovo Online, N1, media)
• Kurti on 17th anniversary of demonstrations against Ahtisaari: We rightly opposed mono-ethnic concessions (KoSSev)
• Arsenijevic: The more Kurti speaks in Serbian; the more Serbs get beaten (Danas)
• “People are frustrated, situation on the brink of survival” – Atmosphere ahead of protest in Mitrovica North (N1)
• Serbian National Council (SNV) supported protest in North Mitrovica (Danas, KiM radio)
• President of Trade Union of Private Sector: 140,000 workers have left Kosovo since visa liberalization (Kontakt plus, N1, FoNet) 
• Orban: ‘I’m afraid we’ll lose Serbia, it is key for entire EU’ (N1)
• Vucic: Serbia, Greece have always supported each other's territorial integrity (Tanjug)
• Mitsotakis: Our position on Kosovo unchanged, dialogue only path (Tanjug)
• Dacic speaks by phone with FMs of Romania, Spain, Cyprus (Tanjug)
• North Macedonia rejects allegations from Pristina regarding Kurti’s assassination (N1, BETA, media)

International:

• ‘Kurti Hates The United Nations,’ Declares President Vucic In Interview (The Pavlovic Today)

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Kurti to Bloomberg: Euro rules won’t be reversed (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave to Bloomberg, highlighting his remark that his government would not interfere with the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo on cash payment operations and that the CBK is independent in the enforcement of its regulation.

Kurti said sufficient time would be given to ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to adjust to the new decision. “We cannot reverse the decision. There will be no penalty measures – we don’t want to penalize anyone,” he said.

Kurti also talked about the Brussels Agreement and the Ohrid implementation annex, saying that the agreement must be signed with Serbia as soon as possible.

According to Kurti, the tensions so far would not have happened if Serbia had de facto and de jure recognized everyone in the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prime Minister Kurti travels to United Kingdom (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has traveled for a one-day visit to the United Kingdom, informed the Office of the Prime Minister. 

“In his one-day stay there, in addition to meetings with officials of the institutions, he will participate in the discussion panel on the security challenges facing the Western Balkans, organized by the “Chatham House” Policy Institute,” the announcement reads. 

Kosovo Police initiate case for new graffiti in the north (Koha)

Kosovo Police have initiated a case into the new graffiti that appeared on Sunday in the Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo. The graffiti which say “When the [Serbian] army returns to Kosovo, the Northern Brigade lives” have been qualified as incitement of division and intolerance. The news website notes that such graffiti have been sprayed for years in the roads of Mitrovica North and other municipalities in the north of Kosovo.

Rrahmani on the Dinar: Every action must be in agreement with U.S. (Gazeta Blic)

MP from the ruling Vetevendosje Movement, Emin Rrahmani, said in an interview with the news website that Kosovo’s actions should be made in agreement with the United States of America. “There is no decision on the [Serbian] Dinar, but there is a regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which has existed for several years now, but was not being implemented throughout the Republic of Kosovo,” he said. “The decision is right and we also need to take into account that decisions that may have greater political influence require more coordination with the international community and our allies”.

Serbs protest: Cancel the decision on dinar (media)

Local Serbs in the north of Mitrovica protested today to oppose the Regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) which prohibits the use of the Serbian dinar. The citizens have gathered in the square of North Mitrovica and officials of the Serbian List were also seen in the front raws.

"Europe open your eyes", "Without social aid we won't even have bread to eat", "I won't give the pension I have earned all my life for Kurti" and "Resolution 1244, USA help", are some of the banners that the protesters held in their hands.

The head of the pensioners has called on the international community to listen to their appeal to suspend the decision.

"We are addressing the whole world to listen to our appeal. It is very important for us to stop this decision so that we can receive salaries in banks and post offices and live like all normal states", she said.

Another protester, who introduced herself as a professor, called the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo discriminatory and, according to her, directly affects the survival of Serbs in Kosovo.

The protest ended after the speeches of the Serb representatives.

108 million euros used for armament of KSF during 2023 (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Macedonci, told the Parliamentary Committee for Security and Defense that during the year 2023, 108 million euros were used for the purchase of armaments. The 100% increase in the budget for armaments, according to him, led to the use of 108 million of 115 million allocated for the purchase of advanced weapons systems.

"With these means, we have advanced the systems necessary to raise our defense capacities", he told the Committee for Security and Defense during the 2023 annual report. Macedonci during the reporting in front of the parliamentary supervisors today, was also asked about the transport, uniforms and equipment of the KSF. He admitted that the issue of uniforms has been a challenge for the Ministry of Defense. 

Journalists’ Association condemn threatening messages against reporter (media)

Korab Rexhepi, a reporter with DTV, informed the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) about threatening messages he received from a person. The AJK said in a statement that it finds the threats unacceptable and called on Kosovo Police to address the case and for the author of the threats to be punished by judicial authorities. “We also call on all our colleagues not to hesitate to report cases of threats and attacks against them not only to the AJK but the Kosovo Police too,” the statement notes.

Lack of progress in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, one of main challenges of EU Growth Plan (Albanian Post)

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) in an opinion dedicated to the economic growth plan of 6 billion euros of the European Commission (EC) for the countries of the Western Balkans, estimated that the lack of progress in the dialogue for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations represents one of the main challenges for the financial assistance package.

Given that neither Kosovo nor Serbia will be able to benefit from the growth plan for the Western Balkans if there is no concrete progress in fulfilling the obligations stemming from the Basic Agreement (Brussels, February 27, 2023) and the Implementation Annex (Ohrid, March 18, 2023), this precondition "illustrates one of the challenges towards the objective" based on the opinion of the ECA.

Although the EU auditors "welcome" the introduction of strict conditions for countries in the region to benefit from the growth plan, linking EU funds to the fulfillment of conditions that will be set in the reform agendas for certain countries, the lack of progress in the process for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is considered a challenge in itself.

The EC defines two sets of preconditions that countries must respect in order to benefit from the economic growth plan: Western Balkan countries must continue to support and respect democratic mechanisms, including the rule of law, while Kosovo and Serbia must engage in constructive way in normalizing relations.

Hoti: Data from 2023 budget report create impression that there is no master of house (media)

Avdullah Hoti, former Prime Minister and current MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) wrote on Facebook that citizens paid 33 percent more property tax in 2023 than in 2022, and this he added, is due to the government's decision to increase property tax. 

Furthermore, Hoti said that at the height of the inflation crisis and the energy crisis, this decision was absurd. He noted that this and many other data from the preliminary budget report for 2023 point to a difficult economic and social situation.

According to him, this creates the impression that there is no master of the house who takes care of the country’s economy.

Tahiri: PDK to propose establishment of two Inquiry Parliamentary Commissions (media)

The head of the PDK Parliamentary Group, Abelard Tahiri, said that with the latest statements, Prime Minister Kurti is trying to divert attention from the misuse of millions in KEK. Tahiri’s response came after Kurti’s criticism of former governments through a video.

"This is one of the ways Albin Kurti tries to divert attention from the misuse of millions in KEK and with the state wheat and oil reserves that also resulted in arrests", Tahiri said. He criticized the Kurti government for high level of corruption and abuses as well as for their luxurious expenses. Further, Tahiri added that the figures of the last two years of emigration are frightening.

"As a result, in no previous government has there been such massive disappointment and flight of citizens as in the government of Albin Kurti. So scary are the figures of the escape two years before visa liberalization that Albin Kurti has deliberately postponed the population census process just so that the true scale of the human drama caused by the mismanagement and corruption of his government is not learned,” Tahiri said.

He said that PDK will propose the establishment of two Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry: that for textbooks and single-source contracts.

Tahiri: The average salary in the public sector should be 1000 euros (media)

Besnik Tahiri, head of the parliamentary group of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said that on next Thursday, the Kurti government enters its fourth year of governing. He said that AAK has collected signatures for calling an extraordinary session for the Health Insurance Law. Further, he said that AAK will deal with salaries in the public sector, and finally noted that they will also deal with the Law on Minimum Wage.

“We think that in the public sector, the average salary should be 1,000 euros, a director does not dare to earn less than 1,000. And with the Law on Minimum Wage in the private sector and when this initiative ends, let's act on the Amendment of the Law on Minimum Wage ", said Tahiri.

Tahiri also spoke about the reporting on an assassination attempt against Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti.

"Early information happens between two institutions. The Intelligence Institutions of Kosovo and the friendly country. It is confidential information, a country such as North Macedonia does not dare to make a public statement if it has such information. What I want to say is  that it is normal, as an Albanian, threatening the prime minister does not make you feel good. I am also sorry when a state refutes you about an issue that seems to have been used for political purposes," he said.

 

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Serbs protest in Mitrovica North: CBK’s decision means end of life for Serbian people (Kosovo Online, N1, media)

Several thousand citizens have gathered today in Mitrovica North, on the Brothers Milic Square, to express dissatisfaction over abolishment of dinar and Pristina’s unilateral actions, Kosovo Online portal reports. Representatives of various trade unions, health workers, students and pensioners were among those gathered.

Protestors carried banners saying “Europe open your eyes”, “This is an occupation”, “Without social benefits we will not even have food”, “UN 1244 help”, “I have worked my entire life for pension, I will not give it to Kurti”, and others.

Media reported that Serbian List President Zlatan Elek, vice president Dragisa Milovic, Igor Simic, President of IMC Mitrovica North Ivan Zaparozac, President of IMC Leposavic Zoran Todic, former Mitrovica North mayor Milan Radojevic were present. Leaders of the recently established Serbian Democracy party attended the protest as well. 

Dusanka Đorovic from the Association of Pensioners said the decision to abolish dinar means abolition of the right to life.

“I am addressing you today as a representative of the oldest fellow residents who spent their entire working lives here and built the future. Here we raised our children and welcomed our grandchildren. The decision to abolish the dinar, to make it impossible for us to withdraw (take) our pensions, means that our bread is being abolished, our right to life is being revoked. If it is known that there is no Serbian food in the stores, there are no medicines from Serbia in the pharmacies. What will happen to us? I want to explain to everyone that it is a big lie that we can open accounts in some banks and collect pensions. Banks do not recognize the inflow of money based on the decision on our pensions obtained from the Serbian Pension Insurance Fund (PIO)”, she said. 

She asked the international community if this represented a dignified old age, adding that in addition to Serbs, thousands of Albanians, Gorani and others also receive Serbian pensions.

Djorovic also said that “harsh condemnations and concerns are phrases only. We need the decision to be revoked and delivery of dinars to post offices and banks enabled. That is what we need to live as all normal people. We need it today, not tomorrow”, KoSSev portal reported. 

Dragana Milenkovic, professor at the Faculty of Economy of the Pristina University, temporarily settled in Mitrovica North said the Central Bank of Kosovo decision to abolish the payment transactions in dinars in Kosovo means the abolishment of life for the Serbian people.

Pointing out that the first dinar was minted in Novi Brdo in Kosovo in 1214, she added that “the Serbian currency survived in Kosovo even in the worst times of occupation”. She also said the CBK decision is discriminatory, politically inspired and threatens the survival of the Serbian people. She added the euro was introduced as the only currency in order for Albin Kurti to settle the score with the Serbian people.

“This is not a step forward towards peace and stabilization, we know that this is a man who is an advocate of social populism and extreme nationalism. There are no steps he has taken to make the Serbs feel better during his rule”, she stressed. She urged the EU “not to allow one man to destroy everything they advocate for” and these are “stabilization and peace in the region”. 

Svetlana Stevic, manager of the Mother of Nine Jugovic soup kitchens said Serbs have gathered today to show the world that they are in a difficult situation.

“(,,,) For 11 years, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been providing help to the most vulnerable. The people are not asking for much, they are asking for the right to life, the right to freedom, the right to livelihood. It’s hard when you know someone is hungry and you are helpless because someone in Pristina will not hear that cry. In the XXI century, only we, the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija do not have democracy. How can we explain to children that we are denied everything? How can the world understand that the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are disappearing”, she asked. As she added, it was never easy, but the fight to give children freedom continues.

“So that our children have education, treatment, so that they do not deny to us our language and history. How will we move forward? What will we feed our children with if our money is forbidden (…)?”, she said.

Dragisa Milovic, from Serbian List said CBK decision “aims to abolish Serbian institutions in these areas. It is not only directed against the Serbian people, it is also directed against the minority communities that live here, and I can freely say also towards a part of Albanians who receive pensions in dinars. And all this is happening in front of the international community, which came here in 1999 with Resolution 1244 to introduce the rule of law, to restore all programs and for all of us who live in Kosovo and Metohija to have a peaceful and stable life. Unfortunately, even after 25 years, here is an opportunity to tell to the world, Europe and domestic public that we Serbs are second-class citizens in Kosovo and Metohija, that our basic human rights are being trampled upon and that we are threatened with a silent exodus from centuries-old areas", N1 reported. 

N1 and KoSSev portal reported about the protest under the headline: "Protest in Kosovska Mitrovica – I have worked my entire life for a pension, I will not give it to Kurti”.

Kurti on 17th anniversary of demonstrations against Ahtisaari: We rightly opposed mono-ethnic concessions (KoSSev)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, paid tribute to Self-Determination activists, Arben Xheladini and Mon Balaj, who were killed 17 years ago during protests against the Ahtisaari plan, that is, negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. In front of the memorial plaque in Pristina on Saturday, he declared that “thousands of bodies united and opposed the mono-ethnic concessions of Ahtisaari’s package“, KoSSev portal reports.

On February 10, 2007, the protest in question was led by Kurti with several slogans – “Decentralization is division, division is war“, “Down with negotiating groups“, “No negotiations“. Kurti also participated in resisting the police, and others followed his example, the portal recalled.

The demonstrations, announced as peaceful, eventually escalated. Approximately 80 protesters were injured, and two were killed. Self-determination blamed the Romanian contingent of UNMIK for their murder. Two days later, the former minister of internal affairs of provisional institutions resigned.

During the time as an activist, later an opposition figure, and now as Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti did not change this stance, and this year he reminded of what he sees as the justified cause of the protests in 2007.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/zEFI0

Arsenijevic: The more Kurti speaks in Serbian; the more Serbs get beaten (Danas)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's address in Serbian is the first indicator of the pressure on Kosovo Serbs, according to the President of Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, reported Danas. 

"Both you (Kurti) and we know that your messages in Serbian are not messages to us, but messages to the international community as part of your communication crisis management. Whenever there is talk in international circles that you are putting pressure on Serbs, here, you appear with a video message in Serbian in which you want to show that you supposedly care about us and that you are supposedly open enough to communicate with us in our language," said Arsenijevic. 

He asked Kurti to stop speaking in Serbian, because one gets the impression that "the more you speak in Serbian, the more beatings we get."

Apparently, the transition will made possible for the recipients of dinar incomes to open an account in euros in a Kosovo bank, thereby  Arsenijevic comments: 

Kurti is either pretending to be unskilled or does not know his own laws, according to Arsenijevic. As he explains, ''there are two types of dinar users in Kosovo - private and legal entities, the first includes pensioners, employees of Serbian institutions, students, and the second includes "'institutions awaiting the formation of the ZSO - faculties, hospitals, farms, soup kitchens...''

"None of these users, whether they are private or business persons, can transfer to a Kosovo (bank) account.''

“People are frustrated, situation on the brink of survival” – Atmosphere ahead of protest in Mitrovica North (N1)

Serbs from Kosovo will stage an all-people protest in Mitrovica North at noon today, in an attempt to draw attention of the international community to their disfranchised position, in particular following the decision of Pristina to abolish dinar in payment transactions. Organizers of the protest said this decision endangers the survival of Serbs in Kosovo. The Serbian List but also other entities supported the protest.

N1 interviewed Marko Milenkovic from New Social Initiative to hear about the atmosphere ahead of the protest and what its outreach could be.

“People here are quite dissatisfied, concerned, distressed, in particular following the decision of Pristina to ban dinar. The protest announced for midday today, was first announced by the Association of Pensioners from Kosovska Mitrovica, and later Serbian List supported the protest, but also other political stakeholders – recently established Serbian Democracy supported this protest”, Milenkovic told N1.

He said the protest comes at the time when people are truly frustrated with the situation.

“Over the last week or two we had some stocks of dinars. Now those stocks are disappearing. People can not withdraw their pensions, their social aids, and I think those are the people who are the most endangered. First of all, pensioners, and socially vulnerable families and case”, he explained.

According to him it is important to send the messages from this gathering and point out the situation Serbian people are facing.

“The situation is not good. It is on the brink of some normal life and survival of the Serbian people here. (On the brink of a) life worth of a normal person. Over the previous period we had different messages arriving from Pristina. Yesterday, we again had the Kosovo Prime Minister who addressed us – but all those facts he mentioned are not true”, Milenkovic said.

“People can not convert dinars to euros, they can not open accounts and resolve this situation easily. The situation is really complicated. People are anxious and they do not know what possible solutions are there at this moment”, he underlined.

Milenkovic also expects that the messages from today’s gathering will be directed at Belgrade, Pristina and the international community. But primarily to the latter, given expectations that it can do something to make Pristina authorities revoke or postpone this decision.

Serbian National Council (SNV) supported protest in North Mitrovica (Danas, KiM radio)

The Serbian National Council (SNV) of Kosovo and Metohija today supported the demands of the Kosovo and Metohija Pensioners' Association, which is organizing a protest in the northern part of Mitrovica, and at the same time expressed the expectation that the organizers will not allow political parties to use the rally, reported Danas daily. 

The SNV announced that it understands the dissatisfaction and concern of the Association of Pensioners, because "the chauvinist and undemocratic government of Albin Kurti has completely threatened the economic, social and national existence of Serbs in Kosovo with its anti-Serb policy".

SNV expects that "the organizers will not allow the misfortune of the people and the gathering to be used by political parties, especially not the so-called Serbian List, which, in addition to the authorities in Pristina, bears the greatest responsibility for the state in which our people found themselves," the statement said.

The SNV asked the SL to stay as far as possible from the gathering and not to try to use it for its own political goals and "wash" its responsibility, the statement added. 

SNV invited all those interested to come to the gathering as citizens and thereby show maturity, but also resistance to political manipulators.

"The further struggle of the Serbian people against the chauvinistic and discriminatory policy of one of the biggest haters of the Serbian people, Albin Kurti, and also against the betrayal of the Serbian government, which is at work, will depend a lot on how dignified today's meeting will be," stated the SNV announcement, reported Danas.

Besides SNV, until now, today's protest in North Mitrovica has been supported also by Serbian List, Serbian Democracy, Serbian National Council (SNV), Alliance of Independent Trade Unions in KiM.

President of Trade Union of Private Sector: 140,000 workers have left Kosovo since visa liberalization (Kontakt plus, N1, FoNet) 

President of the Trade Union of the Private Sector of Kosovo, Jusuf Azemi, said that since the liberalization of the visa regime, 140,000 workers have left Kosovo, and 70 percent of companies have improved their working conditions, reported Kontakt plus radio, citing FoNet agency. 

"There are improvements in conditions for workers, better wages, but not as much as they deserve. What is more serious is that it was imposed on them," Azemi pointed out.

He cites the example of a green market worker, whose salary was 250 euros until recently, and now it has been increased to 350, reported FoNet, citing Reporteri portal. 

Azemi emphasized that after the liberalization of the visa regime, about 140,000 workers left Kosovo, and the trade union and businesspeople are outraged that the Government did not take steps to prevent this phenomenon.

"We warned as a union that we might have about 150,000 workers leaving, but in January we only had 140,000 departures." There were 230,000 departures from the airport alone," said Azemi, who states that half returned, but the problem is that 25 percent left with their families.

Orban: ‘I’m afraid we’ll lose Serbia, it is key for entire EU’ (N1)

The European Union cannot discuss its future or European identity without Serbia, whose EU membership is a geopolitical interest, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday in Bled, Slovenia, N1 reports.

“We need Serbia because of geopolitics“, he said at a panel focused on the future of Europe. “Serbia is key. Without Serbia as a member of the EU, one cannot discuss security or European identity in general. We need Serbia’s membership in the EU more than Serbia does. If we don’t integrate Serbia as soon as possible, we will lose it“, Orban said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the panel as the only representative of a country outside the EU, along with six EU prime ministers, including Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. Vucic said that Serbia was enthusiastic about the EU accession process, but that enthusiasm is no longer there.

“We found our own ways to overcome economic problems and created our own mechanisms“, he said. He criticizes the EU, which he described as “the best place to live in the world,“ for not rewarding the progress of candidate countries when they meet some of the membership criteria.

“North Macedonia changed its name, it was promised that the negotiation process would be launched, did that happen?“ he asked, referring to the dispute over North Macedonia’s name with Greece and the fact that the launch of its accession negotiations is now being blocked by Bulgaria. “I’m not complaining, I’m just telling the truth and we’re aware of that“, he added.

Vucic: Serbia, Greece have always supported each other's territorial integrity (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday Serbia and Greece had always supported each other's territorial integrity and that he believed that would be the case in the future, too.

At a joint press conference with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Belgrade, Vucic said he was happy to see Serbia and Greece maintain good friendly and brotherly relations and that his meeting with Mitsotakis earlier in the day had addressed all aspects of bilateral cooperation.

He noted that this year marked the 145th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Greece and that 2024 would be an important year and a year of huge growth of bilateral trade, and also one in which a council on Serbia-Greece cooperation would meet for a fourth time.

Mitsotakis: Our position on Kosovo unchanged, dialogue only path (Tanjug)

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday in Belgrade his government's position on Kosovo remains unchanged and he believes the EU facilitation and dialogue were the only path to normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations and greater stability in the region.

At a press conference with Aleksandar Vucic, Mitsotakis said the Serbian president had informed him of developments in the dialogue with Pristina.

"You know that our position on Kosovo remains unchangeable and we believe European facilitation and dialogue are the only path to normalization of relations between the two sides. That would also significantly help stability in the region, which is the goal for all of us", he said, noting that Vucic, too, wanted stability.

He added that Greece had been watching developments in the past months with concern

He said Greece strongly supported Serbia on the EU path and that he had discussed EU enlargement many times in Brussels. "There is a European future for both Serbia and the Western Balkans, and there is no future for us without the Western Balkans and Serbia", Mitsotakis said.

Dacic speaks by phone with FMs of Romania, Spain, Cyprus (Tanjug)

Serbian FM Ivica Dacic spoke by phone on Friday with the FMs of Spain, Romania and Cyprus about bilateral relations and Serbia's EU path.

"Further advancement of Serbia-Romania relations, as well as further progress in the accession process were the topics of today's friendly telephone conversation with the FM of Romania, Luminita Odobescu", Dacic wrote in an Instagram post.

He added that his discussion with Spanish FM Jose Manuel Albares had addressed Serbia-Spain bilateral relations and Serbia's further EU integration.

He also wrote that the conversation with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos had been a good opportunity to exchange views on bilateral ties and current affairs in the EU integration process.

North Macedonia rejects allegations from Pristina regarding Kurti’s assassination (N1, BETA, media)

North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry stated on Saturday that there was no attempt to assassinate Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti during his stay in Skopje, N1 reports. In a statement to Telegrafi Makedonija, the Ministry spokesperson Toni Angelovski said that there was no attempt to kill Kurti and that police security for Kurti was determined according to rules and protocols.

“We would like to inform you that there was no assassination attempt during the visit of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to Skopje. As for security during Prime Minister Kurti’s visit, it was organized according to predetermined rules and security prices”, Angelovski said.

The Kosovo public broadcaster (RTK) reported that Kurti was under strict security measures during his stay in Skopje, as “there was information about an assassination attempt on him”.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said on Saturday that during the meeting with the sister Socialist Party members in Skopje, he received information about “numerous threats from individuals and structures that have roots in the official Belgrade“, Radio-Television of Kosovo (RTK) reported and added that “there is information about an assassination attempt on Kurti“.

The Serbian Ambassador to the US, Marko Djuric, said that these claims are “science fiction,“ and linked them to the “fiasco (Albin) Kurti experienced at the UN Security Council, when 13 out of 15 members expressed serious concerns about his moves“.

 

 

 

International 

 

‘Kurti Hates The United Nations,’ Declares President Vucic In Interview (The Pavlovic Today)

In an exclusive interview with The Pavlovic Today, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sheds light on the recent high-stakes UN Security Council meeting convened in response to the suspension of the Serbian dinar, revealing insights into the motivations behind Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s actions. President Vucic notes that Kurti’s hostile ideological stance against Serbs underscores his ultimate goal: the expulsion of all Serbs from Kosovo.

Vucic’s journey to the heart of New York City was spurred by an urgent  UN Security Council session convened in response to Kosovo’s government abrupt and unilateral suspension of the Serbian dinar. Despite “deep concern” and calls for an “immediate” suspension of Kosovo's government decision emanating from the corridors of power in the Biden administration and the European Union, Albin Kurti persisted in his course of action.

Vucic underscored that despite substantial disagreements among the member states, an unmistakable discontent  regarding Kurti’s actions was palpable among representatives from the USA, France, China, Russia, and beyond.  “It was obvious,”  noted Vucic ,“that the UN Security Council member states were not happy at all with Kurti’s actions, because this is not a step of de-escalation. Quite the opposite.”

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/gpA69