Headlines - 14.10.2015

Pristina, Belgrade committed to implement all agreements (dailies)

In the context of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, hosted an informal dinner last night with Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. “The two Prime Ministers had an open discussion on the state of play in the dialogue, in particular as regards the implementation of the August 25 agreements. Both sides repeated their commitment to the implementation of all the past agreements," said a press release issued by Mogherini’s Office.

Thaci: Dinner in Brussels with Serbian side, not easy (Indeksonline)

In an interview for Klan Kosova after the informal dinner hosted by the EU diplomacy chief Federica Mogherini, Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said the meeting with the Serbian side was not easy. “There is a sense of great frustration on the part of Serbian representatives following the huge support Kosovo has garnered for UNESCO membership, but our reaction was that Kosovo will become member of UNESCO and other international organisations and strengthen its state position in the international arena,” said Thaci.

Djuric: Serbia is asked to recognize Kosovo (Kosova Sot)

The director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Marko Djuric, said last night in Brussels that the delegation of Serbia was submitted an additional amendment, by which Serbia is required to directly or indirectly recognize Kosovo if it wants to continue its European path. “Besides the bad news that we have heard recently about Chapter 35, we say that there is also an additional amendment for talks on European integration, which was proposed by Germany and supported by Britain and Croatia,” Djuric said.

Police: There was a police invitation for Kurti (Epoka e Re)

The director of the Kosovo Police, Shpend Maxhuni and the competent prosecutor Besim Kelmendi, in a press conference yesterday presented the invitation for interview for former Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti and MP Albulena Haxhiu. Maxhuni refuted Vetevendosje’s statements that Albin Kurti was kidnapped by the Kosovo Police on Monday. He confirmed that the police sent two calls for interviews to the residential addresses of Albin Kurti and Albulena Haxhiu, but they were rejected by Kurti’s father and Haxhiu’s husband. Prosecutor Kelmendi said that this operation has not been completed but that Monday’s operation was only the first stage of the interview and that there will also be other procedures.

Delawie: Molotov has no place in Kosovo (Zeri)

The United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, reacted to two developments that took place on Monday: the grenade attack at the house of Leposavic Mayor Dragan Jablanovic, and the clashes between the Vetevendosje Movement activists with the Kosovo Police where stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown towards the police. “Molotov cocktails and grenades have no place in Kosovo - not in Pristina or Leposavic. The rule of law is the only path to Euro-Atlantic integration,” Delawie said.

Molliqaj: We will block the Assembly and government (Zeri)

Dardan Molliqaj, the Secretary of the Vetevendosje Movement, said yesterday that Kosovo is in a tense situation due to recent agreements signed with Serbia and the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro. According to Molliqaj, the opposition has warned the government that there cannot be a normal continuation of the work of institutions and the private lives of politicians responsible for these agreements until they withdraw their signatures. He also said that calling the plenary session for Thursday is a provocation for the opposition and represents a desire to raise tensions. “We are decided to block the work of the Assembly and the work of the Prime Minister,” Molliqaj said. He added that the opposition will also block the Kosovo government but did not specify how they would do it.

CDHRF calls for accountability for Kurti’s arrest (Kosova Sot)

The Kosovo-based Council for Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said it has information that there was only a verbal and not written arrest warrant at the time when the former Vetevendosje leader and MP Albin Kurti was detained by the police. CDHRF demanded accountability from all those that contributed to the escalation of violence on Monday night and called on both the ruling and opposition parties to foster political dialogue and calm the situation.

Assembly Presidency to decide today on the next plenary session (Koha)

The Presidency of the Assembly of Kosovo will meet today to discuss the modalities for the next plenary session which was called for Thursday. “Depending on the attitudes of other members of the Presidency and heads of parliamentary groups, the Presidency will take a decision in regards to Thursday’s session,” said a source within the Presidency.

Special court being set up in secrecy (Koha)

The government of Kosovo is implementing a series of measures aimed at constituting the special court but is keeping these efforts secret, reports the paper on the front page. Sources said that the government’s work is focused on drafting of secondary legislation for the court and on agreements with the hosting country. “Plans that describe in detail the infrastructure that has to be available for the court and the actions that need to be undertaken to manage the situation after the indictments are filed have also been drafted,” the source said.

Selimi: We will receive 2/3 of the votes for UNESCO (Epoka e Re)

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi told this daily that Kosovo is going through a difficult battle in order to gain membership at UNESCO. He said that he was aware of the obstacles by some of the countries; therefore they are equipping allies with counter-arguments. Selimi added that Kosovo has high hopes that it will manage to gain the two-thirds majority required for membership of UNESCO.