• Veseli: Kosovo Army is being formed, no turning back (media)
• Haradinaj calls on opposition to join consensus on dialogue with Serbia (media)
• Hoxhaj: Serbia using dirty diplomacy to undermine Kosovo statehood (media)
• Foreign Affairs Ministry: Dacic’s claims are not true (Zeri)
• AAK’s Valon Tolaj expected to head Privatization Agency of Kosovo (Koha)

Veseli: Kosovo Army is being formed, no turning back (media)

Kosovo Assembly President and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader, Kadri Veseli, said in an interview to Vecernji List that based on analysis with partners from NATO and the security strategy, the future Kosovo Army will have 5,000 active and 3,000 reserve troops. “Regardless of protests from Belgrade, we are determined to form the Kosovo Army and there is no going back in the process. We will do this in partnership with the international community and we are in constant touch with the U.S., and our partners in NATO, Germany, France, Italy, Croatia, the United Kingdom … Due to pressure from Belgrade, the Serbian List did not vote on the laws for the Kosovo Assembly and they said openly that they are against it,” Veseli was quoted as saying.

Haradinaj calls on opposition to join consensus on dialogue with Serbia (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said in an interview to RTK on Friday that he sees no reason why he should resign or for the country to go to early parliamentary elections. “If the opposition can secure enough votes, let them go ahead and try to dismiss us,” he said. Haradinaj called on opposition parties to join the consensus on dialogue with Serbia and not follow the logic of spite. Haradinaj also said he expects positive news on visa liberalization by the end of this year, “otherwise it will mean that the European Union has lied to us”.

Hoxhaj: Serbia using dirty diplomacy to undermine Kosovo statehood (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj took to Twitter on Friday to say that Serbia was using dirty diplomacy to undermine Kosovo’s statehood and that such attempts should be condemned by the European Union. “@SRBDiplomacy once again is using bribery & dirty diplomacy in an attempt to undermine Kosovo’s statehood, and is working aggressively to undermine regional stability & ruin the confidence in the dialogue for the normalisation of relations. @eu_eeas should condemn such actions,” Hoxhaj tweeted.

Foreign Affairs Ministry: Dacic’s claims are not true (Zeri)

Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Rejhane Vuniqi, told the paper on Friday that Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic’s claims that the Dominican Republic has retracted its recognition of Kosovo’s independence, are not true. Vuniqi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received no official notification from the Dominican Republic. “There is no truth in Dacic’s claims. These are his last cries on the eve of the General Assembly of INTERPOL … It is not even worth dealing with such statements because we have already seen that these are false claims and a dirty propaganda by Serbia,” Vuniqi added.

AAK’s Valon Tolaj expected to head Privatization Agency of Kosovo (Koha)

Citing unnamed sources, Kohavision reported on Friday that Valon Tolaj, former executive secretary of the Haradinaj-led Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), is expected to be appointed as head of the Privatization Agency of Kosovo. Tolaj will replace Ekrem Hajdari, who was recently dismissed from the post of PAK head.