• COVID-19: 41 new cases, two deaths (media)
• Thaci: Final agreement to conclude with mutual recognition (media)
• Thaci: Kosovo, Serbia need to achieve final agreement (media)
• Osmani: Kosovo – Serbia dialogue, favors Serbian politicians (RFE)
• LDK to give PDK post of President and two ministries, sources say (Koha)
• PDK’s Hamza: Either government reshuffling or early elections (media)
• Minister expects economic recovery bill to be passed this week (RTK)
• Demaliaj: Haradinaj represents unity, he must be President (media)
• Kurti: Milosevic fell 20 years ago, but his politics in Serbia lives on (media)
• Qerkini: NATO knows from satellite images the locations of missing (media)
• Vucic: We’ll be under pressure to recognise Kosovo (media)

COVID-19: 41 new cases, two deaths (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said on Monday that 41 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

73 persons have meanwhile recovered from the virus during this time and two deaths were recorded.

The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (11).

There are currently 1,530 active coronavirus cases in Kosovo. 

Thaci: Final agreement to conclude with mutual recognition (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci took to Facebook on Monday to say that after the historic agreement on economic normalisation in Washington on September 4 an outstanding momentum has been created to reach a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I am grateful to the leading and irreplaceable role of the United States in the process. The U.S. role is crucial in reaching a final agreement on normalisation and mutual recognition,” Thaci said. “In this regard, we also appreciate the efforts of the EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo – Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, for reaching a final agreement”.

“All parties involved in the process need to work together in reaching a final peace agreement,” Thaci said.

Thaci: Kosovo, Serbia need to achieve final agreement (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said in a Twitter post on Monday that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has no alternative. After meeting EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo – Serbia Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, Thaci tweeted: “Excellent conversation with @MiroslavLajcak in Brussels. The dialogue has no alternative. #Kosovo and #Serbia need to achieve the final agreement. We need the #EU and EU needs us! We have to act. Lajcak has my support in this process”. Lajcak later retweeted Thaci’s post, adding “I could not agree more”.

Osmani: Kosovo – Serbia dialogue, favors Serbian politicians (RFE)

Kosovo Assembly President Vjosa Osmani told a press conference on Monday that instead of serving for the normalisation of relations, the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has served to normalise Serbian politicians that were part of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime.

“The Kosovo Government should absolutely not negotiate with someone like Ivica Dacic [Serbian Foreign Minister] who by making open threats and hiding crimes is committing a double crime,” Osmani said after the meeting of the Assembly Presidency.

Osmani also said that recent remarks by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic are in violation of the agreements signed in Brussels and the Washington Agreement signed on September 4, whereby the parties have pledged will do everything in their power to resolve the issue of missing persons.

LDK to give PDK post of President and two ministries, sources say (Koha)

Citing unnamed sources, the news website reports that there have been informal discussions to include the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) immediately in the government if a proposed indictment against its leader Kadri Veseli is confirmed.

According to these sources, the offer for the PDK is to nominate their candidate for the post of Kosovo and President and to get two ministries in the Hoti-led government: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health.

Representatives from both parties have denied this. LDK deputy leader Lutfi Haziri said “this is not true” and that he has “no information about these options”. PDK officials meanwhile have reiterated their position to remain in the opposition. Avni Bytyqi, a spokesman for the party, said there have not been any discussions for the division of posts.

PDK’s Hamza: Either government reshuffling or early elections (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) senior member and parliamentary group chief, Bedri Hamza, said on Monday that the next ruling coalition must have at least 80 votes in parliament in order to push forward Kosovo’s capital issues, including the election of the President. 

“The next coalition, whenever it is formed, must have at least 80 votes, otherwise, any other number would send the country to elections again because of the election of the President,” Hamza said in an interview with Kanal 10.

Hamza also said that the current government should be reshuffle or Kosovo should go to early elections. He did not rule out the PDK joining the current government.

Minister expects economic recovery bill to be passed this week (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister for Economy, Hykmete Bajrami, said in an interview with RTK that she expects the Kosovo Assembly to adopt the economic recovery bill this week. “The ruling coalition has over 60 votes, it has 62 or 63. We used to have 64 votes. We expect all MPs will be present in the Assembly on Thursday. We think the bill will be passed this week,” she added.

Demaliaj: Haradinaj represents unity, he must be President (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) MP Shkumbin Demaliaj said on Monday that the AAK has proved for 20 years that it is a state-forming political party. “I believe that in the future the Democratic League of Kosovo [LDK] will be more open and fair, because he [Haradinaj] can be one of the unifiers of the people of Kosovo,” he argued. 

Kurti: Milosevic fell 20 years ago, but his politics in Serbia lives on (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (VV) leader Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post on Monday that former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic fell from power 20 years ago “but he was not abandoned as a policy in Serbia”. “Serbia today is led by Milosevic’s closest associates: Maja Gojkovic who was deputy Prime Minister in his time is now President of the Serbian Parliament. Ivica Dacic, who was spokesman of Milosevic’s party, is now Minister of Foreign Affairs. Whereas Aleksandar Vucic, then Secretary of Seselj’s Radical Party, a partner in the coalition with Milosevic, and Minister of Information at the time, is now President of Serbia,” Kurti said. The Vetevendosje leader also argued that 20 years later in there is less opposition in Serbia than during Milosevic’s dictatorship.

Qerkini: NATO knows from satellite images the locations of missing (media)

Bajram Qerkini, representative of the Prishtina-based Association for Missing Persons, argued on Monday that NATO knows from satellite images where the locations of missing persons from the last war in Kosovo. He told Klan Kosova that Kosovo institutions have not applied the needed pressure on internationals to force Serbia into telling the truth about the fate of missing persons.

Vucic: We’ll be under pressure to recognise Kosovo (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters in Belgrade on Monday that one of the key objectives of the new Serbian government will be to maintain peace and stability and that Serbia wants a compromise solution with Kosovo but that it would not accept to be humiliated.

Vucic said the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has shown that after 30 years a frozen conflict can break into war. “We don’t want this to happen to us and surprise us. This is why we will maintain peace. We are not engaged for a frozen conflict; we want a compromise solution and we will insist on the EU-led process,” he said.