• COVID-19: 767 new cases, eight deaths (media)
• Hoti: Kosovo committed to peace, stability and prosperity of the region (media)
• Osmani calls on EU, NATO to react to Vucic’s statements (media)
• NATO on Vucic's statement on frozen conflicts (RFE)
• Kosovo's Foreign Ministry reacts to Vucic’s statement (media)
• Quni: We do not want war but if unavoidable, we will win again (media)
• Hoxhaj: Region can move ahead when Serbia faces genocide it has committed (media)
• NISMA: Final time for EU to take measures towards Serbia (media)
• Party of Kosovo Serbs: Vucic’s statement, a hypocrisy (RTK)
• Petkovic says Kosovo's reaction to Vucic's statement "hysterical" (media)
• PDK Spokesperson denies claims they will join governing coalition (RTK)
• AAK MP: Government is already down, election date should be set tomorrow (Express)
• Kosovo’s rival communities reach deal on World Heritage site (AP)
• Serbian Ministry Again Defends Privacy of Wanted War Criminal (Balkan Insight)

 

COVID-19: 767 new cases, eight deaths (media)

767 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths have been confirmed in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health said. 186 persons have meanwhile recovered from the virus.

The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (434).

There are 9,946 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Hoti: Kosovo committed to peace, stability and prosperity of the region (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said that remarks made by President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic are not helpful for normalisation of relations and for reaching a final agreement and mutual recognition.

Hoti said Vucic's statement conflicts all commitments Serbia has taken on. "The Government of the Republic of Kosovo remains committed to its constructive role in the service of peace, stability and prosperity of the whole region," Hoti is quoted in a statement issued by the Kosovo Government.

Hoti also said he expects the EU and NATO to react to Vucic's "provocations."

Vucic is reported to have said that if a solution between Kosovo and Serbia is not reached through dialogue sooner rather than later, it can lead to a conflict. “The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has shown how a frozen conflict can escalate in a real catastrophe when someone unfreezes it,” Vucic is quoted.

Osmani calls on EU, NATO to react to Vucic’s statements (media)

Acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani has reacted Thursday to statements made by Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic.

“I expect the European Union and NATO to respond to this threat for a violent war, made by Vucic,” Osmani wrote on Twitter in a comment to a news article quoting Vucic as warning of a conflict in Kosovo similart to that in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh if dialogue fails.

NATO on Vucic's statement on frozen conflicts (RFE)

NATO officials did not wish to comment on recent statements made by President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic drawing a parallel between the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and that between Serbia and Kosovo.

"KFOR mission led by NATO remains completely focused on implementing the mandate of the United Nations to provide security and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo," NATO said.

It added: "We also support dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, facilitated by the EU, as the only lasting solution for stability in Kosovo and the wider region of the Western Balkans."

Kosovo's Foreign Ministry reacts to Vucic’s statement (media)

The Kosovo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has reacted to statements of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the danger of an armed conflict between Kosovo and Serbia if dialogue fails to produce a solution.

The Ministry said Kosovo is neither Nagorno-Karabakh nor a frozen conflict and that Kosovo should first join NATO before resuming dialogue with Serbia.

In strongly condemning what is said were tendentious statements of the Serbian President whom it referred to as being a close associate of Slobodan Milosevic, Kosovo’s Ministry said the statement constitutes an open threat if a new war in the Balkans all neighbouring countries that are aligned with NATO.

“Serbia’s and Russia’s intentions to destabilize and create new tensions in the Balkans are unacceptable and will fail again.”

Quni: We do not want war but if unavoidable, we will win again (media)

Kosovo's Defence Minister Anton Quni reacted to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's statement about the danger of frozen conflicts deteriorating.

In a Facebook post, Quni wrote: "We are not at all interested for war, we want to live in peace, but if war is unavoidable, we will win as we always have. Do not forget Koshare's hell," Quni wrote.

Hoxhaj: Region can move ahead when Serbia faces genocide it has committed (media)

Acting leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Enver Hoxhaj condemned the statement of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.

"The only threat to regional stability & peace remain Milosevic followers in the Serbian gov & security apparatus. Today’s comments by @avucic require a prompt response by international community. The region can move fwd only when Serbia faces the genocide it has committed in Kosovo," he tweeted.

NISMA: Final time for EU to take measures towards Serbia (media)

The Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) said that for as long as Serbia is not held accountable for the crimes it committed in Kosovo, "we will always have a warmongering Serbia that threatens the region and beyond."

In response to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's statement, NISMA said it was final time for the EU to take measures towards Serbia.

Party of Kosovo Serbs: Vucic’s statement, a hypocrisy (RTK)

The Party of Kosovo Serbs (PSK) has reacted to the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who compared the situation in Kosovo with that between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying that this statement brings concern among Serbs in Kosovo.

"The latest statement in a series of statements that raises concerns among Serbs remaining in Kosovo was made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Comparing the situation in Kosovo with that in Nagorno-Karabakh, he directly insults the intelligence of Serbs remaining in Kosovo and violates The Constitution of Serbia. Kosovo has nothing to do with the situation in Azerbaijan and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is implemented in Kosovo, the same that in some segments is constantly violated by Pristina and Belgrade.

There is an international security force in Kosovo that must guarantee peace and stability. But we note that there is an armed formation (Kosovo Army) in Kosovo, which was established against the very constitution of Kosovo, but also with the quiet consent of the Serbian List and official Belgrade.

We remind you that after the formation of the Kosovo Army, the Serbian List did not submit a request for a review of the constitutionality of this decision on the order of official Belgrade, and thus quietly gave its consent to the formation of the Kosovo Army.

Now, two years later, to scare the remaining Serbs with a new war and conflict like the one in Nagorno-Karabakh, all for the sake of preparing the ground for the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia, is unacceptable to us and is a reflection of complete amateurism in relation to the interests of Serbia for its people in Kosovo.

We see particular hypocrisy in the part of the statement of the President of Serbia in which he talks about the need not to leave "our children" in a frozen conflict in Kosovo.

And at the same time, it does not answer whether our children south of the Iber should stay in "Greater" Albania, or they are not as important in this SNS equation as some other children north of the Iber? " this political party wrote.

Petkovic says Kosovo's reaction to Vucic's statement "hysterical" (media)

The head of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said that the reactions coming from Kosovo regarding the statement of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are "hysterical".

Petkovic said there is nothing controversial in Vucic's remarks about comparing the Nagorno-Karabakh situation with that in Kosovo. "President Vucic's message today was about peace as the most important thing for Serbia and the people of Serbia and if Albanian representatives in Pristina are also interested in peace, they should welcome and support such a commitment from Belgrade."

PDK Spokesperson denies claims they will join governing coalition (RTK)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) reacted to the statement of political analyst Milaim Zeka that this party is to join the government on Friday.

“The news of ballkani.info portal that PDK will tomorrow decide to join the government is completely untrue. This denial also applies to the rtklive.com carrying Milaim Zeka’s statement,” wrote Avni Bytyci, Spokesman of the PDK.

Zeka also stated on Thursday that PDL leader Kadri Veseli was not against a stability government, ‘and he is the most rational man from after-war, and he was the first one to accept election defeat and congratulated Vetevendosje.

AAK MP: Government is already down, election date should be set tomorrow (Express)

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Donika Kadaj Bujupi, told T7 broadcaster that the government of Kosovo is already down.

“The government has fallen, because a government that cannot even gather its MPs, is already down. A government which does not even participate at Assembly, has brought the country to this state. I consider that the date of elections should be set as early as tomorrow, because there is a disregard to the situation, there is no interest to vote even a simple law in order to help the citizens. We do not have the ministers to take photos but to work for the interests of the citizens,” Kadaj Bujupi said.

Kosovo’s rival communities reach deal on World Heritage site (AP)

Italian mediation on Thursday helped resolve a long-running dispute between Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian government and the Serb minority, allowing a highway project that will bypass a historic Christian Orthodox monastery listed as an endangered World Heritage site.

Serb Orthodox leaders long protested works to greatly widen a road brushing the 14th Century Visoki Decani Monastery — one of Kosovo’s top mediaeval Serbian monuments. They argued that it violated site protection rules and that heavy traffic using the road to access a planned ski resort would damage the buildings and their natural surroundings.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3ktgBcT

Serbian Ministry Again Defends Privacy of Wanted War Criminal (Balkan Insight)

The Serbian Interior Ministry has refused to reveal if there is an international arrest warrant for former Serbian Army officer Rajko Kozlina, who never appeared to serve his 15-year sentence for war crimes in Kosovo.

The First Basic Court in Belgrade issued a warrant for Kozlina’s arrest in June this year.

In a written response to BIRN, the ministry argued that giving out the information would “violate the right to privacy of the person”, and claimed that there is also no public interest in providing it.

See more at: https://bit.ly/38FwJFQ