• Chief negotiators to meet this Friday; discuss license plates and energy (Koha)
• Osmani: No price is too high for democracy and freedom (media)
• Russian-Ukrainian war could spill over into Balkans, Gervalla warns (jpost.com)
• Thaci plead innocent to fresh war crime charges (BIRN)
• Kosovo Assembly meets today; discuss first year of Kurti government (media)
• FM Gervalla to represent Kosovo at informal dinner hosted by Borrell (media)
• Mehaj: U.S. support Kosovo’s membership in NATO (media)
• We’ll apply for CoE membership; we have 2/3 of votes: PM advisor (media)
• Abazovic in favor of Open Balkan; Kosovo would benefit most (Klan Kosova)
• EBRD mulls €22.5 mln loan to Kosovo for solar heating project (SeeNews)
• COVID-19: Four new cases (media)

Chief negotiators to meet this Friday; discuss license plates and energy (Koha)

The daily reports on its front page that chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, will meet in Brussels this Friday to discuss license plates and energy. Bislimi’s office confirmed the topics of discussion to Koha on Tuesday. Political commentators in Prishtina meanwhile said they expect the chief negotiators to return from Brussels with agreements, arguing that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic could have already reached agreements on these issues in their meetings in Berlin last week.

Osmani: No price is too high for democracy and freedom (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in her address at a panel of the Munich Security Conference in Washington DC that in the face of tyranny no price is too high to pay to protect democracy and freedom. Talking about the strategic importance of transatlantic cooperation to guarantee energy security and addressing one of the biggest challenges of the time, Osmani said the key dilemma is how to find quick solutions to the current crisis and guaranteeing affordable prices for the people. “In this respect, alliances and partnership based on shared values and goals will be crucial for a sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy future,” she said.

Russian-Ukrainian war could spill over into Balkans, Kosovo FM warns (jpost.com)

Russia’s war against Ukraine could embolden Serbia to act militarily against her country of Kosovo, Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday as she wrapped up her three-day trip to Israel during which time, she urged its officials to use their influence to help neutralize the situation.

“States like Israel can help stabilize the region [the Balkans],” said Gervalla-Schwartz as she sat in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Jerusalem, next to flags from both countries. “We are concerned that the Balkans could be the next hot spot,” she said.

Thaci plead innocent to fresh war crime charges (BIRN)

Kosovo Liberation Army ex-leaders turned politicians Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli pleaded not guilty to additional charges filed by Hague prosecutors alleging they committed further wartime and post-war crimes against civilians.

Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci and former head of parliament Kadri Veseli pleaded not guilty at a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday to new charges filed by war crimes prosecutors at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

“I plead not guilty although I have not read the [amended] material… Your amendments are redacted, I have tried to read them but I couldn’t so I have not understood them. Anyway, I plead not guilty,” Thaci told the court.

Veseli also said he is pleading not guilty and asked the court for a swift start to the trial process.

“I have read [the amendments] and I wish the trial starts soon so I have the right to express my position and innocence before Kosovo citizens, KLA fighters and this honourable court,” Veseli said.

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Kosovo Assembly meets today; discuss first year of Kurti government (media)

The Kosovo Assembly will meet today to discuss among other issues the first year of the Kurti-led government.

FM Gervalla to represent Kosovo at informal dinner hosted by Borrell (media)

Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla will represent Kosovo at the informal dinner that EU High Representative Josep Borrell will host tonight for the leaders of the Western Balkans, most news websites report.

Mehaj: U.S. support Kosovo’s membership in NATO (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Armend Mehaj, took to Facebook on Tuesday to say that the “United States, as a close and irreplaceable partner in all development processes of the Republic of Kosovo, through the open support expressed by the spokesperson of the U.S. mission to NATO, Jeffrey Adler, about our initiative to join the Partnership for Peace program, is proving that Kosovo is considered a trusted partner of the U.S.”

Radio Free Europe quoted Adler on Tuesday as saying that the “U.S. support Kosovo joining the Partnership for Peace program” and that “all decisions by the Alliance, including the Partnership for Peace, are made with consensus”.

“We’ll apply for CoE membership; we have 2/3 of votes,” PM advisor says (media)

Jeton Zulfaj, political advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said on Tuesday that Kosovo will apply for membership in the Council of Europe and that it has 2/3 of votes secured. “We will apply. I think our chances are very good after the Russian Federation left. 2/3 of countries that would vote are already secured in the sense that these are countries that recognize us and they are part of this group of 2/3,” he said. Zulfaj added that powerful countries, including Germany, will help Kosovo’s membership bid.

Abazovic in favor of Open Balkan; Kosovo would benefit the most (Klan Kosova)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday that he is in favor of the regional initiative “Open Balkan” which has been opposed so far by Montenegro and Kosovo. He argued that the initiative was meant to include all six countries of the Western Balkans and according to him Kosovo would benefit the most by joining the initiative. “Everyone that participates, represents their country. I believe that Kosovo has the biggest interest in the region to take part in every regional initiative,” he said.

Abazovic also said that if Kosovo changes its position and decides to join the Open Balkan then it would be recognised in a way by Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “In that moment, you are informally recognised. Same as with the Berlin Process because if the German Chancellor invites all six countries of the Balkans to take part, everyone represents their state,” he added.

Asked to comment on the possible revision of the border demarcation agreement with Kosovo, Abazovic said that for Montenegro the demarcation issue is closed. “At the moment, I don’t see that possibility, nor does anyone in Montenegro see it as a problem. For Montenegro, the issue was closed at the time of the signing,” he said.

EBRD mulls €22.5 mln loan to Kosovo for solar heating project (SeeNews)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it is considering provision of a sovereign loan of up to 22.5 million euro ($23.7 million) to Kosovo for the construction of a solar thermal plant.

The funding would be on-lent to municipal district heating company Termokos, owned by the city of Pristina, to co-finance the construction of the plant, which will provide additional heat energy capacity to the district heating network of the city, the EBRD said in a project summary document.

The project will be co-financed with a €17.5 million loan from German state-owned investment and development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), as well as an investment grant of up to 25 million euro from the German government, the EBRD added.

COVID-19: Four new cases (media)

Four new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. There are 347 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.