• Escobar: Kosovo and Serbia to pledge there won’t be violence (RFE)
• U.S., EU want violence to be avoided on September 1 (Koha)
• Kurti presents 6 chapters of agreement to Quint and EU (media)
• ‘Time Is Ripe’ for Final Deal With Serbia, Kosovo Premier Says (Bloomberg)
• Kurti for Al Jazeera: No one can stop Kosovo Police from going north (media)
• Lajcak, Escobar meet Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade (media)
• “ROSU cannot go to north, if NATO doesn’t stop it, Serbs will” (Koha)
• Leaders of four northern municipalities come out with a statement (Koha)
• Selimi: Biden asked Hill to return from retirement, serve in Balkans (Express)
• Abdixhiku: We have a PM that covers up failures with fear and threats (media)

Escobar: Kosovo and Serbia to pledge there won’t be violence (RFE)

United States Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said on Friday that the purpose of his visit to Kosovo and Serbia this week was to support the efforts of the European Union in finding a solution between Kosovo and Serbia on license plates and documents.

Escobar told a press conference at the U.S Embassy in Belgrade that he wants both sides to pledge that there won’t be any violence. “Dialogue is not clinically dead. I am not part of the dialogue. The United States are not part of the dialogue, but we support the EU-facilitated dialogue. I hope that by the end of the month we will find a way forward. Meanwhile, the dialogue will continue. All agreements will be implemented, including the formation of the Association,” he said.

Escobar said the international community will continue to call on both sides to guarantee peace and stability. “The agenda of dialogue is created by the EU representative. The most important issue is the pledge of leaders and we have received this from them, and our role is for them to commit to these pledges so that an agreement can be reached,” he said.

Escobar said he hopes that on September 1 the lives of the people in the north of Kosovo will not be burdened and that they will live in peace. “I hope they won’t need additional administrative procedures to go to their homes. I believe we can achieve this,” he added.

Commenting on the talks, the U.S. envoy said they were difficult but that he saw “readiness to find a solution, and readiness to build trust along the process”. “I can tell the public in Serbia that we have heard their concerns. In some cases, there are serious concerns for the Serbs in Kosovo, and there are serious problems regarding trust between the two sides,” Escobar is quoted as saying.

U.S., EU want violence to be avoided on September 1 (Koha)

The daily reports on its front page this morning that U.S. and EU envoys, Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak, concluded their visit to Kosovo with a meeting with the political representatives of Serbs in the north. The two envoys said there are several options on the table which they would also discuss with Serbian officials in Belgrade. They said it was important not to have another situation like the one on July 31 when roads in the north were blocked as a response to the Kosovo government’s decision to implement reciprocity on ID cards with Serbia. Citing unnamed sources, the daily also reports that in the latest meetings there was a request to postpone reciprocity for another three months “in order to give time to finding a final solution to the issue”.

Kurti presents 6 chapters of agreement to Quint and EU (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti hosted on Thursday the acting Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo Anna Carin Platon, and the ambassadors of the Quint countries.

Speaking about the meeting on August 18 in Brussels, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that Kosovo has shown willingness and readiness to engage in a principled and well-prepared dialogue, towards an agreement centered on mutual recognition. He presented the elements of the six chapters of the General Framework of the future agreement with Serbia, for the complete normalization of relations with mutual recognition at the center", announces the Prime Minister's information office.

According to the press release, the representatives of Quint and the European Union Office in Kosovo thanked Prime Minister Kurti for the positive commitment and constructiveness in the meetings in Brussels.

According to this announcement, the meeting also discussed the agreement on license plates, the political developments in Kosovo and the political situation in the region.

"The commitment to cooperation and coordination of actions between the Government, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and the representatives of the European Union, the United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy was reiterated," the announcement states.

‘Time Is Ripe’ for Final Deal With Serbia, Kosovo Premier Says (Bloomberg)

Kosovo and Serbia have no alternative but to reach a final agreement on normalizing ties, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, adding that the “time is ripe” to do so during his term in office.

The dispute -- born of the 1998-1999 war and Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia almost a decade later -- continues to thwart efforts to integrate the two Balkan nations into the European Union while fueling tensions that risk boiling over into renewed conflict.

Kurti, who won half of all votes in Kosovo’s elections last year, said he’s ready for an agreement to move both nations closer to their joint dream of membership in the EU, which insists can only happen once they normalize their relationship.

“We have to have an agreement -- and the time is ripe during the mandate of our government,” he said in an interview on Wednesday at his office in Pristina. “I see possibility. This autumn, we will find out whether we are going there. This autumn is quite decisive to see whether we should be optimistic.”

Kurti’s comments indicate the potential for new momentum after years of EU-mediated talks failed to produce a breakthrough in one of Europe’s most intractable geopolitical puzzles. The main sticking points are Serbia’s refusal to recognize its neighbor’s sovereignty and its demands that Kosovo grant autonomy to the roughly 100,000 ethnic Serbs who live there.

Read more at: https://bloom.bg/3ALXS7z

Kurti for Al Jazeera: No one can stop Kosovo Police from going north (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, that no one can stop the Special Police of Kosovo from going to the north. "Yesterday I met with General [Ferenc] Kajari [KFOR commander], as well as with our police and EULEX. Barricades are not a solution. There is a state mechanism that will react, it is not only the police, but also the special police forces, and no one can stop the special police from coming to the north. The north of Kosovo is part of Kosovo, it is located in Kosovo, and there has never been more rule of law in the north of Kosovo than now," Kurti is quoted as saying.

Lajcak, Escobar meet Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade (media)

One of the leading stories on Thursday evening and this morning is the visit by U.S. and EU envoys, Escobar and Lajcak, to Belgrade and their meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade tweeted after the meeting: “DAS Escobar: Tough and long meeting just now with the President Vucic. We appreciate the President's commitment to peace and stability. The work continues”.

Lajcak said that during the meeting with Vucic he conveyed the message for the implementation of all dialogue agreements. In a Twitter post, Lajcak said he also called for the implementation of the 2011 Agreement on Freedom of Movement. "Had a difficult but responsible discussion with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. On this occasion, I conveyed the messages and stressed that all the agreements of the Dialogue must be implemented, including the 2011 Agreement on Freedom of Movement. We will continue our talks later tonight," Lajcak wrote. In another tweet, Lajcak said: “After a second round of discussions late last night, I hope we are on the right track. I appreciate Vucic’s sincere effort to support a European solution. Our talks will continue.”

Koha highlights in its coverage that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has repeated the phrase that "Serbia will protect the Serbs in Kosovo" after his meeting with Lajcak and Escobar. "There is no surrender, Long live Serbia!", Vucic said in a video message on Instagram. "The talks will continue at 10:00 p.m. I hope for a compromise, but we will definitely protect the interests of the Serbs in Kosovo," he added.

Several news websites note that in an Instagram post after midnight, Vucic said “we will continue the talks and I hope that in the coming days we will reach a compromise solution, at least for a small part, because it is clear that regarding the license plates there are bigger issues at stake, and such a solution cannot happen … Of course, even this that I hope for is not certain and more guarantees and much more work is needed, but in the coming days we will work hard to ensure peace for our people. And at the same time to ensure the future and survival of Serbs in Kosovo”.

“ROSU cannot go to north, if NATO doesn’t stop it, Serbs will” (Koha)

Serbia continues to talk about the conflict in the north "in the coming days" and to call any patrolling of Kosovo's special police units in that area, or as it calls it by its old name ROSU, an invasion.

Thus, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia Petar Petkovic said on Thursday night that if the police units of Kosovo go to the north, then according to him, NATO is obliged to stop them. And in case NATO does not do this, he threatened that "the Serbian people will do it".

"I have only one message for Kurti - NATO is obliged to prevent any ROSU attempt to invade the north! If it does not, the ROSU incursions will be prevented by the Serbian people! To be completely clear - we are talking about a threat a direct result of the violence, force and conflicts that Kurti is doing to conquer the north of Kosovo and Metohija, after which he has been fixated for years," Petkovic said.

Leaders of four northern municipalities come out with a statement (Koha)

The leaders of the four northern municipalities of Kosovo held a meeting in Zvecan where they discussed the situation in the north. At the end of the meeting, the leaders issued a joint statement saying that they support the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic to find a compromise agreement within seven days, while they also requested the formation of the Association.

"We support the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to through dialogue and in accordance with the interests of the citizens, within seven days, find a compromise, stable and long-term solution to the problem of license plates and identity cards, while maintaining peace and stability," reads the statement.

"We demand the establishment of the Association as soon as possible and without delay, as defined by the Brussels agreements. Because it is the need of the Serbian people to protect their collective rights. We remind you that 10 years have passed and the Serbian people no longer accept any delay in this process."

Meanwhile, the leaders have called on KFOR and other international institutions to maintain security and not allow the Special Police Unit to enter the north.

They have also called on the Serbian citizens in the north not to "fall into Kurti's trap", as far as IDs and license plates are concerned.

In the end, they threatened to withdraw from Kosovo's institutions.

"If a compromise solution is not reached, we will start the process of leaving all the institutions of Kosovo, starting from the central and local ones, and ending with the courts, the Police and all other institutions", the statement says.

Selimi: Biden asked Hill to return from retirement and serve in Balkans (Express)

Kosovo’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, took to Twitter on Thursday to note that “Few people know President Biden himself asked Ambassador Hill to return from his retirement and serve in Balkans to help reaching a long-term peace deal between Kosovo and Serbia. @ambchrishill was key envoy at Rambuillet talks & Doctor Honoris Causa at University of Prishtina.”

Abdixhiku: We have a PM that covers up failures with fear and threats (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku has reacted to the announcement of the Ministry of Finance that it will stop the payment of all those who participate in the strike. "A government that until yesterday promised well-being and development, today spread fear and threats," Abdixhiku said.

According to him, the government's search for lists of striking employees, in addition to direct pressure on public sector workers, is also a threat to democratic processes in the country and the rule of law itself.

"Today, the Kosovar society must line up behind the teachers, doctors and public servants who rightfully, in the biggest economic crisis, demand dialogue, dignity and affordability".

"They have found a prime minister who, with fear and threats, tries to cover up all his failures," Abdixhiku said.