Albanian Language Media: 

• Kosovo Intelligence Agency on visit by CIA Director William Burns (media)

• Increased number of KFOR troops on Iber bridge again (RFE)

• Police collecting evidence in premises used by Serbian-run structures (Telegrafi)

• Zubin Potok Mayor: This is not the first time I receive death threats (media)

• Hand grenade thrown in village near Zubin Potok; no injuries reported (media)

• “Heb’s” opens in north; Manager: Serbs too interested to get employed (Telegrafi)

• Kurti: Working every day for KSF to be modern, professional as possible (media)

• Kurti meets Gorgun, discuss possible cooperation in defense industry (media)

• Hoti: Kosovo lost a lot by failing to implement Washington Agreement (Nacionale)

Serbian Language Media: 

• The sixth day of the blockade of institutions in the Kosovo north, reinforced KFOR forces on the Ibar bridge (RTS) 

• Confiscation of equipment continues today in the PA KM municipality building; the coat of arms of Serbia and the municipality removed (Radio Mitrovica sever, KiM radio, KoSSev) 

• Trajkovic and Jaksic held at Merdare crossing (KoSSev, Danas) 

• A bomb thrown at the house of a Serb in the village near Zubin Potok (Kosovo Online)

• Andric Rakic: Necessary to insist on ensuring the votes of voters from central Serbia arrive by mail (Kosovo Online)

• Support to the Serbs in the north, the state will not allow a pogrom, says Jevtic (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

• Vucic met with Brammertz (Tanjug, media)

• Brnabic: Kurti conducting open ethnic cleansing (Tanjug, TV Prva)

• Dacic on the relocation of Serbs from the north: I have not yet heard that Biserko and Canak defended the Serbs somewhere (Danas, TV Pink)

• Giaufret: One and a half billion euros to Serbia in the next three years (RTS)

• U.S. State Department’s reaction to Aleksandar Vulin meeting with Putin (Danas, VoA, serbianmonitor.com)

Albanian Language Media  

Kosovo Intelligence Agency on visit by CIA Director William Burns (media)

The Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI) issued a press release today on the recent visit by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns to Kosovo and his meeting with AKI Director Petrit Ajeti. “As a symbol of eternal gratitude for the USA, CIA and Mr. Burns personally, a symbolic plaque was unveiled. The plaque was unveiled by Directors, Petrit Ajeti and William Burns. In this plaque, except the emblems of both Agencies, stands the message that US Military Officer Joseph Burns gave to his son, William Burns: ‘Nothing will make you prouder than to serve your country with honor’,” the press release notes. 

Increased number of KFOR troops on Iber bridge again (RFE)

An increased number of NATO peacekeeping troops (KFOR) were seen today on the main bridge over Iber River in Mitrovica. KFOR members told Radio Free Europe that that was part of their training. The news website contacted KFOR for an official comment but received no response.

KFOR has a permanent presence on Iber bridge which divides the Albanian-inhabited south of Mitrovica from the Serb-inhabited northern part of the city. There were increased peacekeeping troops during last weekend too when the mission confirmed it carried out several trainings. The developments come a few days after Kosovo’s authorities closed five Serbian-run institutions in the north of Kosovo. Serb residents of the region for years have received different services from these institutions and their closing caused a harsh reaction by the international community against Kosovo’s authorities, despite the fact that an agreement was reached in Brussels in 2013 for the dissolution of these structures, but implementation has lagged behind.

The international community nevertheless wants all issues related to the situation in the north of Kosovo to be addressed in the EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalization of relations. 

Police collecting evidence in premises used by Serbian-run structures (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, said in an interview with the news website today that the security situation in the north is quiet but also delicate given the developments in the last two years. He said that the police are carrying out their duties toward the people in the region without any major problem. 

He said that in the last couple of days there were gatherings in front of the municipalities in the north, but that today there have been no protests. “Police are collecting evidence from these buildings [in reference to Serbian-run structures which were closed down]. Work is being done in accordance with the law,” he added.

Elshani also said that police would continue to monitor and act in accordance with the law in order to ensure stability in the region.

Zubin Potok Mayor: This is not the first time I receive death threats (media)

Mayor of Zubin Potok municipality, Izmir Zeqiri, said in an interview with RTK today that he has received two death threats in three months from the same address. “I notified the judicial bodies for the first time too. And now the police too are informed, and they are conducting investigations,” he said.

Zeqiri said that according to his information the threats were made from outside Kosovo. He claimed that the address is not fake. “I am not worried about such threats, but this doesn’t mean that there is no danger from these people that have constantly done wrong,” he said. 

Zeqiri also said that the threat could be related to his work and that “the team of Milan Radoicic could be around Kosovo’s borders”,

Hand grenade thrown in village near Zubin Potok; no injuries reported (media)

A hand grenade was thrown at a house in a village near Zubin Potok and no injuries have been reported, Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, confirmed to the media. 

Mayor of Zubin Potok municipality, Izmir Zeqiri, confirmed in an interview with Dukagjini that the grenade was thrown at the house of one of his associates. He also said that he met with the person this morning and that “these actions will not make us back down”.

“Heb’s” opens in north; Manager: Serbs too interested to get employed (Telegrafi)

The news website that “Heb’s”, a fast-food restaurant chain in Kosovo, has opened a point in Mitrovica North on Tuesday. Mirjeta Sylejmani, the manager of the new location, told Telegrafi that they expect to be successful. “Based on portals, we have seen that there are many people that want to boycott it, but we expect and hope that we will be successful. At the other point that we have in Mitrovica, there are Serbs that eat at the location and also use the delivery service. We have a lot of orders, and we hope it will be the same here too,” she said.

Sylejmani said currently there are only Albanian staff at the new point but that there is also interest among Serbs to get employed.

Asked to comment on calls by Serbs to boycott Kosovo businesses in the north, she said: “I don’t believe they will be boycotted, while there is very large interest among Serbs in the southern part, I don’t believe there will be a boycott. The people here know us because we received a lot of orders in the southern part”.

The news website also notes that lately new Kosovo businesses have opened in the north, including markets, coffee shops, sweet shops and restaurants. 

Kurti: Working every day for KSF to be as modern, professional as possible (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post today that he met with the Commander of the Kosovo Security Force, Bekim Jashari, Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, and Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati. “We discussed the plans and support of the government which has never been greater and higher. The development and empowerment of our army in the service of protection and security is among our top priorities, therefore, we are working every day for the KSF to be as modern, strong and professional as possible,” Kurti said.

Kurti meets Gorgun, discuss possible cooperation in defense industry (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Tuesday in Pristina with the President of the Defense Industry Agency of Turkey, Haluk Gorgun, expressing appreciation for cooperation in the area of defense, especially for the capacity building of the Kosovo Security Force. He said Kosovo would continue to purchase military equipment from Turkey, “which remains one of Kosovo’s main partners”. 

A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes that they also discussed “possibilities of cooperation in developing the industry of defense, namely the production of ammunition” and the condition that Kosovo offers for potential investors from Turkey. 

Hoti: Kosovo lost a lot by failing to implement Washington Agreement (Nacionale)

On the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Washington Agreement, former Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said in an interview with the news website that the document has exceptional value for Kosovo and that the latter lost a lot from the failure to implement it in practice.

Hoti argued that “since the declaration of Kosovo’s independence, the two most important agreements for Kosovo were the Stabilization/Association Agreement with the EU in 2015 during the Mustafa government and the Washington Agreement on September 4, 2020. The first one established formal and contractual relations between Kosovo and the European Union as any other country that aspires to join the EU. While the second agreement set Kosovo in a trajectory of consolidating statehood and economic empowerment”.

Asked what Kosovo lost with the failure to implement the agreement, Hoti said that Kosovo lost the opportunity for exceptional economic empowerment “as a central country in the Balkans, as a connecting bridge between countries in the region and beyond. Kosovo lost its credibility as a partner that respects the agreements, especially with its main ally. We lost hundreds of euros worth of investments in the gas network and in the gas-powered plant, in railways and highways, and in many private investments. If these investments had been made, today we would have a completely different economic and political position”.

Hoti also criticized Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for failing to respect the Washington Agreement “and he proved with words and actions that he is against the alliance with the United States”.

Serbian Language Media 

The sixth day of the blockade of institutions in the Kosovo north, reinforced KFOR forces on the Ibar bridge (RTS) 

There is no indication that the police, who have been blocking the buildings of Serbian institutions in the north of Kosovo for six days, will release these buildings. On the main bridge in Mitrovica, reinforced forces of the Italian KFOR, the unit for breaking up demonstrations, are again present this morning. They state that it is a regular exercise which, according to their announcement, will last in the morning hours.

Confiscation of equipment continues today in the PA KM municipality building; the coat of arms of Serbia and the municipality removed (Radio Mitrovica sever, KiM radio, KoSSev) 

Radio Mitrovica sever reported today that the KP continued with the confiscation of equipment and inventory found in the building of the Provisional Authority of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica, by the Prosecutor's Office order, due to the suspicion that document falsification was being carried out inside this facility. At the same time, the coat of arms of Serbia and the municipal coat of arms were removed from the installation in front of this building.

"For us, the owner of the buildings in North Mitrovica is the Municipality of North Mitrovica. As far as I know, they gave the building behind the bus station to the Ministry of Infrastructure to be the center for training and for issuing driver's licenses," said Elshani. He noted that all the facilities that the police entered on Friday are now owned by the competent municipalities of the north. He could not further specify to which specific ministry and for what purpose the municipalities ceded those buildings, because that is according to the agreement between the municipalities and the ministries.

He underlined that if private things are found among the seized material, they will be returned to the workers.

Let us remind you that in connection with the case of alleged falsification of documents, the KP issued summonses to four representatives of Serbian institutions from the north of Kosovo yesterday, while the fifth summons was not served because the police did not find that person at his address.

Trajkovic and Jaksic held at Merdare crossing (KoSSev, Danas) 

The president of the Serbian National Forum from Gracanica, Momcilo Trajkovic announced on FB last night in a company of Marko Jaksic, from the Movement Fatherland, that they were kept waiting at the Merdare crossing by the Serbian police, reported Danas. 

Trajkovic and Jaksic were in Belgrade this week as part of a delegation of Serbs from Kosovo that met members of the ProGlas initiative.

The goal of the meeting, as announced, was to exchange opinions on the Kosovo issue and democratic processes in Serbia.

"Even tonight in Merdare, by order "from above", the Serbian police kept two 'foreign mercenaries and traitors', Marko Jaksic and Momcilo Trajkovic!", he stated in a post on Facebook.

"We are waiting for them to have mercy and let us continue our journey and go home. How long we will wait - I don't know. No matter how long we wait, we will endure," said Trajkovic in a video message on Facebook.

Just a day before, on his way to central Serbia, he also announced from Merdare with allegations that he had been kept. 

"You can't enter your own country, it's unbelievable... They've been harassing me for seven years, what to do," he said in a video address.

He claims that he was revolted by the long wait and asked the police to return his documents so that he could return to Gracanica, and that "only then did those 'from above' have mercy" to let him continue his journey towards Belgrade.

"Without any explanation, they continue to harass their 'internal enemies', 'political dissidents!? Me for seven years," said Trajkovic at the time.

However, he emphasized that the police officers at Merdare crossing behaved "correctly".

A bomb thrown at the house of a Serb in the village near Zubin Potok (Kosovo Online)

The Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the North, Veton Elshani, confirmed for Kosovo Online that an explosive device was thrown at the house of a Serb in the village of Pridvorica near Zubin Potok.

"The police are on the scene, they have conducted an investigation, and we are working to shed light on the case. We suspect that it was a hand bomb," said Elshani.

There were no injuries in the incident, but the car and the window glass of the house were damaged.

Andric Rakic: Necessary to insist on ensuring the votes of voters from central Serbia arrive by mail (Kosovo Online)

The Central Election Commission has designated the mailing of so-called voting packages as one of the options for voters living outside Kosovo in the parliamentary elections on February 9, 2025. Milica Andric Rakic, program manager of the NGO Social Initiative, points out that this method of voting for Serbs from Kosovo who live in Serbia and have the right to vote has not been functioning since 2019.

She emphasizes that, since there have been problems with voting by mail for years, most people have been coming by bus to physically vote in Kosovo. She explains that communication between the postal services of Serbia and Kosovo is very poor, so the mail is sent through courier services via North Macedonia or Montenegro.

"In 2019, there was that scandal with the alleged poisoning of votes received by mail, and in 2021, the votes were delayed and arrived after the deadline because postal services in the region were used as intermediaries. This example clearly shows how poorly the communication between the postal services of Serbia and Kosovo works, and that is something that has not been resolved by agreements. But now, when political representatives in Pristina have used the postal service for political purposes, I think that Serbian political representatives should insist that this time it be ensured that all those votes from Serbia arrive in that way. It will certainly be several thousand votes. We know that many people from Kosovo who live in Serbia, for various reasons, do not want to come to Kosovo, but they should definitely have the right to vote," Andric Rakic says.

According to CEC Spokesperson Valmir Elezi, after the parliamentary elections were scheduled for February 9, 2025, voters living outside Kosovo will be able to vote physically in diplomatic missions or in two other ways: by sending a voting package to the CEC post office in Kosovo or to the CEC post office opened outside Kosovo.

Support to the Serbs in the north, the state will not allow a pogrom, says Jevtic (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

The mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, said today that Serbs in Kosovo must remain united and determined, regardless of all challenges, expressing certainty that the state of Serbia will not allow a new pogrom of Serbs through democratic and political means.

"I offer my full support to my compatriots and my colleagues and brothers whom Kurti arrests and plans to arrest. These summonses that were handed to them for questioning are the greatest confirmation that they are doing the right thing, that they are working in the interest of the Serbs and not at the expense of any other nation," stated Jevtic on FB. 

"We would be worried if Kurti praised us as he does some "Serbs". There is no greater confirmation that we are on the side of the Serbian people than the fact that we are under constant attack from the regime in Pristina," wrote Jevtic.

Vucic met with Brammertz (Tanjug, media)

After a meeting with Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said there were no outstanding issues between Serbia and the IRMCT and that the two sides maintained continuous cooperation.

"At the same time, there is a need for better coordination when it comes to regional cooperation on the issues of missing persons, raising indictments and prosecuting war crimes," Vucic wrote in a Facebook post.

He added that he had had a "fair and open discussion with Prosecutor Brammertz about Serbia's cooperation with the Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the results of a national strategy for punishing war crimes, shedding light on the fates of missing persons as well as regional judicial cooperation on these topics."

"I reiterated that our country is approaching responsibly the work with the Mechanism as well as punishment for war crimes through local legislation because justice for all victims is an important part of the region's path to reconciliation and a better future for all our citizens," Vucic noted.

Brnabic: Kurti conducting open ethnic cleansing (Tanjug, TV Prva)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday that Pristina's PM Albin Kurti was conducting a horrific campaign of “open ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo, reported Tanjug. 

"On one hand, I must say it is nice that everyone - both the US and the EU - is condemning that, but the question is: is that sufficient?" Brnabic told Prva TV.

She noted that Serbia was "relying on diplomacy" and that President Aleksandar Vucic, PM Milos Vucevic and other state officials were "working seriously" to address the issue.

Dacic on the relocation of Serbs from the north: I have not yet heard that Biserko and Canak defended the Serbs somewhere (Danas, TV Pink)

“What drives Canak and Biserko to come to such a conclusion? It is obviously a contrived idea that Serbia allows Kurti to terrorize the Serbs in Kosovo, while they are advocating that the Serbs remain in Kosovo. I have not yet heard that Sonja Biserko and Canak defended the Serbs somewhere,'' said Ivica Dacic, the Minister of the Interior regarding the information that Sonja Biserko, the director of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and Nenad Canak, the former leader of the LSV, conveyed to the PM of Kosovo, that Serbia was planning to resettle Serbs from the north of Kosovo to Sandzak, reported Danas. 

In his guest appearance on TV Pink, he stated that all this means that there is a tactic, and the aim is to introduce as much confusion as possible into the ranks of the Serbian community living in Kosovo. 

- All those who talk about the fact that the Serbian government signed something and that's not good, all that is not true. This is about cheating on all agreements with the international community, and the hellish goal to have Kosovo got rid of all the Serbs. That is why it is important that we have a unified position on this and support the negotiating leadership. The goal is an ethnically pure Kosovo. All that Canak and Biserko are doing is creating a climate in which Serbia will not be allowed to be stable and strong,  and to develop because as such it is a dam for the dominance of partial interests of foreign powers in the region - stated Dacic.

Giaufret: One and a half billion euros to Serbia in the next three years (RTS)

September, the month of European values, will be marked by numerous events in Serbia, and the European House will be opened in the center of Belgrade, where the citizens of Serbia will get closer to the EU through discussions, exhibitions, and workshops. Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia, Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret, told RTS that, by implementing reforms in the next three years, Serbia will receive about one and a half billion euros, out of a total of six billion euros, as determined for all the countries of the Western Balkans.

Speaking about the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, he told RTS that Macron's visit was very important, both bilaterally and when it comes to European integration.

"Macron clearly supported Serbia on the European path. Other European officials sent similar messages. We want a new dynamic on that path, and we must take advantage of this new momentum," he said. 

Speaking about Pristina's latest moves and the seizure of Serbian institutions in the north of Kosovo, the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia says that the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina remains a key issue in the negotiations.

"This includes the implementation of all previous agreements, including the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (A/CSM)," Giaufret pointed out.

When it comes to infrastructural projects that the EU is working on together with Serbia, Ambassador Giaufret says that there are so many that he cannot even remember them all.

Speaking about the introduction of new rules when it comes to travel to EU countries, which will come into force in a week, the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia reminds that there is full liberalization for the countries of the Western Balkans.

"But the EU must protect its borders and know who enters and leaves it. We will have a special system for filling out forms intended for those countries that do not need visas, including the countries of the Western Balkans. Everything will be electronic and very easy, payment will be 7 euros, and it will be valid for three years," Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret told RTS.

U.S. State Department’s reaction to Aleksandar Vulin meeting with Putin (Danas, VoA, serbianmonitor.com)

The U.S. values Serbia’s partnership in combating Russian aggression in Europe and its provision of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people, said a press release from the State Department, following a query by Voice of America regarding the upcoming meeting between Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin previously confirmed that Vulin and Putin would meet on the sidelines of the economic forum in Vladivostok on September 4th, and the EU has criticized the announced meeting.

In the State Department’s response, it is stated that the “position on Aleksandar Vulin is well known” and that he remains under U.S. sanctions, writes VoA. “Our focus remains on working with leaders in Serbia to strengthen the strategic partnership between our countries, as Serbia continues to build a secure and safe future in Europe, resistant to political and economic coercion from Russia,” the State Department adds.

Earlier, the EU told VoA that “maintaining ties with Russia during its aggressive war against Ukraine is not compatible with EU values and the accession process.” The EU has been crystal clear with our partners: relations with Russia cannot be business as usual after Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war against Ukraine,” stated the EU’s press, foreign affairs, and security policy service in response to VoA.  Brussels also emphasizes that the EU wants to count on all candidate countries as reliable European partners for common principles, values, security, and prosperity.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin will meet with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on Wednesday, September 4th, the Russian presidency announced.

The forum is being held from September 3rd to 6th on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.

Serbian PM Minister Milos Vucevic stated that Vulin’s visit to Russia does not represent “anything epochal or so terrible.” “We have not severed diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, and it is not prohibited for someone to meet with representatives of the Russian Federation,” he said when asked by RFE during his visit to Novi Pazar.

Vucevic also underlined that Serbia does not encourage the war in Ukraine and does not support the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“We have voted for all the resolutions affirming Ukraine’s integrity, but we do not renounce our friendship with the Russian Federation; we have not imposed sanctions, and we have not expelled the ambassador. On the contrary, we maintain normal communication,” he noted. He also recalled that Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, as the Prime Minister of an EU and NATO member state, recently visited Moscow and met with Putin.

“If Orban is allowed to meet (with Putin), Vulin can meet with him too. I don’t see the difference,” the Serbian PM noted.

Aleksandar Vulin last visited Moscow three weeks ago, when he held talks in the Russian capital with Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to the President of the Russian Federation on foreign policy issues.

Earlier, in June, Vulin met in Moscow with Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

This was Vulin’s first official visit to Russia since being appointed Deputy PM of Serbia.