Albanian Language Media: 

• Kurti: We have proof Serbia directly interfered on February 9 elections (RFE)

• Kurti waits for certification of results; Haradinaj: Opposition has majority (Koha)

• Osmani meets the Albanian-American Relations Council (RTK)

• EU: With its behavior at CoE, Serbia is violating agreement with Kosovo (Koha)

• Osmani: We stand in full solidarity with people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic: Kurti is hurt by the strength and political support that Vucic and the Serbian List enjoy (Kosovo Online, RTS, KoSSev)
• Rasic: Vucic exploits the Serbs in Kosovo for personal interests (KiM radio, RTK)
• Serbian List: Kurti spread brutal lies and confirmed that Rasic is under his control (Kosovo Online)
• Jevtic: Kurti and the CEC using political engineering to secure a seat for Rasic (RTS, Kosovo Online)
• Protest in North Mitrovica over alleged police mistreatment of minors (KoSSev, RTS)

Albanian Language Media 

Kurti: We have proof Serbia directly interfered on February 9 elections (RFE)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of directly interfering on the February 9 parliamentary elections in Kosovo and affecting the election of MPs from Serb and other communities. “Serbia’s state apparatus tried hard to damage rival Serb parties, especially the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, and the Serbian Democracy Party, as well as voters of parties of other communities, mainly Roma and Ashkali,” he argued.

The Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival is led by Nenad Rasic, a minister in Kurti’s government, who was appointed after the Serbian List withdrew from Kosovo’s institutions. 

Rasic who spoke with Kurti at the press conference said that Serbian authorities were using Kosovo Serbs as a mechanism for management but also as an element for destructiveness. “They don’t want us to have full integration and a harmonious life in Kosovo, but exactly the opposite,” he said.

Kurti said that certain representatives from almost all other Serb political parties withdrew from the election race after receiving threats. He said that such cases were recorded in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo but also in the other six Serb municipalities in the south. “In most these cases, our institutions have proof which for the sake of the privacy and security of Serb citizens cannot be made public,” he said.

Kurti waits for certification of results; Haradinaj: Opposition has majority (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said last Friday that he will wait for the certification of results from the February 9 parliamentary elections, before he tries to form a new government. “The certification of results first,” he told reporters. 

Opposition parties too are waiting for the certification of results. Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said that there is communication among the opposition parties and that they can form the new government. “There is communication. There is no concrete advancement, but I believe there is readiness to move forward. I believe that it is up to us as the opposition to come together and to form a government by the opposition,” he argued.

Osmani meets the Albanian-American Relations Council (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met in Pristina with the Albanian-American Relations Council, whose representatives highlighted the need for Kosovo to quickly form a new government which would have to review Kosovo’s relations with the United States of America. Martin Vulaj, president of the Albanian-American Relations Council, said although the strategic partnership remains strong, the relations have visibly worsened in the last couple of years leaving Kosovo more isolated. He said that changes in the approach of the new U.S. administration and strategic interests all over the world make even more pressing the need for Kosovo to properly position itself. He expressed appreciation for Osmani’s constructive role in safeguarding the strong strategic alliance. Osmani thanked the AARC for their engagement and highlighted the importance of good relations with the U.S., saying that there would be no Kosovo without the U.S. She reiterated her full commitment to meet constitutional obligations in support of forming the new government and welcomed the partnership with the AARC to strength relations between Kosovo and the U.S.

EU: With its behavior at CoE, Serbia is violating agreement with Kosovo (Koha)

A spokesperson for the European Union said that with its behavior at the Council of Europe, Serbia was clearly violating the agreement with Kosovo on the path toward the normalization of relations. The spokesperson was responding to questions by journalists about Serbia’s claims that they managed to remove from the agenda Kosovo’s request for special guest status at the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “Serbia’s behavior at the Council of Europe is a clear violation of the Ohrid agreement,” the EU spokesperson said, adding that point 4 of the agreement speaks of not obstructing Kosovo’s membership in international organizations. 

Osmani: We stand in full solidarity with people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that Kosovo joins U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement who said that “the actions of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik are undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions and threatening its security and stability”. Osmani said: “We join Secretary Rubio’s statement and stand in full solidarity with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reaffirming our unwavering support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also strongly condemn any action that undermines the foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it threatens the peace and stability our region has worked tirelessly to achieve—through decades of sacrifice and with steadfast American support. U.S. engagement remains paramount in ensuring our region moves toward lasting stability and peace, as well as a Euro-Atlantic future. We are committed to working closely with the United States to achieve this goal”.

Serbian Language Media  

Petkovic: Kurti is hurt by the strength and political support that Vucic and the Serbian List enjoy (Kosovo Online, RTS, KoSSev)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated that Albin Kurti spread a series of notorious lies and manipulations yesterday regarding Serbia’s alleged interference in the elections in Kosovo, which only confirms that he is the direct sponsor of Nenad Rasic and that he is desperate over the victory of the Serbian List and the support of the Serbian people.

"Albin Kurti today presented a series of blatant lies, spins, and manipulations while simultaneously admitting the true goal of his political actions and today’s press conference by stating: ‘I hope that after these protests, Vucic will finally leave power and our lives…’," Petkovic said in a statement.

It is clear, he added, what troubles Kurti—the strength and political support that Aleksandar Vucic enjoys among the people and the backing of the Serb List, which he tried to ban and destroy, but both of these attempts failed miserably.

"That is why Kurti is visibly nervous and holding emergency press conferences with Rasic, because he knows that just as the Serb List defeated all those who wish to weaken the Serbs and Serbia with the votes of the Serbian people, President Aleksandar Vucic and the majority of Serbia will not allow a color revolution to succeed or those who hate Serbia to win," Petkovic added.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2wnknrvv

Rasic: Vucic exploits the Serbs in Kosovo for personal interests (KiM radio, RTK)

The Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rasic, stated that the government in Serbia, headed by President Aleksandar Vucic, is using Serbs from Kosovo for personal interests.

Rasic made this statement at the press conference he held together with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

"One radical autochthonous government, made up of people without scruples, who are liars and manipulators, want to use the Serbs from Kosovo for their personal interests. This means that they use them as a control mechanism, which is sometimes used as an element of destructiveness, rather than constructiveness. They don't want us to have complete integration or a harmonious life in Kosovo, but the exact opposite," said Rasic. 

According to him, what is happening in Serbia really reflects the huge revolt felt by the citizens, whether they are students, high school students or ordinary citizens.

"What is happening is, as I would call it, a natural sequence of circumstances for the government in Belgrade, which will eventually lead to that government, that regime headed by Vucic, disappearing from our lives, because they caused the greatest damage and right now they are causing damage to the Serbs from Kosovo, whom they constantly mention like they are defending them," Rasic said.

Serbian List: Kurti spread brutal lies and confirmed that Rasic is under his control (Kosovo Online)

The Serbian List stated that Albin Kurti has confirmed that Nenad Rasic is under his direct control and that the mandate intended for the Serbian people was taken from Serbs with Albanian votes.

"Today, Kurti, alongside his protégé and favorite, Nenad Rasic, a former Serb, spread brutal lies at a press conference and confirmed what we all know—that his pawn, Nenad Rasic, is directly under his control, that the mandate meant for the Serbian people was stolen from Serbs with Albanian votes, and that he handed that mandate over to Kurti. He also revealed his disappointment that his plan to expel all Serbs did not succeed," the SL stated.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4j2xwhj9

Jevtic: Kurti and the CEC using political engineering to secure a seat for Rasic (RTS, Kosovo Online)

The Mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, stated that the CEC is attempting to secure a parliamentary seat for Nenad Rasic within the Serbian community through political engineering, something the SL had warned about.

"We have a situation where the Serbian List won all 10 guaranteed Serbian seats in the Kosovo Assembly through Serbian votes. We spoke about this on election night as we were receiving preliminary results from polling stations where Serbs voted. Based on those results, it was clear that we had secured 10 mandates. However, during the vote-counting process, Kurti managed to insert his protege into parliament, giving him a seat thanks to Albanian votes from Melisevo, Glogovac, Djakovica, and most notably Prizren, where Rasic received 157 votes, not from Serbs, but from Albanians," Jevtic told RTS.

He added that it is clear the votes Rasic received were not Serbian.

"To illustrate, in Prizren, the Serbian List received votes from the village of Musljikovo, where Serbs live. However, in the part of Prizren where Albanians reside, Rasic received votes. In rural Prizren, 74 Bosnians and Albanians voted for him, and in an exclusively Albanian neighborhood, he got 83 votes. In total, he received 421 Albanian votes, which allowed him to enter the Assembly. It is evident that Rasic was not elected by Serbs but by Albanians. Kurti, through the CEC and by directing these Albanian votes, ensured that Rasic received those 400 votes, as without them, he would not have secured a seat in parliament," Jevtic emphasized.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/9thex3hf

Protest in North Mitrovica over alleged police mistreatment of minors (KoSSev, RTS)

A group of citizens, led by parents who accused the Kosovo Police of mistreating their children during their detention on Thursday, staged a protest march on Saturday in North Mitrovica. The demonstrators began their march from the police station, blowing whistles, before concluding the protest at the end of the city promenade. There, they engaged in discussions with KFOR representatives, urging them to provide security amid concerns over police conduct.

The protest follows an incident on Thursday night when Kosovo Police detained six minors—three Serbs, one Bosniak, and two Albanians—allegedly over a dispute. Three Serbian minors, aged around 14, were released shortly after being taken into custody, as their arrest was deemed a mistake. The remaining three were later freed as well.

One of the detained minors, a Bosniak, claimed that he was subjected to mistreatment while in police custody. However, senior officials from the North Kosovo Police have stated that they are unaware of any police misconduct.

A March for Justice and Security

The protest march was announced the night before by a group of concerned parents, who insisted that their children had been subjected to police brutality. They gathered outside the police station at around 11:00 AM.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yc5ajd38