Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, said today in Pristina that the Kosovo Army will be formed very soon. “The decision-making process in the Assembly for the transformation is not as important as it is to have a range of investments in the Armed Forces, to provide the necessary arms and this is possible only through cooperation with the international community. We will make every institutional action in partnership. I have discussed this in the Pentagon too, the Army of Kosovo is reality that will be realized very soon,” he said.

A group of about 100 local Serb residents protested today in Mitrovica North against demolition of the wall erected by municipal leadership. Protesters marched towards the Iber River bridge to express their discontent with the prospect of the wall being removed. The protest ended peacefully.

"The tensions that have been created in conjunction with the wall at King Peter 1.

Three opposition parties – Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) – have called on the government of Kosovo to step down following the failure to abide by the Kosovo Assembly resolution for demolishing the wall in Mitrovica North.

In a joint statement, the opposition parties accused the government of “ignoring” the Assembly as the highest legislative institution in Kosovo. In addition, the opposition claimed that the government was pursuing the dialogue with Belgrade without any conditions and “utterly unprepared.”

Kosovo’s Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Ferat Shala, said that after carrying out all necessary technical and legal measures, his ministry has concluded that the Mitrovica North wall is illegal and as such needs to be demolished. He said that wall was unnecessary and fails to meet urban standards. Furthermore, Shala added, it sends a bad message to the citizens of Mitrovica. Shala said they are waiting for a decision from the government of Kosovo on the future course of action but stressed that the best solution would be for the wall issue to be resolved through dialogue.

Nataliya Apostolova, head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, said today that no agreement has been reached yet on the Mitrovica wall. Apostolova wrote on her Twitter account: “would be happy to have agreement on Mitrovica wall, but this is still not the case. Discussions continue & and I hope solution will be found soon”.

The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, said today that the issue of the wall would not be discussed with Belgrade authorities, because it is an internal issue of Kosovo.

Thaçi made these statements in front of the monument of Zahir Pajaziti, and added that “As a state, we are very much aware that today is the last day of the deadline deriving from the Resolution of the Assembly of Kosovo, which has to be respected with preciseness.”

North Mitrovicë/ Mitrovica Mayor Goran Rakić said that any agreement with Prishtinë/Priština delegation was not reached in relation to the supporting wall in this city, and on which demolition political representatives of Kosovo Albanians are insisting.

Rakić said in a statement that any agreement, except that both sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and unilateral actions that might jeopardize the entire process of the Brussels dialogue, was not discussed.

Head of the Vetëvednosje parliamentary group, Glauk Konjufca, said today at the Assembly session that government of Kosovo and Serbia are orchestrating spectacles, by stopping a train and not removing a wall. He added that situation in the north cannot improve by demolition of the wall or by stopping Serbian trains, but by dissolving of the parallel structures.

EEAS Spokesperson Maja Kocijančić told RTK2 that the announced opening of the bridge for the traffic, which was scheduled for January 20, will not take place.

''The EU is continuing the talks with both sides in order to find a mutually acceptable solution for all issues related to the works on the bridge in Mitrovica and in Kralja Petra I  Street and it includes a new date for re-opening, '' said the Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijančić.