Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports, Rexhep Hoti, said today that talks between Pristina and Belgrade should not continue without the approval of the opposition majority in Kosovo. In a Facebook post, Hoti advised Kadri Veseli, the recently-elected president of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) to involve personalities from the civil society and the media in the process of talks with Belgrade.

Minister of Interior Affairs, Skender Hyseni, called on Kosovo Serbs today to get Kosovo’s biometric passports in order to be able to travel visa free in the Schengen Zone after Kosovo gets visa liberalization. “After all this is a travel document and there is no technical or political obstacle for the Serb citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to be equipped with biometric passports. They need to get the biometric passports of the Republic of Kosovo,” Hyseni told Radio Free Europe.

Member of the Kosovo Assembly, Ilir Deda, in a press conference today announced he was officially leaving the Vetevendosje Movement. He said the decision came due to conceptual differences with Vetevendosje over the last nine months. According to Telegrafi, Deda plans to form a new political party which is expected to gather a number of public personalities.

The Association of Kosovo Journalists (AKJ) has reacted against a ban imposed by the head of the Kosovo Medicines Agency Jeton Shala on Koha Ditore journalist from following the visit of Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa to the Agency offices today. AKJ considers such a ban to be unacceptable and unlawful in a democratic country. It also called for the decision's immediate revocation.

Kosovo’s acting-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, commenting on Serbian nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj statements that he might visit Kosovo soon, said that Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared Seselj as persona non grata, and that now it is up to the prosecution not to allow Seselj to enter Kosovo’s territory.

Upon being sworn in as the new President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci said he would serve the interests of the citizens of Kosovo and be a unifying factor. He also pledged to uphold the Constitution of Kosovo.“Being president of a country is great honour and responsibility and I pledge to work in close communication with you,” Thaci told Kosovo MPs. “The goal and the vision of Kosovo citizens in integration in EU and NATO and permanent friendship with the US,” he said further adding that Kosovo will remain an active part of anti-terrorism bloc.

On the International Day for Mine Awareness, victims of mines and explosive devices in Kosovo said they do not yet enjoy adequate institutional care. Arben Takolli from a village near Suhareka, who lost his father and sister in a mine accident and still himself bears the consequences of the blast, said that he is not happy with the support he has received from relevant institutions. Takolli, along with a group of other mine victims, protested yesterday in front of the Kosovo Government demanding better treatment.

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, told the news site the opposition is discussing the possibility of going to parliamentary elections with a joint list, but added that the AAK is also preparing to enter elections alone. Haradinaj stressed that the protest scheduled for 26 March which was later canceled, should be held, because it was the will of the citizens. "Soon we will invite citizens for the next protest,” he said. According to Haradinaj, boycotting the Assembly was another form of opposing the government.

Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa and Interior Minister Skender Hyseni said in a meeting today that the security situation in Kosovo is satisfactory. Mustafa said that thanks to coordinated efforts by security institutions in Kosovo, the number of the Kosovo citizens that decide to join terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq has significantly dropped, with no such case being reported in the last eight months.  Hyseni said Kosovo is proud of its commitment to the fight against terrorism.

The Serbian List MP, Nenad Rasic, said today he was surprised by recent statement of the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa that there will be no municipality of Prilluzhe. Rasic said the Serbian List has not submitted the request to the government of Kosovo for the formation of a new Serb-majority municipality of Prilluzhe. “We didn’t submit the request, so I don’t know how the government could have rejected it without analysis and reasoning,” Rasic said.