Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo from the Serbian List, Slavko Simic and head of the Serbian List caucus, Sasa Milosavjevic, met today with the Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson.
Simic stressed the importance of creation of Association of the Serb-majority Municipalities as well as implementation of all the agreements achieved in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue.
The German Ambassador to Kosovo, Christian Heldt, said that Kosovo has to establish the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, that would enable integration of the Serb community. On the other hand, he added, Serbia should implement the agreements reached with Kosovo during the dialogue mediated by the EU.
Creation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities is part of the agreement for the improvement of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, signed in April 2013.
The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said that today’s meeting with the Vice-President of the United States of America, Mike Pence, will mark a new phase of the bilateral relations.
The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said he agreed with the statement of the EU Special Representative Nataliya Apostolova who criticized the Kosovo Assembly for being slow in scheduling the next session. “Assembly should get to work as soon as possible to serve the people of Kosovo. Real problems need solutions now,” Delawie tweeted.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, has reacted to the statement by the “Russian Humanitarian Mission” NGO that it will support Kosovo Serbs saying the organisation’s true objective is to stretch Russian influence in the region.
The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) think tank issued a statement warning that even four months of general elections and numerous obstacles, the Assembly of Kosovo is not yet fully functional. KDI said that apart from assigning parliamentary committees, political parties have yet to propose names of MPs that would chair them or take part in them. “Establishment of parliamentary committees as Assembly’s working bodies, is a prerequisite to the functioning of this institution,” KDI said.
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, met in New York Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Sir Louis Straker and said Kosovo has managed to consolidate its international status and is gradually becoming fully integrated into the international community. “Our country has been recognised by 114 sovereign countries and is a member of more than 60 organisations,” said Thaci adding that Kosovo would be interested in establishing diplomatic relations with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa, said that a government led by “creators of isolation” and “dictated by the Serbian List” should be short-lived. In a meeting with the party’s candidates running in upcoming local elections, Mustafa said LDK kept its promise of not entering a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and expressed belief its candidates will present the best offer come October’s elections.
Head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Alternativa coalition, Avdullah Hoti, said that it is unfortunate for Kosovo that the Assembly cannot be constituted due to the low bargaining. “It is an unfortunate day for the country, knowing that this coalition was reached with Belgrade’s approval,” Hoti said after the chairman of today’s session, Adem Mikullovci decided to postpone the session due to the absence of MPs from the PAN and AKR.
Blerim Rama, from the Anti-terrorism Department at Kosovo Police, said that the number of Kosovo people who are joining the wars in Syria and Iraq, has decreased significantly during the last months. He made these comments during the presentation of a report on extremism and radicalism in Kosovo, organized by portal Fol Tash (Speak Now).