Kosovo Assembly Vice President and Vetevendosje Movement MP, Aida Derguti, writes in an opinion piece that Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci is trying to blame everyone but himself on Kosovo’s failure to join UNESCO.“It is funny that when Kosovo failed to join UNESCO, Thaci said that Serbia is racist and fascist, but yet, he continues to defend the agreements reached in Brussels,” Derguti writes.  “The key topic to be addressed in this case is the relationship of Kosovo and Serbia.

Unnamed international sources told the news site today that Kosovo’s Foreign Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, is believed to be responsible for Kosovo’s failure to join the UNESCO. According to these sources, without receiving prior signals from Kosovo’s friends, Thaci tried to force his way to the post of Kosovo President by attempting to secure Kosovo’s membership of the UNESCO. “Without certain votes and without a ‘go-ahead’ from countries that support Kosovo, Hashim Thaci decided to apply for UNESCO membership.

Kosovo Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, in an opinion piece today writes that from the moment that Kosovo applied to join UNESCO, Kosovo government agreed with its allies that Kosovo’s message should be positive, focusing on concrete benefits for Kosovo people who would have better access to development programs for education, science and culture. According to Selimi, promotion campaign based on the burned mosques or old conflicts would not bring long-term benefits for Kosovo, normalization of relations and peace in the Balkans.

THERE is something supremely changeless about the daily rites of an Orthodox Christian monastery, such as the 700-year-old community of Visoki Decani on the western fringe of Kosovo, which occupies one of the most aesthetically graceful, and gloriously decorated, religious monuments in Europe. But in recent days the abbot, Sava Janjic, has been combining his liturgical duties as a Serbian Orthodox priest with another activity: using social media to explain why his community has opposed Kosovo's admission to UNESCO, the UN's cultural arm.

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said at the meeting of the government that the decision of UNESCO not to admit Kosovo as a new member does not undermine Kosovo’s statehood and that membership in international organizations remains a priority for the government. Although Kosovo did not receive enough votes to join UNESCO, Thaci said that the votes in favour of Kosovo’s membership show that "we won against Serbia.”

Political analyst Halil Matoshi in an opinion piece for the paper today writes that Kosovo's Foreign Ministry is trying desperately to present Kosovo’s failure in UNESCO as a victory. “Hashim Thaci and his team need to explain to Kosovo citizens how is it possible that 15 countries who have recognized Kosovo have not voted in favor of Kosovo's membership in this organization,” Matoshi writes.

All media cover today’s press conference by the European Parliament Vice President and Rapporteur for Kosovo, Ulrike Lunacek, who is visiting Kosovo. On the agreement for the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, Koha quotes Lunacek as saying, “if the Constitutional Court finds that the agreement on the general principles for the formation of the Association is in opposition with the Constitution of Kosovo, the agreement must be renegotiated”.

Political analyst Shkelzen Maliqi writes in an opinion piece for Klan Kosova that the voting result on Kosovo's bid to join UNESCO was disappointing, but, according to him, "when it comes to the number of votes, one might say that it was an encouraging achievement." Maliqi argues that Serbia achieved a Pyrrhic victory.

The United States Embassy in Pristina has issued a press statement regarding the yesterday’s voting at UNESCO against Kosovo’s membership. It said that although the outcome of yesterday’s vote denying Kosovo UNESCO membership was disappointing, it is neither a statement on Kosovo’s independence, nor a reflection of its position in the world.  “In fact, the U.S. Embassy in Pristina is encouraged by the 92 yes votes, which demonstrate Kosovo’s importance on the international stage.

Leaders of Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) said in a press conference today that the diplomacy of Kosovo has failed miserably in securing votes for membership in the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) and is instead blaming Serbia’s campaign for this.