LOCAL PRESS 

 

Belgrade, Pristina delegation chiefs in war of words following Brussels meeting (Tanjug)

 

Delegation chiefs from Belgrade and Pristina traded accusations for what they both said were difficult talks mediated by the European Union in Brussels on Thursday. 

 

Serbian delegation chief and head of the government’s Office for Kosovo Marko Djuric said that talks were difficult and unpleasant, adding that his delegation was forced to listen to claims that there are no problems with refugees and denials that 18,000 Serb homes were taken over by Albanians in Kosovo. He said that the expert delegations discussed missing and displaced persons and economic cooperation as well as the breach of the protected zone around the Decani monastery and the Community of Serb Municipalities. 

 

Djuric said that they also talked about the issues of the missing and displaced as well as about the economic cooperation, and he announced that the technical talks would continue before the next meeting, which would also be attended by President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. 

He said that with his statements he did not want to further aggravate the already difficult situation, but that he was “fed up with lies from Pristina”. “It is not true that at our meetings we discuss the recognition of Kosovo and that there are no usurped houses and apartments in Kosovo, nor problems due to which our people do not return there” Djuric said. 

 

“We also stressed the need for the formation of ZSO as soon as possible, emphasizing that in the past several years the Serbian people had been deprived of collective, political, economic 

and social rights, which led to the migration of some of our people to central Serbia and threatened their survival” Djuric said. Djuric added that it was very important to find out the fate of more than 500 missing Serbs, but that this was not possible until the archives of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were opened 

 

The EU special envoy for the Kosovo dialogue Miroslav Lajcak said that the meeting was not simple but was a step closer to normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina. 

 

Kosovo delegation chief and State Coordinator for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Skender Hyseni said that the Serbian delegation was not constructive. “The Serb side was not constructive and that should be stated clearly. The Serb side made an effort to reopen some parts of the comprehensive agreement which we have agreed on in principle. All this confirms concerns that I voiced that Serbia intends to withdraw and raise questions which have only one goal – delay the process and take it to something that we will not accept” he said after the meeting adding that his delegation was constructive in protecting its interests with the aim of ending the process by normalizing relations with Serbia. “Serbia must not be allowed to manipulate the process” he said. 

 

A new round of the Kosovo dialogue between top political leaders from Belgrade and Pristina is scheduled to take place early in September following their meeting in Washington on September 4. 

 

REGIONAL PRESS 

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina 

 

Dodik: RS’ status has been threatened by series of DPA violations (FTV)

Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, speaking about the meeting he had with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Wednesday, presented an opinion that they managed to agree on “many things” and he noted that the issue of key importance for the RS is the issue of its status.  

 

“The Republika Srpska (RS) status has been threatened by a series of violations of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) and the Constitution of B&H, by the High Representatives (HR), who often acted violently and who is now trying to legalize their insolence from the past.” Dodik went on to accuse the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H of “continuing to violate rather than protect the Constitution”. The B&H Presidency member disapproves the CC’s decision-making based on, as he claims, votes of foreign and Bosniak judges. “When that skunk (former HR) Paddy Ashdown was adopting or influenced adopting of the Criminal Procedure Code and when he imposed that violation of the CC’s decisions is a criminal offense, they knew that they would violate the Constitution to force everyone to respect even unconstitutional, anti-Dayton, and speculative decisions of the CC, all under the guise of causing fear from criminal sanctions. Of course, we deal with issues in a serious manner”, stated Dodik.  

 

In addition, Dodik called for dialogue in B&H and added: “All this followed after the announcement that a constitutional reform or the DPA should be opened in B&H. We interpret that in our way. That reached the US Ambassador, and those who think that we should remain silent when it comes to these initiatives and that we should not present our stances are grossly mistaken.”  

 

Dodik reiterated that the RS “would never agree to legalize past insolence and violations of the constitution” through a new constitutional package. On the other hand, Dodik announced that the RS intends to raise the question of people’s right to self-determination if the dialogue on the constitutional reform starts someday. He stressed that this does not necessarily mean secession “but the people have the right to determine the status”.  

 

Dodik was asked to provide his comment on Vucic’s reiterating of the stance that Serbia supports the RS within B&H, to which he did not provide an explicit answer but rather said: “Those in Sarajevo are trying to present the story of how we seek some support. That is not true. That was not my approach. I said it before and I will say it again – how is it possible to explain that Kosovo was given some rights that the RS, Catalonia, Basque, or others are deprived of?” Given that some politicians in Serbia find that putting Kosovo and the RS in the same context could only damage the interests of Serbia, Dodik underlined that he respects everyone in Serbia, but that it is obvious that “Sarajevo” rejoices because of such opinions in Serbia.  

 

Dodik also said that it is very important to draw the attention to the position of the RS at major events, such as Vucic’s upcoming meeting in Washington (on the occasion of the Belgrade-Pristina talks). “I hope that the international community (IC) and the US will one day be able to explain why they treat Kosovo in one way, and the RS in another” he concluded.  

 

Elaborating on his stance on changing the DPA and the Constitution of B&H, Dodik made it clear that he would only accept changes that are adopted through agreement of both sides, the RS and the Federation of B&H, and not “by the joint level” in B&H “or anyone else for that matter”. Dodik added that no new institution can be established without agreement of the two sides, although many new institutions were imposed, without agreement. Presenting his opinion on the RS opposition’s claims that Dodik provided the documents including the RS National Assembly (RSNA)’s conclusions on the RS’ status to Vucic as part of his pre-election trick, Dodik dismissed the claims, underscoring that he still has not started his pre-election campaign. He announced the intention to continue regularly informing Vucic about the RS. 

 

Dodik: Meeting in Belgrade does not violate B&H’s position and there is nothing disputable regarding this meeting (ATV)

Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Milorad Dodik stated after the session of B&H Presidency on Thursday that Wednesday’s meeting of the Republika Srpska (RS) leadership with Serbian state officials in Belgrade was not discussed at the session because there was no need to discuss this topic. According to Dodik, the meeting in Belgrade does not violate B&H’s position and there is nothing disputable regarding this meeting. He stressed that he cannot understand why political Sarajevo is so upset about the meeting given that he has never commented meetings of B&H officials with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “although Turkish influence in B&H is evident.” “I can say that this was a serious and successful meeting full of understanding and exchange of various information. The meeting does not undermine the position of other peoples in B&H” Dodik stated. 

 

Dzaferovic and Vucic enter verbal dispute over Belgrade meeting of RS and Serbian officials (ATV)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency member Sefik Dzaferovic conveyed a message for Serbian President Aleksadar Vucic after the Belgrade meeting on Wednesday evening. Dzaferovic commented that Vucic’s statement given after the meeting on respecting the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) was his usual message, but that his statement is followed by behavior and actions that are quite different.  

 

Reacting to Dzaferovic statement, Vucic said that Serbia respects the DPA, but no one will tell Serbia what to do because Serbia is not and will never be a stump or a servant of SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic or Dzaferovic. “People who look for a reason to start conflict with someone every day and threaten with war as they think they have full moral right to do that actually speak more about themselves than about Serbia or any of us” Vucic stressed.  

 

Dzaferovic said for media: “I did not get answers to the concrete questions I asked. And, today I ask again. Is it in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), and Vucic says he respects the DPA, that Serbia includes in its strategy of defenses and security policy a part of B&H called B&H entity RS?”. According to Dzaferovic, the position of Serbia is not disputable, but its actions are.  

 

Vucic said: “Serbia has been respecting the Dayton Agreement all this time and it will always lead a policy of peace and stability; but it will never be a servant of (SDA leader) Bakir Izetbegovic or Sefik Dzaferovic, nor will they be able to tell Serbia what it should do”.  

 

Dzaferovic told the reporters that nobody is asking Serbia to be anyone’s servant but to only realize that it cannot meddle in matters of other countries. We all have our countries and we should turn to solving problems in our own countries, Dzaferovic concluded. 

 

Dodik announces invoking of mechanism of protection of vital interest of entity in regards to decision concerning cooperation memorandum between B&H CEC and IFES (BN TV)

Commented that outvoting took place again at a session of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) held on Thursday. Member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik announced that he will invoke mechanism of protection of vital entity interest in regards to the decision of the Presidency approving the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H to sign a cooperation memorandum with the US-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).  

 

Dodik claims that this memorandum enables foreign agencies to encroach sovereignty of electoral process in B&H, adding that this is why he will launch mechanism of protection of vital interest of the entity. Dodik stressed that he will request all political parties that participate in decision-making process in the RS National Assembly (RSNA) to deliver their opinion on the memorandum and say whether they are prepared to support protection of vital interest of the RS. “If I get support of majority, I will launch it within 72 hours”, underlined Dodik. He added that if political parties in the RSNA do not support it, the abovementioned decision of the Presidency of B&H will be considered adopted. Dodik added that long-term consequences of it will be visible later. He explained that the cooperation memorandum enables IFES to deal with cyber security of election process, financing of political parties and lists of voters. “This is very difficult to accept”, emphasized the member of the B&H Presidency from the rank of Serb people.  

 

Reporter noted that other two members of the Presidency deem that assistance of the IFES is not disputable. Chair of the Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic explained that he believes that Dodik unnecessarily voted against the decision concerning the cooperation memorandum. He added that everyone wants to see true will of citizens expressed through election process, adding that assistance of IFES would contribute to it. Dzaferovic underlined that he sees nothing disputable about this engagement, as the agencies would not pass any direct decisions but rather only provide help to the election commission staff of B&H.  

 

Session of Joint Commission about unacceptable interference in election processes in Montenegro, scheduled for September 2 (Dnevni avaz)

Session of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Parliament’s Joint Commission on Supervision of the work of Intelligence and Security Agency of B&H to discuss the unacceptable interfering in election process in Montenegro, will take place on September 2.  

 

A couple of days ago, SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic sent a letter to Commission Chairman Nermin Niksic asking for urgent interviewing of the B&H OSA Director because of B&H’s interferences in election process in the neighboring country. Daily learns that this item was included into the agenda of the Commission, after “a marginal person, who is a produce of para-intelligence center from Sarajevo” gave interviews to certain media and presented series of unacceptable insults against Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic “from the positions of strengthening of Russian influence in the region”. In the meantime, daily learns several thousand emails were sent to addresses on Federation of B&H institutions, containing several texts of similar content, slandering Djukanovic.  

 

Article reads that Commission should also discuss the issue of appointing of OSA Director and it is still unknown whether they will discuss the issue of validity of diplomas of the current OSA Director Osman Mehmedagic. 

 

Croatia 

 

Croatia’s defense and foreign ministers attend meetings in Berlin (HRT)

 

On Thursday Berlin hosted a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers and a separate meeting of EU Defense Ministers. On the margins the 7th meeting of the Framework Nations Concept was also attended by the ministers from the 21 states participating in the initiative. EU Foreign Ministers met in Berlin on Thursday, where among other issues, they discussed the geo-political impact of the coronavirus and recent tensions between Greece and Turkey over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. 

 

"All member states expressed their solidarity with Greece and Cyprus, while striving to resolve the existing tensions, at the same time we have not lost sight of the fact that Turkey is an important partner in NATO and candidate for EU membership, and we will definitely try to find a solution that will be acceptable to all sides," Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said after the meeting. 

 

Meanwhile, EU Defense Ministers were also in Berlin, where they held an informal meeting. Simultaneously, the 7th meeting of Defense Ministers from countries participating in the Framework Nations Concept, initiated by Germany at a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in 2013, was also held. The focus of discussion was on defense policy and the coronavirus. Representing Croatia at both meetings was Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic. 

 

"Yesterday and today were an opportunity for me to talk with my fellow ministers from EU member states, as well as NATO representatives with regard to the impact COVID-19 has had on the EU's security and defense policy, the effect of our activities to date, but also future plans, in what way EU countries will position themselves with regard to defense policy and the effect Covid-19 has had on the budgets of EU member states" Minister Banozic said. 

 

Montenegro 

 

Montenegrin politician Radunovic expects RS authorities to react against voters with dual Montenegrin citizenship who will vote in Montenegrin election (CDM)

Member of Montenegrin Parliament Slaven Radunovic (Democratic Front) stated that his party will inform Republika Srpska (RS) authorities about the problem of “phantom voters” from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), because it is pointless to expect some kind of reaction from Federation of B&H authorities.  

 

Namely, some 1,000 B&H citizens have dual Montenegrin citizens and they vote in Montenegrin elections. He emphasized that these persons use the right to vote based on their place of residence registered in Montenegro, although they also have a place of residence registered in B&H, which is not legal. Radunovic announced that his party will also inform RS authorities about names of B&H citizens who attempt to vote in Montenegrin election, and that they will try to prevent entrance to polling stations of voters from B&H.  

 

Lead candidate of Montenegrin opposition coalition ‘For Future of Montenegro’ Zdravko Krivokapic spoke about the upcoming elections in Montenegro which he describes as historical because they provide the opportunity to get rid of “three decades-long dictatorship”. He also spoke about the conflict between Montenegrin authorities and Serb Orthodox Church. Krivokapic emphasized that votes of citizens with dual citizenship who do not live in Montenegro, as well as control of the ruling DPS over all state institutions can have a great impact on election process and results. 

 

Large crowd gathers at main church in Montenegrin capital (Vijesti)

 

A large crowd gathered in front of the Church of Christ’s Ascension in the Montenegrin capital on Thursday evening marching through the streets to continue the months of protests over the law on freedom of confession which critics claim will allow the seizure of temples and properties from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The crowd shouted slogans against President Milo Djukanovic along with shouts of We won’t give up holy sites and Kosovo is Serbia.   

Podgorica daily Vijesti reported that the crowd were not wearing face masks which are mandatory across the country for anyone over the age of seven both indoors and outdoors. The daily said that its reporters were told that the crowd were there spontaneously. Under existing regulations, groups of more than 40 people are banned outdoors and of more than 20 people indoors. Montenegrins are going to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament. 

 

Republic of North Macedonia 

 

Spasovski: No need for any transitional or technical government as institutions have sufficient capacity (MIA)

 

There is no need for any transitional or technical government, since I believe that these institutions have sufficient capacity to respond to citizens’ needs and to enable them to make a free decision, PM Oliver Spasovski told Thursday at the final press conference as caretaker prime minister. 

 

Asked that he is probably the last caretaker prime minister, Spasovski said that the model of forming a government according to the Przino agreement was agreed in conditions during the rule of authoritarian regime. 

 

“Now the circumstances are completely different. Both local and presidential elections as well as referendum were conducted which were held in free, fair and democratic atmosphere. In this regard, the faster the technical government is abandoned, the sooner the institutions will become more democratic, and people will have more trust in institutions and the country will be more democratic” Spasovski added. 

 

He underlined that nothing is the same since 2016 when the country was labelled captive state, and that now the level of political entities is higher and the citizens’ awareness levels are higher. “Every democratically elected government that will stand for the principles of freedom, democracy, solidarity, progress, responsibility, honesty will be able to organize fair and democratic elections at any time thus enabling to bring European values home” he said. 

 

Asked whether the new government ministers could meet Pendarovski’s expectations of seeing qualified people with pro-European capacities and clean anti-corruption records, Spasovski said he was confident in the capacity of the proposed cabinet members. “I’m convinced that persons nominated for ministers are socially responsible, experts and competent persons that will be committed to the European perspectives, to strengthen Macedonia economically and to continue building it in all fields” Spasovski said. 

 

VMRO-DPMNE won’t nominate Parliament Vice-Speaker (MIA)

VMRO-DPMNE will not put forward a candidate for one of the posts of Parliament Vice-Speaker, the party’s Secretary General Igor Janushev told Sitel TV on Thursday evening. “We made our position clear in Parliament – five Vice-Speakers is too many and presents an unnecessary expense” Janushev said. 

 

Asked whether VMRO-DPMNE will participate in the Parliament session during which the new government line-up will be discussed he noted that his party is opposed to SDSM and Zaev’s bad policies, adding that cabinet candidates are old guard. “We stand against everything SDSM is trying to do to the country. Zaev said that these are the best candidates SDSM has, but they have made no major changes to the previous line-up. It’s the same people, members of the criminal band that destroyed the country” Janushev noted. 

 

EC expects new government in North Macedonia to respect EU engagement (MIA)

The European Commission is looking forward to working with the new government in North Macedonia and to remain committed to the EU agenda, EC spokesperson said during daily briefing on Thursday. 

 

When asked by a journalist whether the EC will publish the annual progress report on North Macedonia and whether the country will open EU membership negotiations, EC spokesperson failed to give a precise answer. “Concerning the new government in North Macedonia we are looking forward to working with it and to follow with the new government on strategic objective for the European integration and to respond to that. We will also continue to engage with the new government and question on fighting the coronavirus pandemic” EC spokesperson said. 

 

The EC also expects that the new authorities will respect the engagement vis-à-vis the European Union and to further support the reforms which are expected from the country especially to the question that relies to the European law. 

 

Pendarovski expects new government to fully implement EU agenda (MIA)

President Stevo Pendarovski addressed Thursday the webinar focused on “The Geopolitical Confluences in the Western Balkans in the Midst of the Corona virus Crisis: Euro-Atlantic Perspective.” The event was sponsored by Alumni Programs, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the North Macedonia Marshall Center Alumni Association and the NATO Public Diplomacy Division. 

 

Pendarovski said Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the entire world and caused a huge negative impact. He also pointed out the pressure on our healthcare system, adding that “it was also huge, but fortunately we did not reach the upper limits of healthcare capacity and managed to avoid the collapse of the national system,” Pendarovski’s office said in a press release. He referred to disinformation and hybrid campaigns related to Covid-19 and their abuse. In an “ocean of bad news”, he added that the good news was that we became member state of NATO in March, which is clearly a key strategic step forward that North Macedonia has made in its entire post-communist history. “This enabled us to use NATO coordination mechanisms and official bilateral relations with other member states to better prepare for the disinformation campaign that intensified as we entered the pre-election period” he noted.  

 

Addressing the challenges facing the region, as well as the EU in the coronavirus crisis conditions, he said that the region needs to have a European perspective. He voiced expectation that progress will be made in the EU accession process this autumn. Referring to election of new government, he underlined that the new government should fully implement the EU agenda in key areas. “The essential precondition for success is to pick up the most qualified people, regardless of their political or ethnic background. I expect to see people with strong pro-European and democratic capacities, with clean anti-corruption records” Pendarovski said. He noted that the lack of an EU perspective always encourages alternative political agendas and we saw many such examples during the pandemic. 

 

Albania 

 

PM Rama calls on the Albanian community in Montenegro to vote for the Albanian list (Radio Tirana)

Three days before the elections in Montenegro, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama addressed a video message to his compatriots to vote for the Albanian List to strengthen the strategic partnership with President Djukanovic. “Brothers and sisters, get involved, get involved, get involved and on Sunday leave home to support the Albanian List and defend and strengthen the strategic partnership with President Djukanovic, for a pro-Western and democratic Montenegro,” calls the Prime Minister of Albania. Pm Rama says that he knows that his compatriots are full of criticism for the ruling party there and for its leader, “if you continue to criticize and meanwhile have the opportunity to achieve even more, vote for the Albanian List!” declared Rama.