UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 8, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

PM Kurti for RFE: Situation in north could have escalated into armed conflict
PM Kurti interview with La Repubblica
Joseph: Open Balkan undermines the Berlin Process (Deutsche Welle)
Turkish President Erdogan to visit Balkans next month (Klan Kosova)
Two deaths and 331 new cases with COVID-19 in last 24 hours (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Pristina claims licence plates not topic of 18 August meeting, Escobar, journalists think otherwise (KoSSev)
I expect Brussels meeting to be constructive, Brnabic tells Hill (Tanjug)
Peoples’ Party (NS) demands extraordinary Parliament session on Kosovo (KoSSev)
Russian journalist declared ‘persona non grata’, banned from visiting Kosovo (KoSSev, Kosovo Online)
Serbian List: Do not fall for Pristina’s provocations (RTS)
Rohde responds to Petkovic (Kosovo Online)
Insulting graffiti and swear-words written in Donja Brnjica (Radio KIM)
State Secretary Starovic: Kurti’s behaviour pattern unlikely to change (N1)
Selakovic attends inauguration of new Colombian President (N1)
Global Firepower: Serbia ranks 61 on Global Firepower index (N1)
Brnabic: SNS consultations on PM designate, gov't to begin on Monday (N1)

International:

‘Spying’ Russian Journalist Rejected by Kosovo Back in Serbia (BIRN)
'It's a privilege to represent my country': Dua Lipa is made an Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo by President Vjosa Osmani (Daily Mail)
Wild east: five Balkan countries to discover for your next holiday (The Guardian)
Bangs for Bucks: Serbian Arms Dealer Makes Mockery of US Sanctions – Again (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

Broken dreams’ of Murdered Women Become Mural in Prishtina (Prishtina Insight)
Joksimovic: EU approves 223.7 million Euro grant for projects in Serbia (N1)
Saudi Arabia approves meat, milk imports from Serbia (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media

PM Kurti for RFE: Situation in north could have escalated into armed conflict

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe today that on July 31, in the northern municipalities of Kosovo, there was a risk of the situation escalating into an armed conflict.

Kurti said that the roadblocks in the north, which were set up in opposition to the decision on licence plates and entry documents for Serbian nationals, were positioned in a way that allowed for shots to be fired at vehicles and people crossing through that area.

Kurti said he will not discuss the decisions on licence plates and entry documents at the meeting he will have with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on August 18 in Brussels. He argued that in order to avoid a situation where the July 31 tensions could be repeated on September 1, international factors must oppose Belgrade and its destructive policy vis-à-vis Kosovo. “We will do everything in our power to avoid them [the events of July 31] but it certainly depends on how much the international factors will manage to oppose Belgrade in its destructive approach toward our country, our constitutional order and the freedom and security of our citizens,” he said.

Asked about the agenda of the meeting in Brussels, Kurti said that there is no official information about the agenda, “but what we have exchanged with [EU High Representative] Borrell is that we should aim for a dialogue for an agreement, not dialogue for dialogue, an agreement that should be legally-binding, which achieves full normalisation and is centred on mutual recognition”. “In this respect, I am interested to discuss on August 18 about the comprising elements of the overall framework of the agreement that we want to achieve through the dialogue,” he said.

Kurti said he has doubts about infiltrations from Russia because, in his opinion, the Kremlin wants to use Serbia as a platform to destabilise the Balkans, and in particular to attack Kosovo. Asked about the Russian national that was stopped and declared persona non grata in Kosovo and if her intentions in Kosovo are known, Kurti said: “there is no doubt that she did not have good intentions. Those that interviewed her, came to this conclusion. This is a person that is well known in many countries of Eastern Europe for her destructive activity in the service of the Kremlin. It is no coincidence that she tried to enter Kosovo through the border crossing in the north. So she was in Serbia where she was probably welcomed and from there she tried to enter Kosovo and our authorities stopped her and then expelled her. It is no surprise that she came from Serbia because Russia wants to use Serbia as a platform to destabilise the Balkans and in particular to attack Kosovo, which is a success story of the NATO intervention to stop Serbia’s genocide in the spring of 1999 and a success story of economic development and a qualitative democracy.”

As per the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Kurti said organisations are needed that bring municipalities with geographical or economic features, but not ethnic-based organisations.

Asked if he still believes that a final settlement with Serbia can be reached during his term in office, Kurti said: “I think that within this mandate there are the possibilities, the readiness and the interest to reach a legally-binding agreement for the full normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, centred on mutual recognition. The being of Kosovo is in order, we are an independent, sovereign, and democratic state. What is not in order is our relationship with Serbia. This is an abnormal relationship, and it needs to be normalised”.

PM Kurti interview with La Repubblica

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with La Repubblica that the recent road blockades in the north of Kosovo were not spontaneous and that they were organised by Belgrade and supported by Russia. “Converting the licence plates introduced by Milosevic is a decision of my government. They [the Serbs] have two months. The same goes for the documents: on Sunday, for the few hours that the decision was in force, at the two border crossings [with Serbia] which remained open, 2,679 documents were issued without any incidents. This is why the barricades [in the north] had to be set up: the protest did not come spontaneously from the bottom, but it was organised by Belgrade and supported by Russia. Serbs have 48 bases in Kosovo,” Kurti is quoted as saying.

Kurti also said there is a risk for conflict in Kosovo following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. “I don’t want to say that [the risk] is very high, because we have the NATO contingent here, but it is high. We are a democracy that is neighbored by an autocracy after all. Before the invasion of Ukraine, chances were slim, but the situation has now changed,” he argued.

Serbian Language Media

Pristina claims licence plates not topic of 18 August meeting, Escobar, journalists think otherwise (KoSSev)

Ahead of the meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti due on August 18 in Brussels, Pristina sends messages that its decisions on Serbian ID cards and licence plates will not be the topics of discussion at this meeting, KoSSev portal reports.

However, journalists covering Belgrade-Pristina dialogue think otherwise. According to them, it is a time for high diplomacy and not the crisis. The portal recalled that two days ago US Envoy for Western Balkan Gabriel Escobar also said there will be discussion about licence plates.

"It is true that the Brussels Agreement provided some kind of guidance for freedom of movement. These instructions should first of all ensure that a road map for progress is reached, but all other agreements should also give it an outline (solutions). The current sticker regime, I emphasise again, was temporary, time-limited, to be replaced by a permanent solution. I really think that this permanent solution should not be something that will significantly change the lives of people in the north of Kosovo", Escobar told reporters on Friday.

"It is a simple fact that vehicles operating in Kosovo should be registered and operate according to the laws of their country. When I say that, they should be provided with the possibility of freedom of movement, not only in Kosovo, not only between Kosovo and Serbia, but also in the region and the EU", he added.

He also saw the decision of Pristina to postpone the decision on licence plates by one month not as “a simple postponement”, but rather as “a possibility to find a lasting solution for regional integration and stability”.

Klan Kosova journalist Besnik Tahiri who has been following the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue for years recalled that the EU said the topic of the next meeting would be to go “further on the road in the dialogue". According to him this road further to the dialogue leads to reciprocity measures.

“Also, the security situation between Kosovo and Serbia will be discussed in Brussels on August 18. Both Americans and Europeans think that it is time for high diplomacy and not for some kind of crisis".

Tahiri recalled Escobar's remarks that the Balkan is destabilised by factors in the Balkan themselves, rather than Russia, and that behind the crisis in the northern Kosovo on Sunday were "certain factors and politicians" who are "promoting themselves", as well as that Escobar expressed expectations for finding an agreed decisions on these topics at the next meeting. Tahiri interpreted Escobar's words in a manner that Escobar said Friday “he is sure” there will be some solution to the challenges and that, “in addition to Russia, some people and politicians from the region are needed to destabilise the Balkans."

Belgrade-based N1 journalist, Sanja Sovrlic, originally from Leposavic said she expects licence plates will be discussed on August 18. According to her, if this topic is not on the negotiation agenda, then a new crisis will occur.

“Unless they show willingness to return this topic to the negotiation table, then we again may expect uncertainty in northern Kosovo at the end of the month, as September 1 is approaching”, she said. She also opined the security situation in northern Kosovo should also be discussed given that residents of those four municipalities suffer the hardest consequences in this regard.

I expect Brussels meeting to be constructive, Brnabic tells Hill (Tanjug)

At Friday's meeting with US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill, outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said she expected an August 18 Brussels meeting of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, to be constructive, and noted that maintaining peace in the region was one of Serbia's priorities, Tanjug news agency reports.

Hill reiterated that continued dialogue was the only path to resolving open issues, and noted that the US strongly supported the EU-facilitated dialogue.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Brnabic said she was confident the August 18 meeting in Brussels would be "constructive, in particular in light of the present situation and unilateral moves by Pristina", the government press office said in a statement.

She said maintaining peace and stability in the region was one of the key priorities and that Serbia remained committed to investing additional efforts with the aim of developing regional relations in all areas.

Serbia is firmly supporting regional cooperation also through the Open Balkan initiative, which has proved to be an efficient framework for solving issues that are significant to our citizens, Brnabic said.

The parties said there was great potential for cooperation in the energy sector, in particular when it comes to projects concerning renewable energy sources.

Peoples’ Party (NS) demands extraordinary Parliament session on Kosovo (KoSSev)

Opposition Peoples’ Party (NS) said it submitted a request to the Parliament Speaker to convene an extraordinary session of the Parliament to discuss Kosovo and Metohija, and invite Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to submit report to the MPs on current situation in Kosovo and relevant international circumstances, KoSSev portal reports.

The Peoples' Party said it is of utmost importance that the Parliament makes relevant acts in order to establish a negotiation framework of Serbia, given one-month postponement of Pristina’s decision on Serbian ID cards and licence plates, as well as upcoming Vucic-Kurti meeting in Brussels.

The Peoples' Party also recalled that the National Assembly last deliberated on Kosovo in May 2019.

Russian journalist declared ‘persona non grata’, banned from visiting Kosovo (KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

KoSSev portal reported that a journalist of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Darija Aslamova along with her husband Croatian journalist Robert Valdec was arrested Sunday by Kosovo police at one of the crossing points in northern Kosovo. Meanwhile, they have been released.

Immediately after the arrest, Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla, mentioning Aslamova only said it was a person involved “in espionage under the disguise of a journalist”. Aslamova was declared “persona non grata” and banned from visiting Kosovo for the period of five years.

On her side, Aslamova said she was on the way to Kosovo to do a reportage about Orthodox monasteries there. She also said the interrogation lasted several hours and the questions included if she met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, why was she deported from Moldova, did she meet Marine Le Pen and what was she doing in Ukraine. She added she was asked about special operation and who will win in Ukraine – to which she replied - Russian Army. Aslamova said police acted professionally and that she resolutely rejects claims that she works for the secret service.

KoSSev portal recalled that Aslamova was covering several war zones in the world and reported from there, including Chechenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, Ossetia, Tajikistan, Yugoslavia, Egypt and Afghanistan. She interviewed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in 2016, and in 2003 she also interviewed ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Commenting on the arrest and her expulsion from Kosovo former US envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Richard Grenell said it creates a precedent for other governments to expel Kosovo officials they do not like.

“While you have every right to kick out pro-Russian individuals (or anyone) you don’t like, you are also creating a precedent for other governments to ban Kosovo officials they don’t like….It’s a terrible precedent. And so is rejecting Serbian stickers on licence plates”, Grenell wrote on Twitter.

Serbian List: Do not fall for Pristina’s provocations (RTS)

Kosovo police said Saturday that a dozen shots were fired at its members near Gazivode lake, Zubin Potok municipality, RTS reports. No one was injured. Meanwhile, the Serbian List in a statement urged Serbs not to fall prey to Pristina’s provocations.

Serbian List said it condemns any type of endangerment to the safety, regardless of the side it comes from.

“Serbian List urges citizens not to fall prey to provocations of Xhelal Svecla and Pristina authorities, who are attempting to portray our people in the north as negative guys, and thus create an alibi for forceful incursion and mistreatment of the Serbian population, from Strpce to the north of Kosovo and Metohija”, the statement reads

Serbian List also stressed there are no tensions in the Serbian areas, adding that Serbs live in peace with Albanians, Bosniaks, Gorani, Roma and others.

They assessed this doesn’t suit Pristina, “which on a daily basis sends heavily armed special police units to the purely Serbian areas, who then mistreat citizens and create chaos affecting also innocent civilians as Srecko Sofronijevic was”, (Sofronijevic was shot in the back during the protest in northern Kosovo last October. Serbian side claims he was shot at by Kosovo police).

Rohde responds to Petkovic (Kosovo Online)

German Ambassador in Pristina Jorn Rohde said all Brussels agreements must be implemented, adding that he regularly tells the Kosovo government to deal with the Community of Serbian Municipalities, Kosovo Online portal reports.

This way Rohde responded to Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic who said earlier that a German representative in Pristina should read all previous Brussels agreements carefully prior to any unilateral interpretation, adding that Germany did nothing regarding the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

“Dear Mr Petkovic, yes, all Brussels agreements need implementation. FYI: I have stated multiple times that the creation of the ASM has to be addressed, just recently and publicly on TV on „Slobodno Srpski“ and „Kallxo Pernime“, and bilaterally with Kosovo gov. on a regular basis”, Rohde wrote on Twitter.

Insulting graffiti and swear-words written in Donja Brnjica (Radio KIM)

Insulting graffiti and swear-words in Albanian language were written on Saturday evening on the wall of a house owned by Serb, Stanoje Dimitrijevic in the village of Donja Brnjica near Pristina, Radio KIM reports.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic condemned the latest incident, saying it in fact “depicts the true face of Pristina authorities”. He also said he expects the international community to react to this incident.

Radio KIM adds that in addition to the wall, graffiti of insulting content against Serbs and Serbia were also written on a road and electric pole.

Residents of Donja Brnjica are not the targets of provocation for the first time. In October 2020 unknown perpetrator shot with the firearm near by school while Serbian children were present at that moment.

State Secretary Starovic: Kurti’s behaviour pattern unlikely to change (N1)

I am afraid Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s behaviour pattern of making unilateral moves, usually to the disadvantage of Serbs, is unlikely to change, State Secretary of Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nemanja Starovic said, N1 reports.

Sarovic said this is why he does not expect much from the announced Brussels meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti.

Explaining that Kurti has been using this pattern of behaviour for a year and a half now, Starovic said his actions also destabilise the situation on the ground, adding that he fears European Union (EU) representatives lack sufficient will to stand up to Kurti’s behaviour.

One of the things that would finally have to be discussed at a meeting at the highest level is the implementation of the Brussels Agreement, the establishing of the Community of Serb Municipalities, Starovic told the Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

“It is a good that we heard from (EU High Representative Josep) Borrell and (US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel) Escobar that this will be on the agenda”, he said, adding that the disturbing thing is the second part of Borrell’s statement is which he “washes his hand” of this issue and says the EU cannot force the Pristina side to finally establish the Community of Serb Municipalities.

This is not all right, because the EU is a guarantor of the Brussels agreement and we must not forget that this agreement is the only umbrella political agreement signed between the two sides, Sarovic said, noting that it was ratified by the Pristina Parliament.

Selakovic attends inauguration of new Colombian President (N1)

As a special envoy of the President of Serbia, Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic attended in Bogota the inauguration of Colombia’s new President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, N1 reports.

Selakovic conveyed the personal congratulations of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a Ministry press release said, adding that the Minister said Colombia’s new President expressed his desire to meet with Vucic in the nearest future.

Selakovic explained that Colombia is the fourth most powerful Latin American country, both in terms of population and economic parameters, adding that Serbia can develop “numerous potentials of comprehensive cooperation” with it.

Noting that the inauguration was one of the most attended events in that part of the world, Selakovic said it was also an opportunity for him to speak with several foreign ministers and other senior officials of Latin American countries.

“My visit to Bogota and the Colombian President’s inauguration were an opportunity to affirm our position on Kosovo with those who support us, but also to inform those who have recognized Kosovo of our arguments, and for us to express readiness for the development of cooperation in all other areas”, the press release quoted Selakovic as saying.

The Minister is on a multi-day official tour of the Latin American region. He will next be paying an official visit to Costa Rica, where he will meet with his Costa Rican counterpart and other officials.

Global Firepower: Serbia ranks 61 on Global Firepower index (N1)

According to the Global Firepower annual report assessing the military strength by country Serbia is ranked 61 of 142 out of the countries considered for the annual review, N1 reports.

The Global Firepower ranking utilises over 50 individual factors to determine a nation’s PowerIndex score with categories ranging from military might and financials to logistical capability and geography.

Serbia is ranked as the strongest military power in the region and it is said that its military strength has a trend of increase. It is followed by Croatia (62), Bulgaria (67), Montenegro (132), North Macedonia (135) and Albania (115). According to this ranking Kosovo is at 140 place.

Brnabic: SNS consultations on PM designate, gov't to begin on Monday (N1)

Outgoing Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Monday the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) would begin consultations on the new Serbian government and PM designate in the afternoon, N1 reports.

The consultations within the SNS will last for two days and will be followed by consultations with other parties, Brnabic told reporters in Lapovo, central Serbia.

"I expect the name of the new Serbian PM designate to become known in the next seven to eight days", Brnabic said. She is also an SNS deputy president.

International

‘Spying’ Russian Journalist Rejected by Kosovo Back in Serbia (BIRN)

After refusing to let her into Kosovo at the weekend as a suspected spy, the Interior Ministry has declared Daria Aslamova persona non grata for five years.

The Russian embassy in Belgrade confirmed on Sunday that Russian journalist Daria Aslamova “is safe and located in central Serbia” after she was detained a day earlier while trying to cross the border from Serbia into Kosovo. The embassy claimed her detention was groundless.

Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla on Sunday banned the entry of Aslamova as a “confirmed spy”.

“Daria Asimilova, a confirmed Russian spy, engaged in war propaganda in Ukraine, was arrested attempting to enter Kosovo from Serbia,” Svecla wrote on Twitter on Sunday, one day after Aslamova’s arrest.

He added that this occurred on the same day as the police were attacked by criminal gangs and “only six days after Sunday’s incidents” when Kosovo Serbs erected barricades against government measures on license plates and IDs.

Humanitarian/Development

‘Broken dreams’ of Murdered Women Become Mural in Prishtina (Prishtina Insight)

A new mural painted on one of the busiest streets in the capital aims to raise the awareness of society and institutions about violence against women.

A giant mural in blue, showing two women with bruised faces, covers a wall of a building on Agim Ramadani Street in Prishtina.

Painted by the well-known artist Fitore Berisha Alisdottir, the mural is an expression of her revulsion over the violence against women in Kosovo.

The artist who has 25 years of experience in art and murals told Prishtina Insight that this mural was a necessary addition to the capital. Berisha considers Broken Dreams as a sign of revolution towards social changes.

Berisha said she decided to paint this mural in Prishtina because such murals should be made in the capital city, where the government and other important institutions are located. According to her, in this way the message of the mural can be conveyed more easily in society.

“As an artist, I have a strong emotional sensitivity to injustice, with a broken heart for the lives of women lost to the violence of their partners,” Berisha said.