Albanian Language Media:

• Ambassador Hovenier welcomes Osmani’s and Kurt's meeting with Blinken (RTK)
• Haradinaj demands mutual recognition of Kosovo-Serbia under US leadership (media)
• Analysts and politicians: Meeting with Blinken very positive (RTK)
• Government approves agreement with MCC (RTK)
• Serbs in the north threatened again by their compatriots (KosovaPress)
• Three deaths and 1,853 new cases of Covid-19 (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Flayers ‘No Surrender, KM Stays’ appeared this morning on vehicles in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)
• 25 persons requested victim status from Specialist Chambers, only one ready to testify publicly (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic with Chen Bo on Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, situation in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
• Vucic and Orban: Serbia and Hungary support each other in difficult times (SRNA, N1)
• Spanish Prime Minister to visit Serbia on 29 and 30 July (Blic)
• Odalovic: Kurti blocked work of working group that resolved more than 1.800 missing persons cases (RTV)
• “Kosovo Serbs will speak about their problems with Kurti in September” (Radio KIM)
• Elek: Deterioration of epidemiological situation in northern Serbian areas (Radio Mitrovica Sever)
• Covid-19: 21 new cases registered in Gracanica (Kosovo Online)

International:

• Albanian Ex-President Meta’s Comeback Greeted with Scepticism (Balkan Insight)
• Crashed Plane was Flying Arms for Polish-Owned Bosnian Company (Balkan Insight)
• North Macedonia Proposes Jail Terms for Media Freedom Violations (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania creating mutual assistance mechanisms (BETA, N1)
• Nedimovic: Serbia to again export food to Saudi Arabia (BETA, N1)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Ambassador Hovenier welcomes Osmani’s and Kurt's meeting with Blinken (RTK)

The Ambassador of the United States of America, Jeffrey Hovenier, has written about the meeting that President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti had Tuesday with the American Secretary, Antony Blinken.

“Yesterday, Secretary Blinken met with Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, to discuss key areas of our close cooperation. The visit is another reflection of the enduring partnership between the United States and Kosovo,” Hovenier wrote.  

Haradinaj demands mutual recognition of Kosovo-Serbia under US leadership (media)

The Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj has stated that it is time for Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement for mutual recognition.

“I welcome the U.S. support for Kosovo with the MCC funds and the meeting of Kosovo state delegation with Secretary Blinken. The U.S. has once again shown true leadership on supporting us economically and in the dialogue,” Haradinaj tweeted. 

Analysts and politicians: Meeting with Blinken very positive (media)

Experts of international relations and political analysts assessed the meeting between the U.S. Secretary of State Antoni Blinken and the leaders of Kosovo, as very positive. They say that the USA gave a clear message regarding the end of the dialogue with Serbia, with mutual recognition and the acceleration of the Euro-Atlantic integration of Kosovo.

Political analyst, Artan Muhaxhiri says that this meeting was very welcome and positive, although, according to him, it was a little late.

 "Such meetings should have been held much earlier and more often. However, we should all be happy that the meeting took place, because every meeting of the Kosovar leadership with the American one is a progressive step towards strengthening our relations", he said.

He assumed that Secretary Blinkin might have asked both President Osmani and Prime Minister Kurti to be as constructive as possible towards reaching agreements with Serbia, and to change the dynamics of the dialogue so far.

"I wish that the leaders of Kosovo have understood the importance, seriousness and urgency of closing the dialogue with Serbia with an agreement on mutual recognition, which is essential for the accelerated Euro-Atlantic and international integration of our country,” said former coordinator of the dialogue with Serbia Skender Hyseni. 

Vlora Citaku, deputy chair of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said that no geostrategic project on the European continent has been successfully completed without the direct involvement of the USA. “We in Kosovo know this best! I hope that the leaders of the Kosovo Institutions have correctly understood the messages of the Secretary of State, Blinken. Maintaining the status quo in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue is for the good of Serbia and the destructive forces in our region".

University professor, Dritero Arifi, said that ‘this is something new that shows that the USA is interested in Kosovo being recognized by Serbia, and in speeding up the Euro-Atlantic integration of Kosovo in the EU and NATO. This is a powerful and diplomatic statement by the USA, which in a way favors Kosovo, but at the same time Kosovo must understand that it has obligations that must be fulfilled towards its citizens and partners.’

Government approves agreement with MCC (RTK)

The government of Kosovo has announced that after consideration by the government cabinet, the Draft Law for the Ratification of the Millennium Challenges Compact Agreement and the Program Implementation Agreement between Kosovo and the United States of America, represented by the Millennium Challenges Corporation, has been approved. (MCC).

The government also has reviewed and approved the six-month Budget Report for 2022 as well as the revised Annual Financial Report for 2021.

Serbs in the north threatened again by their compatriots (media)

KosovaPress reports that last night someone has again put papers on the vehicles in Mitrovica North with the inscriptions “cheaper registration of KM plates,” “you can travel normally,” “the whole world accepts KM plates,” etc. warning citizens not to register vehicles with license plates of Kosovo.  

The inscriptions are written in Cyrillic alphabet, while KosovaPress sources have informed that the people who distributed such letters at night, wore scarves and hats, in order not to be identified, since whole north is covered by cameras.

The spokesperson of the police for the northern region Branislav Radovic told KosovaPress that

That the police still do not have any information about the case and that relevant police teams will work during the day in order to identify the authors of these letters, which as he said, are against the law.

Three deaths and 1,853 new cases of Covid-19 (media)

1,853 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the last 24 hours, in Kosovo, while three people have died as a result of the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Health announced that 840 citizens have recovered today.

In total, the number of active cases is 10,830.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Flayers ‘No Surrender, KM Stays’ appeared this morning on vehicles in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)

Ahead of the period to start replacing licence plates bearing the names of towns in Kosovo with “RKS” ones, flayers saying “No Surrender – KM Stays” appeared this morning on the vehicles in Mitrovica North, KoSSev portal reports.

Illustration depicting Kosovo registration plates features “666” along with letters AK, while illustration depicting Serbian licence plates features numbers 1244 along with letters UN.  The first combination as KoSSev portal further said refers to “devil’s number” and “terrorism”, while the second combination of numbers refers to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 for Kosovo. The message is inscribed on the back of a map of Kosovo with Serbian flag and message “No Surrender”.

The same message was written at the beginning of the month on main street in Mitrovica North. The acts come ahead of the announced implementation of the Kosovo government decision to replace the licence plates bearing the names of towns in Kosovo with that of “RKS”. The implementation period of this decision shall commence on August 1 and last until September 30. 

25 persons requested victim status from Specialist Chambers, only one ready to testify publicly (Kosovo Online)

The Service for the Participation of Victims in the processes conducted before Kosovo Specialized Judicial Council has compiled the fifth report on the applications of persons who claim to have suffered damage from the KLA, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Pristina-based Ekonomia Online.

The report sent to the judge for the preliminary proceedings, mentions 25 persons who claim to be victims of the KLA and who also claim to participate in the trial.

It is stated in the document, as reported by Pristina media, that some applicants claim to be the direct victims, while others are indirect and came forward because of the sufferings of their family members.

Two applicants requested information related to their cases not be transmitted to the public, and two others requested that information about them not be transmitted either to the public or to the defendants in this case.

19 of them requested information or details of their cases not be transmitted to the public, to the accused, as well as to the defenders of the accused, while one applicant did not ask for protective measures.

Of these 25 people, the Specialist Office recommended victim status not be granted to four applicants.

Petkovic with Chen Bo on Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, situation in Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic spoke today with Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo on the course of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and current political and security situation in Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.

As the statement said particular attention was attached to the current situation “in the light of unilateral and illegal acts of Pristina relating to the Serbian licence plates and ID cards which directly undermine the dialogue and threaten to destabilise the situation on the ground”.

Petkovic also said by judging political messages and acts of Pristina representatives one may get the impression that they do not intend to seriously take part in creating conditions for normalisation of political and interethnic relations in the region.

“The fact we are on the verge of a new crisis situation is demonstrated by the illegal and unilateral decisions of Pristina relating to re-registration of Serbian plates to “RKS” plates and abolishing Serbian documents”, Petkovic said.

He also informed Chen Bo about the current security situation in Kosovo, noting a series of daily attacks against Serbs, their properties, monasteries and churches, saying that there were more than 200 incidents targeting the Serbs since Albin Kurti came to power.

At the end, he thanked China for consistent support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, in particular on insisting to respect UN SC Resolution 1244 in its full scope. 

Vucic and Orban: Serbia and Hungary support each other in difficult times (SRNA, N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the two countries will support each other and face together all the difficulties awaiting them in the coming period, SRNA news agency reports.

Vucic and Orban agreed in a phone conversation to continue building a friendly relationship and a partnership, adding that the two countries can fully count on each other in difficult times. 

They expressed their full commitment to bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Hungary and readiness to contribute to enhancing the two countries’ friendly relations in various fields.

Vucic and Orban also discussed the situation in the region, the migrant crisis, various issues regarding the EU and pressing global topics, the Serbian President’s press office said in a statement.

Spanish Prime Minister to visit Serbia on 29 and 30 July (Blic)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will host Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Blic daily reports.

Sanchez will pay a two-day official visit to Serbia on July 29 and 30.

From Serbia he will depart to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday and visit Sarajevo and Mostar there.

Within his Western Balkans tour, Sanchez will also visit Podgorica, Tirana and Skopje.  

Odalovic: Kurti blocked work of working group that resolved more than 1.800 missing persons cases (RTV)

Chairman of the Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Veljko Odalovic said the missing persons issue is a humanitarian matter, adding the working group functions for the last 16 years, Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reports.  

As Odalovic said, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti with his demands blocked the work of the working group which resolved more than 1.800 missing persons cases.

“Kosovo Serbs will speak about their problems with Kurti in September” (Radio KIM)

Deputy Prime Minister Emilija Redzepi said during debate ‘Position and problems of the non-majority communities’ organised in Media Center in Caglavica yesterday that Kosovo government will organise a round tables with members of non-majority communities in Kosovo, adding their representatives will also be able to personally brief Prime Minister Albin Kurti about their problems, Radio KIM reports.

According to her, the Serbs will talk to Kurti in September, and the Bosniaks during the next month.

“I personally want to organise that because your media are asking for better transparency and are demanding to ask questions to our prime minister, so we will organise a round table dedicated to the Serbian community in the Government of Kosovo (…)”, Redzepi said, adding that participants will have opportunity to ask Kurti about anything that bothers them.

As the Deputy Prime Minister for non-majority communities in Kosovo, Redzepi also said the Kosovo Government is doing everything in its power to get closer to everyone.

New Social Initiative (NSI) project manager Milica Andric Rakic said respect for the rights of non-majority communities is not at an adequate level.

“I would divide the problems into three groups because they have different causes. The first, perhaps the easiest to solve, are those problems that arise from the political process of negotiations, that is, problems related to the Brussels dialogue and the lack of implementation of what was agreed. In this group, perhaps the most drastic is the problem of non-recognition of diplomas. Then there are certain problems with civil registration, i.e. obtaining documents, and those problems that are yet to come, which are related to re-registration”, she said.

According to Andric-Rakic the second set of problems relates “precisely to laws, I could single out the law that grants status of the victims of war, where we have a certain degree of discrimination against the victims for events that happened after June 1999, that is, around 1,200 people who were kidnapped and killed. There is also a problem with the implementation of the Law on the Use of Language, where the response of the institutions is the same-that this issue is about their capacities”.

“The third group of problems is the absence of complete social acceptance of minority communities” she added.

She also commented on the situation in northern Kosovo saying there is currently a certain degree of tension in relations with the police.

“Their presence is extremely noticeable in the north. Unfortunately, it often happens, apart from what you can see in the media-the clashes with suspected smugglers, which is the mandate of the police, therefore, apart from that, there are also a lot of statements about searches of citizens who are driving in private cars, women driving from point A to point B, who are not (on the road) at the time when smuggling takes place. There are a lot of tensions that can turn into a more serious incident at any moment”, she said.

Member of the Municipal Assembly of Dragas from the Gorani community Nedzmidin Sejdilar stated that one of the biggest problems of this community is employment.

Sejdilar added that not a single building of public importance has been built in the Gorani part of the Dragas municipality recently.

“In Dragas municipality, we have built three new school facilities in an area where the population is technically purely Albanian, while in the Gorani part, not a single facility has been built. We have one of the largest villages in Kosovo, with more than 10,000 inhabitants, in which there is only one doctor and one medical technician, there is no room where people can get an infusion. When we present the problem to the local authorities, they send us to the ministry, and I can’t get to the ministry because I am not a legitimate representative in the parliament and in the central government”, Sejdilar concluded.

Sevil Kazaz, member of Prizren Municipal Council and representative of the Turkish community, cited the lack of cultural centres as a problem.

Kazaz also said that “the Ministry of Local Government Administration has a legal obligation to employ ten percent of members of minority communities, but according to research, this law has not been respected and unemployment in the Turkish community is very high”.

Elek: Deterioration of epidemiological situation in northern Serbian areas (Radio Mitrovica Sever)

Mitrovica North Clinical Hospital Centre Director Zlatan Elek said yesterday there has been a deterioration of the epidemiological situation in Serbian areas north of the Ibar River, Radio Mitrovica Sever reports.

According to the latest data of the Crisis Management Committee, out of 34 tested, 20 have tested positive to coronavirus. 11 patients are being treated at Mitrovica North hospital, two of which are receiving oxygen therapy.

“The last testing, which took place on Monday, shows that out of 38 tested, 20 people are positive. Currently, there are 11 patients in CHC Kosovska Mitrovica, 2 are on oxygen therapy”, Elek said.

He pointed out that Mitrovica hospital has sufficient capacity, medicines, oxygen for the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19.

Radio Mitrovica Sever reminded that PCR testing in the laboratory in North Mitrovica is currently carried out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Covid-19: 21 new cases registered in Gracanica (Kosovo Online)

21 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in Gracanica over the last 24 hours, the Crisis Committee of this municipality announced, Kosovo Online portal reports.

A total of 40 samples had been tested. Four people are hospitalised. The Crisis Committee of Gracanica said positive patients include not only Gracanica residents but also people from Plemetina, Crkvena Vodica, Kosovo Polje and Lipljan.

   

International 

  Albanian Ex-President Meta’s Comeback Greeted with Scepticism (Balkan Insight)

Albania’s former President Ilir Meta’s return to frontline politics did not come as a surprise to anyone, but some doubt that his newly rebranded party will be able to compete successfully with well-entrenched Prime Minister Edi Rama.

A day after leaving the presidential office, Ilir Meta delivered a political comeback speech full of nationalist rhetoric at a convention of the party he founded in 2004, the Socialist Movement for Integration, SMI.

In his speech to the convention on Monday, Meta called for “patriotism” and urged Albanians not to “sell your vote” and betray the constitution. He also called for a referendum to change the current political system, although he didn’t give any details about his proposed plebiscite, and urged his supporters to “declare kleptocracy unwelcome” in Albania.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3J6nXkx Crashed Plane was Flying Arms for Polish-Owned Bosnian Company (Balkan Insight)

A Soviet-era plane that crashed in Greece, killing eight crew members, was carrying Serbian arms to Bangladesh in a deal brokered by a Bosnia-based company owned by a Polish weapons firm, BIRN has learned.

Polish arms trading company Metalexport-S was behind a shipment of 11.5 tons of Serbian ammunition to Bangladesh carried by a Soviet-era Antonov An-12 transport plane which crashed earlier this month near the Greek city of Kavala, BIRN can reveal.

The broker of the deal with the end user of the ammunition, the Bangladeshi Defence Ministry, was a Bosnian company, BA-METALEXPORT from Sarajevo, which is owned by Polish firm Metalexport-S.

“That’s right. We are 100 per cent owned by the Polish firm. They are conducting the business and we are in charge of this area,” Alen Djuzel, the director of the Bosnian company, told BIRN.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Blzfze North Macedonia Proposes Jail Terms for Media Freedom Violations (Balkan Insight)

North Macedonia’s Justice Ministry is proposing legal changes that could see people who violate journalists’ freedom of expression punished with sentences of up to five years in prison.

North Macedonia’s Justice Ministry is proposing to criminalise the violation of freedom of opinion and expression as part of planned changes to the country’s criminal code.

A deadline expires on Wednesday for the public to comment on the proposed new version of the criminal code, which has been published on the National Electronic Register of Regulations.

For the first time in the criminal legislation of North Macedonia, Article 193 proposes a prison sentence ranging from six months to five years for anyone who orders or implements censorship, or who illegally prevents or restricts a journalist’s freedom of reporting.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3BhBgg5    

Humanitarian/Development

  Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania creating mutual assistance mechanisms (BETA, N1)

Intergovernmental groups and chambers of commerce of Open Balkan initiative member countries continued work Tuesday in Tirana, focusing on management and rapid response in the event of disasters and accidents, food shortages and energy crises, BETA news agency reports.

Representatives of Open Balkan member countries – Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania – agreed that securing food in conditions of a global crisis is a challenge and a priority, which is why the three countries are creating mechanisms for mutual assistance, North Macedonian government said.

The Open Balkan members’ priority is regional energy connectivity, increasing energy capacities and a safe and stable energy supply accessible to citizens, the press statement said.

It added that regional connectivity aiming to greater energy stability when faced with a global economic and energy crisis is the main focus of the Government of North Macedonia which it “shares with partners and friends in the region”.

A meeting between the three countries’ representatives and Albanian buyers and distributors will be organised in Tirana by Albanian Agriculture Minister Frida Krifca to discuss new possibilities for the import and export of sugar, cooking oil, flour and salt in the region on terms favourable to all three countries, the press statement concluded.

Nedimovic: Serbia to again export food to Saudi Arabia (BETA, N1)

After more than 40 years Serbia will be able to export food products to Saudi Arabia, Serbian Ministry of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic said, BETA news agency reported.

Nedimovic met with representatives of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority who officially informed him that Serbia was placed on the list of approved food exporters to this country.

“After more than 40 years, milk and dairy products will be exported to Saudi Arabia”, the Ministry press release said, adding it will also be possible to export fruits and vegetables while permits for the export of mutton and beef are expected in the next 20 days.

The Ministry also said that the value of external trade between the two countries increases every year and that it amounted to nine million US dollars in 2021 and six million in the first half of 2022.