Albanian Language Media:

• Kosovo Assembly discusses situation in north (media)
• Osmani met British Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak (media)
• Lajcak and Escobar next week in Kosovo (media)
• Osmani describes meeting with Vucic: He was whining, complaining, and lying... (Koha)
• Gervalla: We showed we are open to early elections in the north (Nacionale)
• Bujar Osmani: As OSCE chairman, I join the call for new elections in the north (Reporteri)
• Von Cramon demands investigations of those who attacked NATO soldiers (RTK)
• Svecla visits police in north of Kosovo: Sovereignty is unalienable (media)
• Mayors resign in July, Osmani declares elections which are held in late August – this is the international plan to calm the north (Albanian Post)
• Hoxhaj: Serbia policy on Kosovo doesn’t have to do with people but territory (media)
• Events in the north, Gabriel Escobar’s post under question (Albanian Post)
• Kimberly West selected Specialist Prosecutor (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Hospital director: Condition of Dragisa Galjak still serious (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic: “Hunting lists for Serbs reveal fascist character of Kosovo government” (N1, BETA)
• Professors entered secondary school to get documentation in Zvecan, request school to be freed (KoSSev)
• Rajovic: Kosovo police does not allow Trepca miners to do their job (Radio KIM, N1, BETA)
• Drecun: Serbs in north Kosovo to keep protesting until situation is resolved (Tanjug)
• Daniel Fried to VoA: Kosovo government caused crisis, Washington is furious (N1, Danas) 
• Senator Murphy: "If PR wants to argue, Congress should make a decision on whether we're ready for this ride"; Kurti again about elections (KoSSev, RFE, media)
• Peci on crisis in northern Kosovo, possible resignation of new mayors (KoSSev)
• KiM radio: Petrovic and Obrenovic were detained before the start of the riots in Zvecan (gracanicaonline.info, media)
• Lawyer: Condition of Dusan Obrenovic more stable, but I am still concerned about his safety (Tanjug)
• Strpce and Gracanica sent messages of support to Serbs from the north of Kosovo (Kosovo Online, KiM radio)

Opinion:

• Janjic: New Kosovo elections to calm the situation, send Kurti into opposition (Beta, N1)

International:

• Kosovo Leaders Agree to New Elections in Restive North (BIRN)
• Democracy Digest: Hungary troops attacked in Kosovo (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Plenty of Work Ahead to Improve Children’s Well-being in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kosovo Assembly discusses situation in north (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in his address to the Kosovo Assembly today, published the names of persons who he said are the main organisers of the riots in the north in the last couple of days, Koha reports. He argued that the members of the “illegal formation called ‘Civil Protection’” and former members of the Kosovo Police have a main role in organising protesters in the north. “Despite their ill intentions, these protests have served us to make valuable identifications,” he said. Kurti also accused Serbia of the escalation and tensions in the north of Kosovo and claimed that Belgrade has mobilised “criminal groups for this”. Nacionale news website too quotes Kurti as mentioning the names of those “who according to him were responsible for organising attacks against KFOR soldiers, Kosovo Police and reporters”. Kallxo news website too, reports that “Kurti lists the names of persons suspected of organising the protests and pressure against Serb citizens in the north”. RTK covers Kurti’s address under the headline “Kurti gives names of those that attacked KFOR, ties reach Vucic”.

Radio Free Europe quotes Kurti as saying that the new mayors of the four northern municipalities were escorted by security forces and that this was not a political decision. “I need to reiterate that escorting the new mayors with security forces was an assessment by the security institutions that evaluate the level of danger, so it is not a political decision, but as Prime Minister I support this, I supported it then and I support it today,” he said. He added that the ensuing incidents confirmed that there was a threat of attacks from “criminal gangs”. Kurti also argued that the escalation of the situation on May 29 – which resulted in the wounding of KFOR soldiers – was “well-planned” and orchestrated by Belgrade.

Telegrafi quotes Kurti as saying that the elections in the north were in compliance with the Constitution and that Belgrade was the author of the situation created in the north. Commenting on reactions about the presence of Kosovo Police in the north, Kurti said: “ … many are those that called the presence of police a forceful entrance in the building. It cannot be called that because it is a building of the Republic of Kosovo. A mayor does not enter his office with force.” 

Lajmi quotes Kurti as saying that “many Serb citizens, because of intimidation and pressure from Belgrade, are forced to serve as human shields for attacks by criminal groups”.

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said that with Albin Kurti in the government, Kosovo is moving from one crisis to the other.

"In relation to the main partners of Kosovo, with Albin Kurti as Prime Minister, we only have problems… That is not how an alliance works,” he said adding that the sanctions against Kosovo are a concern for every citizen.

"We are no longer sovereign when NATO excludes us from its military exercises, we are less sovereign. Sovereignty cannot be reduced by a man who insists on entering three certain offices. Then it's a big manipulation," Krasniqi said.

"Are you going to leave the words? Let's go to the north, don't hide behind Izmir, Ilir and Erden, let's go to the north, you're the prime minister, listen to the people, why are they spending so much money there at the risk of their lives, come on be the first to risk it, I'll be the second after you. Today, afternoon, evening, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, whenever you want, let's go to the north, we enter Leposaviq, let us not leave him alone, we go and take Izmir from Caber and we send him to Zubin Potok, we go and take Ilir from Kelmend also and lead him to Zvecan, but listen, we are taking Erden, we are taking him and sending him to the north," Krasniqi said.

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku has said that Kurti sees coordination with allies as treason, for LDK it is patriotism. There is a substantial difference in the actions of Prime Minister Kurti, he said,2 and that this difference, according to Abdixhiku, is treason.

“This difference is substantial, what you are doing is treason... because to choose politically, to behave against Kosovo, and NATO, and the EU, and the USA and our allies everywhere with public statements, to choose to create a historical attention on the day when Vucic in Serbia faced a propaganda and you assist to remove that attention from him, to take this burden in the name of Kosovo, this has nothing to do with patriotism and dignity. This is childish, populist behavior," he said. 

Osmani met British Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met within the margins of the second summit of the European Political Committee with the United Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak.

“Together with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak we discussed recent developments in the region and our strong cooperation with the UK. Expressed our gratitude for the UK's enduring support and our continued commitment to continue our joint efforts for long-lasting peace and security,” Osmani tweeted.

Lajcak and Escobar next week in Kosovo (media)

Diplomatic sources in Brussels told Radio Free Europe that the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, and the U.S. special envoy for the Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, are expected to visit Pristina and Belgrade next week, more precisely on Monday and Tuesday. Their visit, according to these sources, will have two main purposes:

The first intention is to find a solution to get out of the current situation which risks damaging everything that the EU considers to be a success in the dialogue. So, the focus will first be on reducing tensions and continuing efforts based on what has been proposed after the meeting in Moldova.

While the second intention is the continuation of the work in sequencing the steps to implement the agreement reached in Brussels and the annex on which the parties agreed in Ohrid.

Osmani describes the meeting with Vucic: He was whining, complaining, and lying... (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, has described the meeting she held on Thursday afternoon with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, in the presence of the French President, Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in Moldova. At the press conference, she said that Vucic "as always, lamented, complained and did not tell the truth".

"I had no plans to meet with Vucic. The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is continuing in Brussels and it was an insistence from the morning of the European leaders and as the president of all the citizens of Kosovo I want to show constructiveness, as a virtue of our people, to show the will that we can talk with them all. We have extended the hand of cooperation to Serbia for years. It is not the first time that we find ourselves with Vucic in such meetings. I must say that the meeting, held at the insistence of President Macron and Chancellor Scholz, whose request I respected since they are among the closest allies, was not a negotiating meeting, but an exchange of views. I can say that Vucic lamented, complained and certainly did not tell the truth, which is his virtue, being Milosevic's minister of propaganda," Osmani said.

Osmani said that she asked Vucic if he considers that there is an agreement with Kosovo or not.

"It's a key question because he promised in Brussels and then says he won't implement it, questioning everything. Second, I asked him to remove the military from the border, and third, to remove support for the criminal gangs that are causing the violence. And in the end, I reiterated Kosovo's commitment to implement every point of the agreements," she said.

She said that after that, Vucic started with insults in the Serbian language.

The president said that they received questions from Scholzi and Macron and that "Vucic did not answer any of them".

Gervalla: We showed we are open to early elections in the north (Nacionale)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, commenting on the acceptance of Prime Minister Kurti and President Osmani for early elections in the north, said that Kosovo was open to a solution, including the early elections. She however said that certain criteria need to be met before going to elections. “We showed that we are open to a solution, which could include going to new elections … But in order to go to new elections, the other side needs to give up on sabotaging the elections, it needs to give up on refusing the elections, it needs to give up on constantly threatening Kosovo, and then we can go to new elections, there is no problem,” Gervalla said.

Bujar Osmani: As OSCE chairman, I join the call for new elections in the north (Reporteri)

The chief diplomat of North Macedonia, who chairs the OSCE, supports the holding of new elections in the northern municipalities of Kosovo and the return of Serbs to institutions.

"I join the call for new elections and the return of Kosovo Serbs to institutions and the full implementation of the agreements, including the last ones in Ohrid," Osmani wrote on Twitter.

As Chairman of the OSCE, he supported the EU-led dialogue as the only way to reduce tensions and ensure long-term stability. “The OSCE is ready to help," Osmani wrote.

Von Cramon demands investigations of those who attacked NATO soldiers (RTK)

The rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Viola Von Cramon, has requested that within the framework of Borelli's requests, there should be an additional request, but which according to her is essential.

“One additional but crucial request: full investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the attacks against NATO_KFOR soldiers. We are all immensely grateful for all what NATO_KFOR troops do and wish them a speedy recovery,” Von Cramon tweeted. 

Mayors resign in July, Osmani declares elections which are held in late August – this is the international plan to calm the north (Albanian Post)

The mayors of the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north will resign in mid-July. This will make way for the announcement of early elections in all four municipalities by Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and they will be held in late August or early September. This is reflected in an eight-point plan presented by the Quint countries and the European Union for calming the situation in the north of Kosovo, following protests and clashes that Serbs had with KFOR troops in the last couple of days.

According to the plan, which the news website claims to have seen, the procedure is expected to be implemented in three steps. First, in mid-July, the four mayors will have to resign their posts. President Osmani would then immediately announce the elections and Serb political forces will participate, making the process normal. Elections will be held in late August or early September, where new mayors will be elected and tensions between the parties will be defused. 

Other important points include the withdrawal of Kosovo Police special forces from the north, along with the withdrawal of the Serbian army from Kosovo’s northern border.

Point three notes that security in the territory of the northern municipalities is passed to regular Kosovo police, assisted by KFOR and EULEX.

Svecla visits police in north of Kosovo: Sovereignty is unalienable (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, visited members of the Kosovo Police in the north today. “Today in Jasenovik, at the dam of Ujman Lake, in Zubq, in Junake and in Bistrica Bridge. With the women and men of Kosovo Police that spare nothing in defence of the sovereignty, constitutionality, and legality of our country. In a normal democratic society, the Republic is clothed with sovereignty. Sovereignty is unalienable,” Svecla wrote in a Facebook post. 

Hoxhaj: Serbia’s policy on Kosovo doesn’t have to do with people but territory (media)

Kosovo’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, Enver Hoxhaj, said during a visit to Israel that “Serbia’s policy toward Kosovo doesn’t have to do with people, with the Serb community and their lives, but with territory”. “Therefore, the latest tensions don’t have to do with who politically controls the municipalities but rather who controls them territorially! This is a hegemonistic policy which lost in 1999 with the liberation of Kosovo and in 2008 with independence,” Hoxha said.

Events in the north, Gabriel Escobar’s post under question (Albanian Post)

Gabriel Escobar could no longer be the U.S. Deputy Assistant of State and supervisor of U.S. policies in the Western Balkans because of the latest developments in the north of Kosovo, the news website reports. It notes that Escobar “could not predict the outbreak of the situation in the three northern municipalities because of the Kosovo government’s action without coordinating with the Americans and this could have a personal consequence for Escobar”. 

For this and the setback of the process into a consequent crisis, Albanian Post learns from diplomatic sources that Escobar “could make way for another diplomat”.

The news website contacted the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo to confirm the information but received no response. It also notes that if Escobar leaves, the U.S. Ambassador in Serbia, Christopher Hill, could take on a much more important role in the dialogue process. 

Sources also told the Albanian Post that Christopher Robinson, current U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, and Christopher Landberg, Acting Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism and Acting U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, are rumoured as possible candidates for the post.

Kimberly West selected Specialist Prosecutor (media)

A press release issued by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office notes that Kimberly West, a former US federal prosecutor with extensive experience in both domestic and international criminal investigations, has been selected Specialist Prosecutor after a process organised by the European Union.

Ms West becomes the third Specialist Prosecutor, succeeding Jack Smith, who left the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) in November 2022 to take up a post as Special Counsel in the United States.

“It is an honour to have been selected for this important and challenging role,” Ms West said. “I am looking forward to joining the SPO and to taking its work forward.”

Ms West is joining the SPO from the Ashcroft Law Firm in Boston, Massachusetts, where she has been a Partner since 2019 focusing primarily on white-collar defence.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms West worked as a prosecutor for more than two decades in local, state, federal and international roles.

Ms West was also the Chief of the Criminal Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office between 2015 and 2019. In that capacity, she supervised a team of more than 120 professionals responsible for investigating and prosecuting a wide range of financial fraud, public corruption, narcotics, gaming and human trafficking offences; defending convictions on appeal; and assisting victims and witnesses.

Ms. West joined the Attorney General’s Office from the US Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, where she served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Health Care Fraud Unit for two years and in the National Security Unit for six years.  Ms West joined the National Security Unit after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

For five years, between 2008 and 2013, Ms West served as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, where she was a member of the team that prosecuted Radovan Karadzic for his role in the Srebrenica genocide. She was also on the Prlic et al. prosecution team focusing on the crimes committed in Mostar and the destruction of the Old Bridge.

Ms West has a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School, Massachusetts, and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, Massachusetts.

Ms West becomes the third Specialist Prosecutor, following Jack Smith, who served as Specialist Prosecutor between 2018 and 2022, and David Schwendiman, who served between 2016 and 2018. Alex Whiting, who has served as Acting Specialist Prosecutor since November 2022, will continue in that role until Ms West assumes the functions of her post.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Hospital director: Condition of Dragisa Galjak still serious (Kosovo Online)

Clinical Hospital Center in Mitrovica North director Zlatan Elek said today the health condition of Dragisa Galjak, wounded during the clashes between KFOR and Serb protesters in Zvecan on Monday is still serious, adding that he is under 24-hour surveillance by medical teams, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Elek recalled that Galjak is still at intensive medical ward, with serious bodily injuries caused by a firearm.

52 Serbs sought medical assistance on Monday, following the clashes with KFOR in which tear gas, stun grenades and fire weapons were used. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in a media address on Monday evening said it was members of the Kosovo special police units who shot at protesters and wounded Galjak in the back.  

Petkovic: “Hunting lists for Serbs reveal fascist character of Kosovo government” (N1, BETA)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic, reacting to the lists of Serbs whom Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti alleged to be organisers of protests in the north said there will always be those who will be ready to offer peaceful and dignified resistance to him, N1 reports.

"All fascists in history attempted to criminalise and dehumanise their victims, in order to fabricate an excuse for persecution and killing innocents, and this is what Albin Kurti is doing today by publishing lists of people whose only fault is that they do not agree to violence and humiliation by Pristina falangists", Petkovic said in a statement.

He added that Kurti by announcing “the hunting lists” of the Serbs and Serbian political leaders in northern Kosovo officially revealed “the fascist character of his government”.

“He took hostage all those residents of Kosovo and Metohija who just wanted peace, stability and the opportunity to live in a more or less normal peaceful society. Kurti doesn't understand the fact that until recently his international sponsors let him down the drain, because they finally realised that an aggressive and unreasonable person like him is leading the entire region into horrors of hatred and conflict", Petkovic added.

He pointed out that Kurti, just as he came to power "by force and violence", is now trying to prevent his "going down to political history" by the same means.

Professors entered secondary school to get documentation in Zvecan, request school to be freed (KoSSev)

Education staff and director of the Secondary School in Zvecan requested KFOR this morning to enable them access to the premises and then took over students’ documentation, KoSSev portal reports. The school is located in the same building where the municipality is, currently under control of KFOR.

In addition to the municipal building, members of the KFOR are also stationed at all access points leading to the building. There are also mobile patrols and a fence near the building and residents are not allowed to access it. At the side of this building a secondary school is accommodated.

Employees in the schools spoke this morning with KFOR members and asked that access is permitted to them so they can take over documentation of the students. KFOR allowed them to enter by one person at the time.

Marijana Milojevic, professor, told the media afterwards that they took over documents for the students needed to enrol at the faculties. 

“We were not able to firstly print certificates at the school, at the same time students had to register for diploma and matriculation exams and to pass it over the next few days. The test is scheduled on June 7, everywhere in Serbia, and our children will not be able to attend it. How will they enrol at universities then?”, she asked. She also asked school to be freed so we can, as she said, “live like humans anywhere in the world”.

Rajovic: Kosovo police does not allow Trepca miners to do their job (Radio KIM, N1, BETA)

Director of Trepca Flotation in Leposavic Milan Rajovic said during the protest in Zvecan today that Kosovo special police units prevented employees in mines Crnac and Belo Brdo (Leposavic municipality) from doing their job, Radio KIM reports.  

“Production process has been halted for a week now because we are banned from transporting the ore from both mines to flotation processing. It is about members of Kosovo special police units under full combat readiness blocking the entrance to the industrial facility with their vehicles and they told us they were given orders not to allow movement of tracks we used to transport the ore, respectively neither to enter or exit the facility yard”, Rakovic said.

He added “the production flotation process had been completely paralyzed”. He also warned that the economic existence of 2.100 Trepca workers in northern Kosovo had been endangered as their salaries directly depend on the production process.  

He appealed to those responsible “to end this violent behaviour, Kosovo police be removed from the entry to the industrial premise so they continue the production process and enable salaries to the workers”.  

Drecun: Serbs in north Kosovo to keep protesting until situation is resolved (Tanjug)

Chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Friday Serbs in the north were determined to end Pristina's terror and would continue to protest until the present situation was resolved, Tanjug news agency reports.

He said leading Western states had stepped up diplomatic activities to de-escalate the crisis and resume dialogue.

"KFOR has boosted its presence, but we see that special parapolice units are inside municipal buildings and that Pristina is showing no willingness to get them back into bases located south of the Ibar River", Drecun told RTS.

Speaking about a European Political Community summit in Chisinau, Drecun said the situation in the north of Kosovo had been practically the dominant topic of the event.

He said that, for the first time, all five permanent UN Security Council member states were unanimous that Pristina was to blame for the present crisis.

"For us, it is important that President Vucic has sent a message to the Serbs that any conflict with KFOR should be avoided", Drecun said, adding that NATO forces in the north were now trying to position themselves so as to avoid clashes and stop provocations against the Serbs.

Daniel Fried to VoA: Kosovo government caused crisis, Washington is furious (N1, Danas) 

The current crisis seems to have been caused by the mistakes of the Kosovo government, said former diplomat and long-time State Department official Daniel Fried, reported N1, citing VoA. 

An expert from the non-governmental Atlantic Council commented on the tensions and their consequences for the Voice of America - since the non-Serb mayors of the municipalities with a Serbian majority in the north of Kosovo, with the assistance of the police, entered the offices in the municipal buildings of Zvecan, Zubina Potok and Leposavic, which caused dissatisfaction and several days of local Serbs protests.

The climax was the clashes between KFOR forces and demonstrators in front of the Zvecan municipality building, in which more than eighty people were injured, including thirty KFOR soldiers.

"Relations between Serbia and Kosovo have not been normal for many years, and the responsibility for that lies essentially with Serbia, because it refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. They won't get Kosovo back, partly because of years of Serbian destructive nationalism and repression in Kosovo, which led to NATO intervention, which we didn't want," explains Fried, who during his decades-long career also held the position of assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia.

He indicates that it seems to him that the current crisis has provoked the anger of the United States of America.

"I don't use that word lightly, but I was reading the transcript of US Ambassador Hovenier's press conference in Kosovo, and I can't remember ever since Kosovo's independence in 2008 that a representative of the US government has been as frustrated as he was. I think that the Kosovo government made a decision under difficult circumstances, which made an already complicated situation much worse. And that resulted in a sharp deterioration in American-Kosovo relations, and I don't see how that helps anyone. Unfortunately, I don't think that deploying the Serbian army and showing force is very helpful either. I noticed that Ambassador Hovenier had the opportunity to put the responsibility on both sides, but he did not accept it," Fried assessed.

According to him, KFOR was forced to intervene in the municipality of Zvecan, when more than a dozen soldiers of that mission in Kosovo were seriously injured.

"It is a difficult time both on the field and for relations between America and Kosovo, and this whole situation is unfortunate. I hope that the Kosovo government will find a way to come back from these initial mistakes. Governments make mistakes and I hope that to some extent, and perhaps in total, the Kosovo government recognizes this. I think it is clear what I want to say, this is not a balanced situation. This is a situation in which the US thinks that the Kosovo government has made a serious mistake," says Fried, noting that this makes the situation even more difficult.

He believes that the US government has reason to be frustrated.

"I think that the root of the problem is not the responsibility of Kosovo and the Kosovo government. Greater responsibility lies mainly with Serbia and its continuous efforts to resist the reality of Kosovo's independence, which the Serbs know, I think they know, is permanent, that Kosovo is gone. For various reasons, they don't accept it. So, the deeper responsibility is more on the Serbian side, but individual responsibility for these incidents with municipal buildings is the decision of Kosovo. That's why the US is so frustrated because the Kosovo government made a decision based on an understandable but abstract sense of sovereignty, leaving the consequences to be dealt with by KFOR and the United States, and I think the Americans were frustrated with that approach," he points out.

When asked if the US decision to cancel Kosovo participation in the "Defender Europe" exercises was justified, Fried says that Washington wanted to attract the attention of the Kosovo government and citizens, which, he says, means that they were seriously irritated.

"I guess they had a reason for this, I've known Secretary Blinken for 30 years. He is thoughtful. I guess he had reason to be frustrated with the moves of the Kosovo government. Those moves made things worse, and the responsibility for dealing with the consequences fell on KFOR and the US. I think this was a way to tell Kosovo that you cannot create a problem, an unnecessary problem for us and then just walk away without any responsibility. I repeat, the deeper responsibility lies far greater with Serbia, but the responsibility for this incident lies with the Kosovo government. And I know Ambassador Hovernier, he is a serious person, and his frustration at that press conference was obvious," he explains.

He says that Kosovo PM Albin Kurti should know that it is a mistake to take American support for granted or act as if it is permanent.

"The US is very patient and has a strategic understanding of local political imperatives. However, I think that the Government of Kosovo assumed that American support was automatic regardless of what it would do. At the beginning of this century, the USA decided to support the independence of Kosovo. I was also part of the process of making that decision. That was our choice. We could have chosen something else, but we chose wisely. Kosovo must seize this opportunity and consolidate its position, and not treat the US as an endless source of blind support, under any circumstances. It would not be wise for them to exploit the US and Europe. But governments make mistakes and I hope that Prime Minister Kurti will realise that he has gone too far and will find a way to back down," Fried told VoA, cited N1.

Senator Murphy: "If PR wants to argue, Congress should make a decision on whether we're ready for this ride"; Kurti again about elections (KoSSev, RFE, media)

KoSSev portal reports today that a member of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Chris Murphy, said that the US must engage aggressively in the Balkans and that he blamed the Kosovo authorities for the current tensions in Kosovo. 

KoSSev added that, PM of Kosovo, who spoke with Murphy yesterday, thanked him for his "long-term support for Kosovo", speaking at the same time again about the organisation of early elections in the North, but with the indication that the conditions for holding them were "the removal of violent mobs in front of municipal buildings and the full implementation of the basic agreement".

"We have to engage aggressively in the Balkans to protect peace, because right now we can't afford to put out real fires in that region," Senator Murphy said in an interview with National Journal after returning to Washington from a Balkan tour, reported KoSSev, citing RFE. 

Protests erupted over the weekend when Albanian mayors elected in elections, with the use of force by special units, entered municipal buildings in Serb-majority towns in northern Kosovo. 30 soldiers of the NATO peacekeeping force, KFOR, were injured during the conflict between demonstrators and law enforcement.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken blamed the Government of Kosovo for actions that led to "an escalation of tensions in the North and an increase in instability."

Blinken also condemned attacks on NATO peacekeepers.

Murphy, who met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina on May 22, agreed with Blinken that the situation could have been resolved through diplomacy rather than force.

"He didn't have to move so quickly with the decision to take over these buildings," Murphy said, referring to Kurti's decision to have mayors enter Serbian-majority municipal buildings.

"He could have waited and tried to solve it through mediators like the United States," said the American senator and stated that "currently, the biggest obstacle is the Pristina government's insistence on unilateral action."

What happened over the weekend was unacceptable, Murphy said.

"Kurti knew exactly what would happen if he sent these mayors to take over these municipal buildings. He knew that it would throw a wrench into the dialogue, and he did it anyway," the American senator stated.

"Russia is playing games in the Balkans. They are trying to incite division and conflict. They hope that there will be a conflict in the Balkans, a real kinetic conflict that would distract the United States and Europe from the conflict in Ukraine," Murphy told the National Journal, KoSSev cited. 

Murphy says that he hopes that when the situation in the north of Kosovo calms down, people will turn their attention to the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement and that, if the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement succeeds, it would be "grass shoots of long-term peace."

He, however, stated that the US could begin to review its security assistance to Pristina if there is no progress.

"I don't think any of us can understand what Albin Kurti went through. He spent a long period of his life in prison. He spent his entire political career warning that he did not agree with the Serbs. He obviously came to power as someone who took a pretty hard line throughout his political career, and he was elected on that basis," says Murphy.

"But it's different when you're an external organiser compared to being the prime minister of the whole country. If the government in Pristina wants to fight, we as Congress have to make a decision on whether we are fully ready for this ride," he stressed.

Kurti: Removal of violent mobs in front of municipal buildings and full implementation of the basic agreement is the way to de-escalation until new elections.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, spoke just last night with this American senator, as well as with Jeanne Shahin and Pete Ricketts, saying that he was always glad when he talked to them, and thanked them for their long-term support for Kosovo, reported KoSSev. 

Kurti also said today that he was ready to discuss the holding of early elections, which was requested yesterday by the French President, the German Chancellor, and the high representative of the EU.

Kurti, however, has conditions:

"The removal of violent mobs in front of municipal buildings and the full implementation of the basic agreement is the path to de-escalation until new elections," he said.

Last night, Kurti also spoke with the Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States of America, John Finer.

"I thanked him for the call, and I am committed to working with America to de-escalate tensions," he said.

On the other hand, he repeated in this conversation as well that the de-escalation of tensions "requires an immediate end to violence by the Belgrade-sponsored mob against security officers until new elections in those municipalities", reported portal KoSSev.

Peci on crisis in northern Kosovo, possible resignation of new mayors (KoSSev)

Director of KIPRED Institute Lulzim Peci said the situation in the north cannot be calmed down only by resignation of the mayors, KoSSev portal reports.

“Not only mayors, but also municipal assemblies should resign. The problem is deeper than it looks like, this should be a political decision of Kosovo because municipal assemblies councillors and mayors are from two political parties – Self-determination and PDK”, Peci said.

KoSSev portal reported president Vjosa Osmani said earlier Kosovo was ready to organise new elections in the north. This request was put forward by French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Sholcz.

KiM radio: Petrovic and Obrenovic were detained before the start of the riots in Zvecan ( gracanicaonline.info, media)

“The video and photo material recorded by the KiM radio crew on Monday, May 29, in the afternoon immediately before the outbreak of riots in Zvecan, shows that Rados Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic "disappeared" behind the KFOR cordon before the incident, so it is clear that in it they did not participate, nor could they attack anyone, since they were previously detained,” KiM radio wrote in an article posted on their portal this morning. 

KiM radio reported that “upon subsequent inspection of the recorded material, we found that the video clearly shows that Rados Petrovic, a guy with a beard and glasses who is sitting next to Goran Rakic, invites the crowd to calm down and sit down, and then sings "Kosovo is the Heart of Serbia" with them. Then the KFOR cordon momentarily "opens" and Rados Petrovic disappears into it”.

"As early as today, I will forward the video and photos to the Special Prosecutor's Office in order to remove any doubt regarding my client. It is clear from the video that Mr. Petrovic was dragged from a sitting position into the KFOR cordon before the start of the riot," defence attorney of Rados Petrovic, Dejan Vasic told KiM radio. 

“The photos taken successively over a period of one minute also show Petrovic and Obrenovic (wearing a cap, sitting immediately to Petrovic) "disappearing" behind the KFOR cordon,” KiM radio wrote.

"This is what we pointed out to the court about during the session, that the actual moment of my client's deprivation of liberty is the moment that can be seen in the pictures, and not as the prosecution claims at 11:30 p.m. Furthermore, it can be seen that my client protested peacefully and that from the ground he was dragged in by KFOR soldiers. I will forward these photos to the court and the prosecutor's office today," Dusan Obrenovic's lawyer, lawyer Predrag Miljkovic, told KiM Radio.

According to KiM radio another man in a blue vest was dragged behind the cordon with them, but he was later released.

In the meantime, portal gracanicaonline.info also reported, with their video footage, claiming the same. 

Lawyer: Condition of Dusan Obrenovic more stable, but I am still concerned about his safety (Tanjug)

Predrag Miljkovic, defence lawyer of Dusan Obrenovic, arrested in Zvecan during the protest on Monday, and beaten up by Kosovo police said his client is physically more stable but that he is still concerned about his safety.  

“I immediately requested from the corrective service his transfer to prison in Mitrovica. And I am still waiting for the replay. I wrote this to them, and will tell you as well, I am afraid that political tensions from Zvecan spilled over to the prison population in Gnjilane. It is very likely that some problems can occur. That is why I think it is most needed to transfer him to Mitrovica”, Miljkovic told the journalists. 

Strpce and Gracanica sent messages of support to Serbs from the north of Kosovo (Kosovo Online, KiM radio)

About 1,000 inhabitants of the Strpca municipality, as well as about a thousand citizens in Gracanica municipality, gathered today to support the Serbs who have been protesting for the seventh day in Zvecan., Leposavic and Zubin Potok. Those gathered sent messages of solidarity and understanding with their problems, reported Kosovo Online and KiM radio.

From the protest in the center of Gracanica, among others, the Director of the National Library, Brankica Kostic, said at the meeting that "with one voice, they support their colleagues, who have been thrown out of their jobs". The leaders of the municipality of Gracanica, the Provisional Municipality of Pristina, and health and education workers were also present at the protest. The main street in Gracanica was closed to traffic until the protest ended.

   

Opinion 

  Janjic: New Kosovo elections to calm the situation, send Kurti into opposition (Beta, N1)

Political analyst Dusan Janjic said that early elections in Kosovo would ease tensions in the north and send Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti into the opposition, reported N1.

Janjic said the Belgrade-backed Serbian List will see serious opposition from the Serb community in the next Kosovo election.

“(Serbian President) Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian List will have a hard time explaining to the people why they ordered the Serbs seven months ago to withdraw from Kosovo’s institutions. It has proved that this decision only caused enormous damage to the Serbs in northern Kosovo,” said Janjic.

He said calling early elections in Kosovo would help reduce political and security tensions.

“For now, the international community is only mentioning early elections in the north of Kosovo, while (Kosovo President) Vjosa Osmani is talking about readiness to call early elections in the entire territory. Elections are the only way for the Serb community representatives to return to the institutions and fill the security vacuum. In those elections Kurti will definitely be sent back into the opposition because the international community has lost confidence in the Kosovo Prime Minister,” said Janjic.

He added that, after the latest events in Kosovo, the Belgrade-backed Serbian List has lost credibility with the Serbs.

“The Serbian List will see serious opposition from the Serb community, and the international community will seriously control the theft of votes, which definitely happens in the north of Kosovo. The Serb List will no longer be able to exert pressure on and blackmail the voters and other Serb political parties,” said Janjic.

He said Serbian President Vucic will have a problem explaining his policy on Kosovo to the people in Serbia.

“Somehow the cards are falling in a way that Vucic is the one who should hand over Kosovo. When he decided in November last year that the Serbs should withdraw from the institutions, he gambled with Kosovo. He made a wrong and risky move and time will come for others to collect on it, because he did not have a backup plan. Vucic is losing political initiative in Kosovo as well, he is making a huge marketing fuss while actually causing immense damage to his people,” said Janjic.

   

International 

  Kosovo Leaders Agree to New Elections in Restive North (BIRN)

Under pressure from Western leaders, Kosovo's PM and President said they are open to new local elections in the four northern Serb-dominated municipalities.

Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, and its Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, confirmed that they are open for new mayoral elections in four Serb-dominated municipalities in the north of the country, in line with a request from Western officials.

Kurti said on Thursday, after talking with three US senators, that “removing violent mobs in front of municipality buildings and full implementation of the Brussels Agreement is the way toward de-escalation until new elections”.

He confirmed he also spoke with US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer on de-escalation measures.

Kurti has continued to call Serb protesters in the north “a mob” and “a fascist militia” since the outbreak of violent clashes on Monday.

Read more at: https://t.ly/lESIJ Democracy Digest: Hungary troops attacked in Kosovo (BIRN)

This week showed that campaigning on the side of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic may have its downsides. Just two days after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stood side by side with Vucic in Belgrade at a massive rally, where he declared Hungary’s “historic friendship” with Serbia, Hungarian peacekeeping soldiers were brutally attacked by a Serbian mob in northern Kosovo. The Serbian protesters appeared visibly confused, as they believed the Hungarian KFOR troops would take their side and they even cheered for Viktor Orban at one point. But as they realised the soldiers were there to keep order and disperse the crowd, they started launching Molotov cocktails, leading to 19 injuries. While Italian PM Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned the attack, the Hungarian government remained tight-lipped. The incident showed once again the incompatibility of Orban’s strategy of being part of Western alliances (NATO and EU), while questioning their values and maintaining close ties with rivals outside the blocs. On social media, Fidesz voters, unaware of KFOR’s mission, demanded the immediate withdrawal of Hungarian soldiers from Kosovo, where Hungary has the third largest contingent after the US and Italy. The pro-government pundit and Fidesz member Zsolt Bayer called Kosovo a “western creation” and its secession from Serbia “a blatant villainy”, practically questioning the Hungarian diplomatic position of acknowledging Kosovo’s independence.

Read more at: https://t.ly/irkG    

Humanitarian/Development

  Plenty of Work Ahead to Improve Children’s Well-being in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Many non-governmental organizations dealing with children’s rights have called on the authorities to make greater efforts to ensure that children in Kosovo receive quality education and adequate health and social services.

International Children’s Day, observed on June 1st, is usually accompanied by various activities organized by local and central governments, as well as numerous organizations around the world.

In Kosovo, this day is also marked by various activities, but there are few calls from parents or authorities to provide children with conditions for proper growth, including a good education system and equal access to adequate health and social services.

However, there is a commitment from all stakeholders to improve this situation and provide quality health and educational services, ensuring that all children have access to them.

Read more at: https://t.ly/ss6_I