Albanian Language Media: 

• Osmani in NY to represent Kosovo at UNGA79 High-Level Week (media)

• Dejona Mihali interviewed by the Special Prosecution (media)

• Maqedonci: There is a risk of Banjska happening again (EO) 

• Dugolli: Gangs that fled the north regrouping in Serbia for another attack (RTV21)

• Vokrri: Opening of bridge will be postponed because of coordination (media)

• “Massacres in Kosovo 1998-1999” book published (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Vucic meets General Harris, requests stronger support from US in protection of Serbs in Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus, media)

• Office for KiM: Serb beaten and robbed in Staro Gracko, near Lipljan (Tanjug, KiM radio, media)

• Serbian List: Attack on Radic consequence of Pristina’s anti-Serb policy (Kosovo Online, media)

• Rector Arsic: No plans to relocate University, it stays in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)

• Kabasic: Belgrade's measures a form of political declaration, but without concrete consequences for Pristina (Kosovo Online, Danas)

• Celic: Unilateral implementation of Cadastral Agreement endangers Serbian property in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

• Kosovo's Ministry of Culture renovated the house of Xhafer Deva in South Mitrovica despite the opposition of the EU (Kosovo Online)

• Nova: A law on Kosovo being prepared, almost the entire opposition agrees (Danas)

• Zakharova: Russia supports Vucic’s initiative on Kosovo (Tanjug)

• Congressman Swalwell: Serbia has proven to be an important partner of the USA in relation to Ukraine (VoA, Danas)

International: 

• War of words between Serbia and Kosovo intensifies as EU talks stall (politico.eu)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani in NY to represent Kosovo at UNGA79 High-Level Week (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that she is in New York to represent Kosovo at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week.

Dejona Mihali interviewed by the Special Prosecution (media)

Dejona Mihali, coordinator of committees in the ruling Vetevendosje Movement, is being interviewed by the Special Prosecution. Citing unnamed sources, Telegrafi reports that she is being interviewed in relation to two cases of corruption. The Special Prosecution did not respond to a request for comment from the news website. According to Nacionale, Mihali will be interviewed for the case of former KEK CEO Nagip Krasniqi, and the case of Iber Lepenci CEO Faruk Mujka. Both officials were arrested last year for suspected corruption. 

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo said in a media statement that Mihali was being interviewed as a witness in several criminal matters that the prosecution is investigating.

Mihali told reporters after the interview that she went “to help the prosecution reveal the truth”.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said in a Facebook post that “the circle of the Energy Mafia is getting smaller. The latest actions of the judiciary in Kosovo are giving the people hope about the power of the law above all. The Energy Mafia must face the law. The state of law and democracy do not surrender before suspected criminal structures”.

Maqedonci: There is a risk of Banjska happening again (EO) 

Kosovo’s Minister for Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an interview with the news website that there is a potential risk of armed groups supported by structures in Serbia to carry out another attack in Kosovo, with the same political objectives as the one in Banjska last year.

“Being that after the September 24 attack, the biggest part of the group that was led by Radoicic fled to Serbia, the risk in our territory has gone down. But there is always a risk that groups like the one led by Radocic, or that very group, carry out another terrorist activity with political objectives, always supported by the structures in Serbia. As long as Radoicic’s group and other criminal groups roam freely in Serbia and are trained and develop activities there, we believe that there could be similar threats again,” he said.

“We also must highlight the fact that several conditions have now been created to prevent this from happening. These conditions were created by our institutions and also the increased presence of KFOR troops along the border with Serbia. This was done precisely to prevent the penetration of these groups into Kosovo”.

Dugolli: Gangs that fled the north regrouping in Serbia for another attack (RTV21)

Deputy head of the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Security and Defense, Enver Dugolli, said in an interview with the TV station today that they received information from law enforcement agencies that “criminal groups and gangs that used to operate in the north are now regrouping in Serbia for another attack similar to the one in Banjska in September last year”.

Vokrri: Opening of bridge will be postponed because of coordination (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Local Government, Arber Vokrri, said in an interview with TeVe1 that despite his earlier statements, the main bridge over the Iber river in Mitrovica will not be opened this summer. “We didn’t see any reason for such a big and I would say harsh reaction from the QUINT countries, and the international community in general, because from Belgrade we would have expected it. We have no dilemma whether the bridge will be opened. It must be opened and I am confident it will be opened, but the timeline that I mentioned during summer will probably be postponed because of coordination,” he said.

“Massacres in Kosovo 1998-1999” book published (Kallxo)

The news website reports that early this month, publicist Shkelzen Gashi published a book titled “Massacres in Kosovo 1998-1999” which includes details of massacres carried out by Serbian forces against civilians, mainly Albanians, from February 28, 1998, to July 23, 1999. The book also contains pictures of the locations where the massacres were reportedly committed.

Gashi said in an interview with the news website that “grave violations of international humanitarian law were committed during the war in Kosovo”. He said that during that period there were "massacres, killings, disappearances, rapes, tortures, abductions and arbitrary arrests". “Moreover, there were violent expulsions of the civilian population within and outside Kosovo, houses, schools, ambulances, factories, religious and cultural sites, and historical monuments, were burned and destroyed,” he said.

Gashi said that funds from the selling of the book will be used to create a website that will include massacres committed in Kosovo in 1998-1999.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic meets General Harris, requests stronger support from US in protection of Serbs in Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Commander of the Ohio National Guard Major General John Harris, Radio kontakt plus reported.

“I conveyed to Major General Harris concerns over the increasingly difficult security situation of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and requested stronger support from the US in protection of our people and ensuring their rights”, Vucic said in a post on his official Instagram account.

He added the conversation with the Ohio National Guard Commander was constructive and that they have also discussed the security situation in the region, Serbia-US relations, as well as about possibilities to further advance bilateral military and cooperation in other areas. 

Office for KiM: Serb beaten and robbed in Staro Gracko, near Lipljan (Tanjug, KiM radio, media)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced today that in Staro Gracko, Lipljan municipality, Serb Dejan Radic was beaten and robbed in his house around midnight last night, cited Tanjug agency. 

The Office for KiM claims that ''three Albanian-speaking attackers first tied up Radic, then beat him with a stick and robbed him finally''.

The director of the Clinical Hospital Centre Pristina-Gracanica, Bratislav Lazic said he is currently stable, and he is sent to the Clinical Hospital Centre (CHC) in Mitrovica North.

He added Radic was admitted to the hospital in Gracanica due to injuries he sustained from attackers in his house.

“That happened in his house, sometime around midnight…. He was sent to CHC in Mitrovica North, to do the scan of his head and neck, in order to fully clarify whether there are any more serious injuries on bone and soft tissue structures. So, he is stable at the moment", Lazic told Tanjug. 

Serbian List: Attack on Radic consequence of Pristina’s anti-Serb policy (Kosovo Online, media)

“Brutal maltreating and beating up of Dejan Radic, from suffering village of Staro Gracko, as per his own testimony done by persons speaking Albanian language is a consequence of anti-Serb policy of Pristina’s regime which by its daily and various violence against Serbs and policy of impunity encourages such acts, while international community remains silent”, Serbian List said in reaction to the incident which took place in Staro Gracko, Lipljan municipality, Kosovo Online portal reported.

The Serbian List in the strongest terms condemned this incident and demanded those responsible are found and adequately sanctioned.

“Residents of Staro Gracko have not recovered for years because of the heinous murder of (14) harvesters from this village, and this heinous act caused embitterment, fear and anxiety among the Serbs. We demand that international representatives come to Staro Gracko and see it on the ground how Serbs live there, and how it looks like when Kosovo institutions take care of their safety, as well as how anti-Serbian policy carried out by Albin Kurti reflects on everyday life of our population”, Serbian List added in a statement. 

Additionally, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said the "brutal attack is a consequence of the anti-Serb policy and institutional violence carried out by Pristina and Albin Kurti against the Serbs'', and that it is one of the numerous examples of police brutality, which sends the message that the Serbs in Kosovo are desirable and legitimate targets no one will be responsible for, reported KiM radio, citing the statement. 

"Attacks on Serbs have become a daily occurrence in Kosovo and Metohija, because all hatred breeds and inspires hatred, and the Serbs in this suffering village have no peace even after two and a half decades, but are once again being targeted by the Albanians," the statement said.

The Office says that this attack caused concern among the remaining Serbs living in Staro Gracko.

Rector Arsic: No plans to relocate University, it stays in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)

Rector of Pristina University with a seat in Mitrovica North, Nebojsa Arsic refuted allegations that there are plans to relocate this University, adding it will not leave northern Kosovo and will stay in Mitrovica North, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"There are more and more rumors about the alleged departure of the University from Kosovska Mitrovica and other places in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, but we have officially denied it. At the Senate, we stated that there is absolutely no backup, secret plans for moving the University to any location. The University is a complex institution with many capacities and infrastructure, so moving the University is not a simple matter. Even if it were technically possible, neither our University, nor the Ministry of Education, nor the Government of Serbia have any plans that consider such a possibility", Arsic said.

Kabasic: Belgrade's measures a form of political declaration, but without concrete consequences for Pristina (Kosovo Online, Danas)

Former judge of the Higher Court in North Mitrovica, Nikola Kabasic, believes that Belgrade's intention to reject and annul all decisions that are not in line with what was previously agreed upon in the dialogue process should be viewed as a form of political declaration because they cannot produce legal effects in Serbia and will not have concrete consequences for Pristina, reported Kosovo Online.

He adds that it is also unclear whether this decision would be implemented by the Assembly, the government, or individual ministries because Pristina's decisions cannot have legal effects in Serbia.

"This is more of a political declaration and a political stance taken by the Government of Serbia, rather than something that will have concrete consequences, concrete results, or tangible changes on the ground," Kabasic told Kosovo Online.

He believes it is unclear how this could be implemented in practice, as well as which decisions it specifically refers to.

"The stance itself is somewhat contradictory. How can the Government of the Republic of Serbia reject decisions made by Kosovo's institutions, which are in contradiction with what exactly – with signed agreements? Which ones? With the Brussels Agreement, which is entirely within Kosovo's constitutional framework? What does it mean that Serbia will not recognize decisions that are not in line with Kosovo's constitutional framework? It is somewhat contradictory," Kabasic said.

Celic: Unilateral implementation of Cadastral Agreement endangers Serbian property in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Assistant Professor at University of North Mitrovica Faculty of Law, Dusko Celic, said the Cadastral Agreement is one of the most drastic examples of the failure to implement what was agreed in Brussels, and it could have, as he said, catastrophic consequences for properties, in particular owned by displaced Serbs from Kosovo.

"Pristina signed the agreement and then unilaterally implemented it by forming a so-called verification commission made up solely of representatives from Pristina, although this body was supposed to be tripartite: formed with representatives from Pristina, Belgrade, and the European Union. Pristina unilaterally makes decisions in this commission, and these decisions could have catastrophic effects on property rights, primarily for Serbs, concerning real estate", Celic warns.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/W1bxI

Kosovo's Ministry of Culture renovated the house of Xhafer Deva in South Mitrovica despite the opposition of the EU (Kosovo Online)

Despite the opposition of part of the international community in Kosovo, primarily the EU Office as well as the UNDP, which, after the reaction of the Serbian public, gave up participating in the project, the Kosovo Ministry of Culture completed the renovation of the house that Pristina claims belonged to Xhafer Deva, reported Kosovo Online, citing Vecernje Novosti.

As stated, the works on the building in the Mitrovica south lasted for two years.

The Swedish organization “Cultural Heritage without Borders” made the renovation project, with its branch in Pristina, and the value of the works is half a million euros. According to unofficial information, that sum was provided by the Kosovo Ministry of Culture, reported Kosovo Online.  

Nova: A law on Kosovo being prepared, almost the entire opposition agrees (Danas)

The leader of the New Democratic Party, Milos Jovanovic, announced last week that he will propose a special session of the Serbian Parliament on the situation in Kosovo, and mentioned that a special draft law related to Kosovo is being drafted. As he told Nova.rs portal, the drafting of this document is near to be completed, and soon an official request will be sent to the President of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabic, to convene an extraordinary session, cited Danas daily.

Jovanovic announced earlier that he would be the initiator of a special session of the National Assembly dedicated to Kosovo due to the whole situation, and his proposal was supported by part of the opposition. The President of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, said that if there is a session on Kosovo, the President of Serbia will also attend it.

When asked by Nova.rs what is happening with the proposal on the session, as well as the announced law on Kosovo, Jovanovic said that the text of the proposal is nearing completion, and that the proposal on the session will be officially submitted soon.

"The text itself, which will be in the form of a bill, is being finalized. It is almost finished and is aligned with the entire opposition. Soon it will be sent to MPs for signing, and after that an official request will be sent to the President of the National Assembly to convene an extraordinary session on Kosovo and Metohija," Milos Jovanovic said.

The proposal for an extraordinary session, as the portal was told, was supported by the leader of the HEART party Zdravko Ponos, deputy of the Democratic Party Srdjan Milivojevic, co-chairman of the Green-Left Front Radomir Lazovic and deputy of the Ecological Uprising Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta. 

The leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, Dragan Djilas, also supported Jovanovic's proposal about the session.

Zakharova: Russia supports Vucic’s initiative on Kosovo (Tanjug)

Initiative of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to resolve the situation in relation to Kosovo is the only possible step of Belgrade, and Moscow supports it, Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Maria Zakharova said, Tanjug news agency reported.

"President Vucic's initiative suggests that this is the only possible step that Belgrade sees now. We fully support the set demands, we welcome the intention to resubmit the request for the return of Serbian security forces to Kosovo and Metohija in full compliance with Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council", Zakharova said in a briefing on the sidelines of the Eurasian Women's Forum, as reported by the RIA Novosti agency.

She stated that only the establishment of the status quo, returning to the essence of the Brussels Agreements can provide a basis for further fruitful dialogue.

Congressman Swalwell: Serbia has proven to be an important partner of the USA in relation to Ukraine (VoA, Danas)

Strengthening military cooperation, providing resources for the utilization of lithium potential, while preserving the environment, as well as joint economic development - are the most important areas in the relations between the United States and Serbia, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell told Voice of America.

The representative of California in the Congress believes that the strengthening of military cooperation is very important and believes that the US and Serbia can offer each other much more - than is the case with Russia or China.

"The existing and future relations between the US and Serbia have no borders. They have been continuously developing over the last decade. They have proven to be an important security partner when it comes to our highest priority - the events in Ukraine. We need to be realistic and try to mitigate other influences. The best way to do that is through freedoms, our economy, and values. They are much more aligned with Serbia than is the case when it comes to Russia and China," said Swalwell for the VoA, on the day when the USA and Serbia signed a strategic agreement on cooperation in the field of energy.

However, the fact is that the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, a man on the US sanctions list, recently visited Russia, where he spoke with President Vladimir Putin. In addition, another high-ranking Serbian official - Minister of Internal Affairs and also Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic - stayed in China not long after that.

Several VoA's interlocutors recently interpreted such moves as obstacles to the European path of Serbia, a candidate for membership in the EU, but also to the intensification of cooperation with Western countries.

Also, despite the calls and expectations of mediators and the international community, an end has not yet been put to the decades-long dispute between Serbia and Kosovo - which should enable the normalization of relations between the two sides and contribute to the progress of the process of their integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures.

Swalwell told VoA that he expects the parties in the process to implement what was agreed upon.

"Recently, I published a statement that corresponds to the position of the American embassy in Kosovo, which is not satisfied with the attitude of Kurti's government towards some Serbs. However, I have full hope that the framework that was agreed upon will be implemented," concluded Congressman Swalwell.

International

War of words between Serbia and Kosovo intensifies as EU talks stall (politico.eu)

Serbian President Vučić says he has “no relationship” to Kosovo leaders as EU-led talks fail to produce results.

BELGRADE — A long-simmering — and at times violent — standoff between Kosovo and Serbia over the status of majority Serb enclaves in northern Kosovo looked poised to go back on the boil as the leaders of “the two countries” ratcheted up the rhetoric with dueling insults and accusations this week.  

After Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused him of “irrationality,” “desperation” and of pursuing an “aggressive campaign for new conflicts,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić shot back in an interview with POLITICO.

“If irrationality and aggression is to have democratic elections … OK, many thanks to him,” Vučić said.

The tit-for-tat followed the Serbian leader’s calls this week for new municipal elections in northern Kosovo to ease tensions that flared in 2023 when the Serbian community largely boycotted the ballot.

The local Serbs wanted to express dissatisfaction with Pristina, but the move backfired when ethnic Albanian candidates, representing just over 3 percent of the electorate, swept the elections. Despite the absence of a clear democratic mandate, Kurti, a leftist politician who entered politics as a student protestor, encouraged the men to take office and dispatched special police units to protect them, triggering a crisis that has inflamed passions on both sides of the border. 

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3tfnmuhc