Albanian Language Media:

• Svecla publishes video claiming to show Radoicic during attack in north (RFE)
• Svecla: Armed group planned to go south to the Iber River, “declare autonomy” (media)
• Rohde: Urgent need to continue dialogue talks, implementation of Ohrid deal (media)
• UK MP Kearns reacts to latest developments in north of Kosovo (media)
• Albanian PM Rama says “Belgrade blowing the fire of an armed conflict” (media)
• Kosovo Police deliver 100 food packages to citizens of Banjska (Koha)
• Abazovic: Situation in north of Kosovo can turn into wider conflict (Albanian Post)
• Dugolli: International community should take urgent steps against Serbia (media)
• Maliqi: KFOR, NATO negotiated with Belgrade to stop armed conflict in north (media)
• Former KSF commander: Operation to continue, there are more arms warehouses (KTV)
• Tahiri: Borrell, Lajcak must resign; Serbia must be suspended from integration (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Stano: In the afternoon, a new meeting of EU ambassadors will be held on the situation in Kosovo (Tanjug) 
• Vucic requests KFOR to take over security in the north of Kosovo (NMagazin, media)
• Hill: Further steps are being considered after the events in Banjska (Beta, KiM radio)
• Kosovo minister says Serbian List’s Radoicic was in Banjska (N1, KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)
• Tomorrow in Serbia Mourning Day due to the events in Kosovo (media)
• Serbian List: Three-day mourning in Serbian communities in Kosovo (Danas) 
• Milicevic: The Serbian List has failed, less and less control and influence on the Serbs from the north (N1)
• Kontakt plus journalist, Ana Marija Ivkovic: The atmosphere in the north of Kosovo is worse (Insajder)
• Vorgucic: To me it is unbelievable that K-Serbs are behind this action (Insajder) 
• Brnabic met with Vucic: Discussion on measures to be taken (Beta, N1)
• A vehicle set on fire in Leposavic last night (KoSSev)

International:

• State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller Addresses Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti’s Accusations, Violent Clashes, And Excessive Force Concerns (thepavlovictoday.com)
• Svecla: What we want to do is make sure everyone feels safe (BBC Newsnight)

     

Albanian Language Media  

  Svecla publishes video claiming to show Radoicic during attack in north (RFE)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, published a video on Facebook today claiming to show Serbian List deputy leader Milan Radoicic during the attack against Kosovo Police on September 24 in the north of Kosovo. According to Svecla, Radoicic was the leader of the armed group and the attack that resulted in the killing of police officer Afrim Bunjaku. “This is another proof about his terrorist activity against the Republic of Kosovo. The deputy leader of the Serbian List is the leader of the terrorist attack and the group of terrorists,” Svecla claims. See the video here: https://shorturl.at/mpJU4

Svecla: Armed group planned to go south to the Iber River, “declare autonomy” (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said in an interview with Euronews Albania, that the armed group in the north planned to go south to the Iber River. “This includes 200 potential persons that would be part of the scenario. Their plan was to go further south to the Iber River and then through attacks to prevent the Kosovo Police from operating freely and then declare autonomy,” Svecla said.

Svecla said that the police operation is ongoing and that trucks and bulldozers with weapons have been found. “This is the logistics of a genuine army. The number of weapons [found] is increasing. We have found another armoured vehicle. There are trucks and bulldozers that were used to carry ammunition. There are more RPGs, anti-tank mines and anti-infantry mines. This long list is being updated. There is a machine gun with nitroglycerin that even the [Kosovo] police do not possess. This is a military weapon and comes directly from the warehouses in Serbia,” he argued.

Rohde: Urgent need to continue dialogue talks, implementation of Ohrid deal (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, shared an X post by EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak about “intense and very substantial consultations with Chief diplomatic advisers Bonne, Plötner, Talo and DAS Escobar. We discussed the next steps in the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and the situation in the north of Kosovo. Grateful for the full support”. Rohde wrote that “Sunday's heinous criminal and terrorist attack against Kosovo law enforcement officers underlines the urgent need to continue Dialogue talks and the implementation of the Ohrid agreement now”.

UK MP Kearns reacts to latest developments in north of Kosovo (media)

UK MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, argued in a post on X on Monday that “many facts to be established following the murder of a Kosovar police officer but impunity breeds contempt for the rule of law & order, so accountability is the priority alongside an urgent re-evaluation to put fairness & balance at the heart of int’l approach to Serbia–Kosovo.” See full post at: https://shorturl.at/doxJW

Albanian PM Rama says “Belgrade blowing the fire of an armed conflict” (media)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a post on X today that “the days of mourning announced officially in Belgrade for the members of the armed group that were eliminated by the security forces of the Republic of Kosovo, after the group killed a police officer, is the worst signal that Serbia can send to the region and the Euro-Atlantic community!” He said that “instead of launching a serious investigation about the members of the criminal group, their ties with arms traffickers and other individuals or entities in Serbia or elsewhere … by declaring the days of mourning which has nothing to do with the 21st century, Belgrade blows like never before since 1999 the fire of an armed conflict. This is not only unjustifiable and unacceptable but also condemnable with all the force of speech and instruments available to the Euro-Atlantic community!” 

Rama advised the EU and the United States that now is the time to be decisive in raising the democratic alarm at the highest level in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict in the north of Kosovo. He also advised Kosovo “to reflect very seriously and decide firmly if it wants to continue the course of action separately from its irreplaceable friends and undisputed allies or to act in harmony and understanding with the Euro-Atlantic community”.

Kosovo Police deliver 100 food packages to citizens of Banjska (Koha)

The news website reports that Kosovo Police officers delivered around 100 food packages to the citizens of Banjska near Zvecan today. 

Abazovic: Situation in north of Kosovo can turn into wider conflict (Albanian Post)

Montenegro Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic condemned the killing of a Kosovo police officer on September 24 in the village of Banjska near Zvecan. “I personally strongly condemn the violence and the killing. What more can we say, we were shocked. This kind of situation can easily turn into a wider conflict, and this is a misfortune,” he told Montenegrin media. “We believe that the politics of the 1990s must end”.

Abazovic also called on the Serbian and Kosovo people to try and reconcile.

Dugolli: International community should take urgent steps against Serbia (media)

Kosovo’s Ambassador to the United States, Ilir Dugolli, in a post on X, shared photos of the weapons found at the Banjska Monastery and surrounding locations. “Police in presence and full coordination with KFOR and EULEX confiscated 150 explosive dynamites, 54 mortar shells 82 mm, 88 shells 62 mm, 75 hand grenades, 29 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 7 used rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 8 anti-tank mines and more. Sophisticated military weapons manufactured in 2021 and supplied by the Serbian army have been seized. This is outrageous and unmistakable evidence that hundreds of individuals were gearing up for combat orchestrated by Serbia. The international community should take urgent steps against Serbia, which refuses to renounce armed threats against Kosovo and continues to terrorise an entire region,” Dugolli said.

Maliqi: KFOR, NATO negotiated with Belgrade to stop armed conflict in north (media)

Political commentator Shkelzen Maliqi claims in an interview with Gazeta Blic that “KFOR and NATO negotiated to stop the fighting and prevent an armed conflict between Kosovo Police and the armed group in Banjska near Zvecan”. According to Maliqi, KFOR and NATO negotiated directly with Belgrade. “Here it is seen as a triumphalism for the Kosovo Police in this action. The police have done an excellent job, but everyone needs to be aware that the police did not act on their own. It had the operational side, while foreign intelligence agencies, KFOR or NATO, followed the logistics and were ready to intervene if something bigger were to happen and they negotiated with Belgrade to allow the exit or stop the conflict … It is almost certain that it [the withdrawal of the armed group] was negotiated, according to sources. They always have their channels of communication. They directly put pressure on Vucic, and it is seen from the videos that a ‘pathway’ was allowed to exit. They also sent two wounded to Novi Pazar. There are many things that need to be explained, but the main fact is that this incident was a kind of provocation or incitement for war. I think their plan was to incite a conflict, and then to trigger a harsh reaction against the Monastery and the pilgrims, which could have led to a rebellion by the Serbs in the north,” Maliqi argued.

Former KSF commander: Operation to continue, there are more arms warehouses (KTV)

Former commander of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), Kadri Kastrati, called on Kosovo Police and security institutions today to continue their operation, as according to him, “there are more warehouses of weapons that came from Serbia”. In an interview with the TV station, he said: “Police should continue their operation in other parts too because I am certain that there are many more warehouses and weapons that came from Serbia, even heavier calibres, because they were prepared. The action was aimed to mobilise the population, to create havoc and to break away that part of Kosovo”.

Tahiri: Borrell, Lajcak must resign; Serbia must be suspended from integration (media)

Kosovo’s former chief negotiator in the talks with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, said in a Facebook post today that following the latest events in the north, EU High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak must resign after what she called “Serbia’s hegemonistic attack against Kosovo”. According to Tahiri, the EU must suspend Serbia from the process of EU integration”. “They sanctioned Kosovo when it made mistakes, and now without sanctioning Serbia, the calls to continue the dialogue make no sense,” she argued.

 

Serbian Language Media

  Stano: In the afternoon, a new meeting of EU ambassadors will be held on the situation in Kosovo (Tanjug) 

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said today that yesterday's meeting of senior EU diplomats with EU Special Envoy for Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar is just one of the many diplomatic initiatives taking place regarding the situation in Kosovo and that the EU member states' ambassadors will meet again in the afternoon to discuss it, reported Tanjug agency.

"Member States (EU) are discussing the situation and exchanging information on the situation on the ground. The next meeting will take place this afternoon. The ambassadors of the Member States will meet to discuss the situation. These are political processes that are currently taking place, it is being discussed what exactly happened and what course of action will the member countries take," Stano said at the press conference.

He added that the EU does not want to come out with assessments and condemnations until the official investigation is completed and the facts are gathered, reported the agency.

"As far as we understand, the investigation is still ongoing. It is not finished and is being fully implemented by the Kosovo police. EULEX and KFOR provide assistance upon request. We need to see who organized and who carried out this terrorist attack. And those responsible should then be brought to justice by the judicial authorities, so that they would be held accountable. The EU was very clear," Stano pointed out, reported RTS. .

Radio Television of Serbia reports that he also indicated that the EULEX mission acts on the territory of Kosovo as a second security factor, in accordance with its mandate, and that it can only react if the Kosovo police ask it to do so.

"EULEX, in accordance with its mandate, is doing everything it can to provide support to the Kosovo Police if they request it. And I can confirm that the cooperation has been very good so far. EULEX is carrying out the tasks requested and asked by the Kosovo Police and will continue to do so," Stano said.

He added that the head of the EULEX mission in Kosovo, Carabinieri Major General Giovanni Pietro Barbano, is in constant contact with the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, and informs him of news from the field.

Stano emphasized that Borrell and Lajcak are leading the dialogue based on the mandate of the 27 member states of the Union and at the request of Belgrade and Pristina.

"The EU, as a mediator in the dialogue, can only help the parties to reach an agreement, but readiness, courage and the desire to reach compromises and constructive solutions are necessary," Stano emphasized.

He also reminded that all EU member states expressed their full support for Borrell and Lajcak as mediators in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in the last statement.

Stano added that the EU is in constant contact with all participants in the dialogue and communicates with them through appropriate channels, not through the media.

"The most important thing at this moment, when it comes to terrorist attacks, is to conduct a full investigation and establish who is responsible," concluded Stano.

Vucic requests KFOR to take over security in the north of Kosovo (NMagazin, media)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, asked the ambassadors of the Quint countries that KFOR take care of all security issues in the north of Kosovo instead of the Kosovo Police, it was announced on his Instagram account, cited Serbian media. 

"Also, I asked why EULEX was refused by the Kosovo police to attend the operation itself, which was conducted in the territory of the north of Kosovo," wrote Vucic. 

He pointed out that the "important conversation" with representatives of Quint was held "at one of the most difficult moments for Serbia".

President Vucic met this morning with the ambassadors of the Quint, USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, as well as with the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia.

The meeting was also attended by the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic.

Hill: Further steps are being considered after the events in Banjska (Beta, KiM radio)

US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said in Belgrade that the escalation of violence in Banjska in Kosovo is a "tragic event" and that further steps are being considered, reported KiM radio, citing Beta agency.

"We must all condemn the killing of a member of the Kosovo Police and always mourn the loss of life, but we must continue with the political process. Processes are underway to encourage dialogue," Hill said at the public debate "Changed Geopolitical Environment and Challenges to the International Legal Order."

Hill also said that the diplomatic process must be strengthened in the coming days and weeks.

"This situation is being treated very seriously and numerous discussions are taking place on what further steps should be taken," he said.

Kosovo minister says Serbian List’s Radoicic was in Banjska (N1, KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)

Kosovo Internal Affairs Minister Xhelal Svecla published a video which he said showed “Serbian List senior official Milan Radoicic in uniform with armed men at the Banjska monastery”.

The video on Svecla’s Facebook profile showed the group of uniformed, armed men in the grounds of the monastery including a man who the minister claims is Radoicic.

“The criminal Radojcic was the leader of this terrorist group and the attack when police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. This is more proof of his terrorist activity against the Republic of Kosovo. The deputy leader of the Serbian List is the leader of the terrorist attack and the terrorist group,” Svecla wrote.

Svecla accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of trying to “destabilize Kosovo through the Serbian List and Radoicic”. The minister said that the declaration of a day of mourning by the Serbian government and Serbia List prove who is behind the operation.

Svecla claimed earlier that the Kosovo Serbs wounded on Sunday were being treated at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade. He told reporters that Radoicic’s personal documents were found in one of the cars in Banjska, reported N1. 

Tomorrow in Serbia Mourning Day due to the events in Kosovo (media)

At today's extraordinary session, the Government of Serbia declared September 27 as the Day of Mourning in connection with the tragic events in Kosovo, reported Serbian media. 

"The Government of Serbia is asking all the media and organizers of public events to adapt their program to the Day of Mourning on Wednesday, September 27, and thus pay respect to the victims in Kosovo and Metohija," stated the announcement of the Government of Serbia, it was cited by media.

Serbian List: Three-day mourning in Serbian communities in Kosovo (Danas) 

"On September 26, 27 and 28 will be mourning days in Serbian communities in Kosovo and Metohija due to the death of our fellow citizens in a tragic event in Banjska, in the municipality of Zvecan," Serbian list announced today, cited Danas daily. 

In Serbian areas on the territory of Kosovo, as reported by Politika daily, all entertainment events organized by local self-government bodies and institutions will be cancelled. And the flags of the Republic of Serbia at all institutions will be lowered to half-mast.

"On behalf of the Serbian List and the Serbian people from Kosovo and Metohija, we express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery," stated the statement of the Serbian List.

Milicevic: The Serbian List has failed, less and less control and influence on the Serbs from the north (N1)

The Serbian List has completely failed, and Belgrade's influence on the local Serbs in the north of Kosovo has diminished, said Miodrag Milicevic, director of the non-governmental organization "Aktiv" from North Mitrovica, reported N1.

Milicevic said in N1 TV Show "Iza vesti" (Behind the news) that the silence that reigned after the incident in the village of Banjska, but also in previous situations, was incomprehensible. He adds that the local population is left alone because of that wall of silence.

Asked who has influence on the Serbs in Kosovo, if it is not Serbian List and Belgrade, Milicevic says that the only influence that currently exists in Kosovo is the one which Belgrade exerts on Serbian List. 

"As far as the rest of the political scene is concerned, these are mostly people who act on their own initiative, without any coordination with any of the political parties in Serbia and with very weak mutual coordination. That makes this picture bleak and idealess because you have no initiative on what to do next and how to get out of this problem," Milicevic emphasized.

Commenting on the assessment that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, blaming the Kosovo Serbs, the interlocutor from North Mitrovica says that it is possible that the group that carried out the attack was organized on its own initiative and that there is a way for someone to influence individuals to unite.

He recalls that individuals from the north of Kosovo have previously warned that it is possible that after the past 24 months we will reach a stage that will mean crossing the red line and the possibility of conflict.

Kontakt plus journalist, Ana Marija Ivkovic: The atmosphere in the north of Kosovo is worse (Insajder)

Ana Marija Ivkovic, Kontakt plus radio journalist from North Mitrovica told Insajder that the atmosphere in the north of Kosovo is much worse than it was on Sunday, September 24. Residents do not know what to expect, we still do not have information about key matters and the sequence of events, and citizens receive unofficial information. 

“No one’s quite sure what happened and what the goal of that barricade is, given that the bridge leads to Banjska,” Ivkovic said during her interview to Insjader’s Marker show.

As she said, if one follows the official information, there are still many holes in that story.

“I think that the institutions here should act in a different way, above all the Kosovo institutions,” Ivkovic opined.

As she explains, the action is still ongoing, and Banjska is still closed to traffic, so it is assumed that the police are still looking for someone else.

When asked what the situation looked like on Sunday and whether the atmosphere that was felt was out of the ordinary, Ivkovic said that it was the opposite.

“When a crisis starts, the sirens are heard, but now it is the opposite,” she said.

She said that on Sunday they were waiting to get information about what is happening, and on Monday, as she said, unofficial information about who these people are was already circulating.

When asked what the situation is like in Banjska, Ivkovic said that only people who live there can enter.

“Only people in Banjska can go get groceries with their cars being searched and they can come back and no one else,” she explained, adding that the administrative crossings are still closed, and that she believes this will be the case until the action ends.

“The only thing the residents need now is the complete truth revealed so that the community would be stabilized in terms of security,” Ivkovic told Marker.

Vorgucic: To me it is unbelievable that K-Serbs are behind this action (Insajder) 

Director of the RTV KiM, Isak Vorgucic said that to him it sounds “unbelievable that Kosovo Serbs are behind this action”.

“If it was the instigation of the disaffected people, they would not be in uniforms, but would be like some guerilla group in semi-civilian clothes,” opined Vorgucic. 

According to him, the rebellion is not a legitimate thing if it is within the legal framework, but according to his opinion, the situation in Kosovo was not such that it was necessary for people to arm themselves and to shoot at the Kosovo police.

When asked what the arsenal of weapons shown by Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs tells him, he replies that he thinks “it’s not about an action”.

“That amount of weapons cannot be carried by the number of people they state, that is, thirty. In my opinion, this is some kind of preparation for some planned action. This absolutely does not seem planned to me. That action has no beginning, middle, or end, no epilogue, there is no reason, no goal, no demands. The attackers died more than those who were attacked, so what kind of an organized thing it was if so, many people died. Therefore, it is not about an organized event, I would say this is an incident, that is, an omission by those armed and uniformed people who had some intention, probably in the future, but it was thwarted by the arrival of the police, an exchange of fire started and then they left all those weapons where they were,” Vorgucic said. 

He pointed out that for him the statement of KFOR from September 24 that they are monitoring the situation is scandalous.

“A few months ago, when KFOR was securing the building of Zvecan municipality, it beat people who were sitting on the asphalt in front of them, so back then they weren’t monitoring what was going to happen, they thought they should react, and in this case they didn’t react. So, if KFOR isn’t there to protect us in such a situation, and those believers (pilgrims) and the brotherhood of the monastery and the inhabitants of the village of Banjska were also threatened, if they do not need to protect them, then what is their mandate? They certainly failed this time,” Vorgucic said.

Vorgucic expressed hope that the investigation into this event will be thorough.

“The best thing for Pristina and for Kosovo Serbs and for Belgrade is to get to the bottom of what actually happened. As long as assumptions are being made, I am afraid that it may be reflected in the Kosovo public as a message that the Kosovo Serbs are a danger here and that it is a group that can recruit and so to speak terrorists who would fight against Kosovo and the Kosovo security forces,” Vorgucic concluded.

Brnabic met with Vucic: Discussion on measures to be taken (Beta, N1)

Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic announced last night on Instagram that she had a meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic and assessed as a "monstrous lie" front page of the Nova daily today’s edition, on which it was stated that Vucic shifted all ''the blame for the bloodshed to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija'', reported N1. 

Brnabic, in a video message she posted on Instagram after meeting with President Vucic, said that yesterday was very difficult, but that it was especially difficult for her, "that no tragedy can unite us".

She called the daily Nova a "tycoon's daily newspaper" and added that there is no person in Serbia who did not clearly hear that Aleksandar Vucic said that the sole, sole and exclusive culprit for the bloodshed in Kosovo was Albin Kurti and his politics.

"But unlike them and the politicians they support, who unwittingly and mindlessly, let's say, defended the interests of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic repeated at the UN, and yesterday again in Belgrade, for the umpteenth time that we will never, we will never recognize the independence of the so-called Republic of Kosovo. And we will fight against it, and we will fight against lies. We will fight for our country, and we will always fight for our people," said the president of the government. 

She added that she had discussed with the President of Serbia the measures they should take and "what they can do additionally for the people, above all in Kosovo and Metohija", but she did not specify what decisions they made.

A vehicle set on fire in Leposavic last night (KoSSev)

A vehicle, parked in the yard of a private house, was set on fire at exactly midnight in the municipality of Leposavic, the Kosovo police announced today, reported KoSSev.

A woman reported to the police that her husband’s vehicle had been set on fire.

The police do not specify the make of the vehicle involved.

In the report, she also said that at the time of this incident, she spotted two people with hats, who allegedly ran away in an unknown direction.

Upon arriving at the scene, the police determined that the fire was arson.

An investigation is ongoing. Aside from a bombing case, as well as at least a case of automobile arson during the October 2021 unrest in the north, and the excavator arson last month, at least 78 vehicles have been torched in Serb-populated areas since 2014.

The last series of car arson in the north took place this April, when more than 10 passenger vehicles were torched in a week.

On September 10th, a “Yugo” car with Belgrade license plates was set on fire in the Bosniak Mahala.

See the full list of car torchings: https://tinyurl.com/mrxpp6p2    

International 

  State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller Addresses Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti’s Accusations, Violent Clashes, And Excessive Force Concerns (thepavlovictoday.com)

During today’s press briefing, Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the United States State Department, answered questions from The Pavlovic Today about Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti’s accusations against EU officials, violent clashes in Kosovo, and concerns of excessive force.

THE PAVLOVIC TODAY: Gabriel Escobar in an interview with The Pavlovic Today told me that Kurti’s letter to Secretary Blinken in which Kosovo prime minister is accusing Lajcak and Borrell of colluding with Russia to have a biased approach towards Kosovo is factually incorrect, and he said that the president of Kosovo also should condemn those attacks on the partners of the US. Will you call on President of Kosovo Osmani to denounce attacks on Lajcak and Borrell?

MATTHEW MILLER: So, you said the deputy assistant secretary gave you a comment on – spoke to you about this earlier today? I don’t think I have anything further to add to those comments that he gave to you.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2z8rew7m Svecla: What we want to do is make sure everyone feels safe (BBC Newsnight)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, in an interview with BBC Newsnight was asked if he fears a return to the horrific violence of the late 1990s or is there a way back to the negotiating table, to which he said: “well there is a way back to the negotiations. Obviously what we want to do is make sure everyone feels safe, that we provide rule of law and security for every citizen regardless of ethnicity or any other diversity. Unfortunately Serbia thinks that by asserting violent and terrorist acts they can change the situation on the ground, which means that they can put that on the table of negotiations”.