Albanian Language Media:

• Prime Minister Kurti’s interview with Republik (media)
• Ternava: We support the teachers’ demands, but strike must end today (Klan)
• KFOR says KSF did not ask to go north; did Rakic and Petkovic lie? (Express)
• Carpenter: Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, slow but steady progress (Telegrafi)
• S. Embassy: Russia-Serbia agreement, a wrong step! (Indeksonline)
• The Union of Education gives signs that the strike in education could end! (Gazeta Blic)
• Abdixhiku slams Kurti for Japan visit when education sector on strike (media)
• Osmani calls on Iranian women not to give up on their rights (Koha)
• International partners promise continued support for KSF (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• Mayor Vulovic: "The situation in Zubin Potok still tense" (Blic, Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• KFOR, Mehaj on KSF in northern Kosovo (KoSSev)
• Petkovic: EU to condemn Kurti’s war threats (Kosovo Online)
• Selakovic: Croatia has stepped beyond framework of EU policy (Tanjug)
• Kurti congratulated the European Day of Languages; The experience of Serbs from Kosovo bitter, they say - he brags about other people's results (KoSSev)
• Petkovic banned from visiting Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• The Socialists and Democrats MEPs: No accession talks if Serbia doesn’t align with sanctions on Russia (N1, media)
• Media published document signed by Lavrov and Selakovic – An ordinary plan of meetings, without those at highest level (Danas)
• Hill: I saw the Serbia-Russia Consultation Plan (FoNet, N1)

International:

• Ned Price: We Desire To Be A Partner To The Countries Of The Western Balkans (thepavlovictoday.com)
• Serbia Rules Out Recognizing Russian Referendum in Occupied Ukraine (Balkan Insight)
• Slim chance for Serbia’s progress towards the EU by the end of the year, relationship with Russia remains the biggest problem (EWB)
• Junior Ruling Party Turmoil Could Shake North Macedonia Govt (BIRN)  

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Prime Minister Kurti’s interview with Republik (media)

Several news websites cover an interview that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave to Republik highlighting his remarks about four reasons that “make a conflict imaginable”. Kurti said the reasons are that Serbia doesn’t recognise Kosovo’s independence, Serbia does not accept the war crimes committed in the 1990s, Kosovo is a democracy and Serbia is not, and that Serbia keeps close ties with Russia.

“We are not afraid, but we remain vigilant. We remain concerned. In my opinion, there are four reasons that make a conflict imaginable. First, Serbia still doesn’t recognise the independence of Kosovo. It fights against our international recognition and at the same time it finances illegal structures in Kosovo to undermine the rule of law and our sovereignty. Second, in Serbia they cannot accept the war crimes committed in the 1990s. There is no remorse there. This criticism is not new: it was the same thing in Ukraine before the war. The third reason that concerns me: Kosovo is a democracy and Serbia is not. Whoever is bordered with an autocracy is at threat. Four, Belgrade keeps close ties with Russian despotic president Putin. Vucic met with Putin almost 20 times in the last 10 years; their last meeting was in November 2021 in Sochi, three months before the war started,” Kurti said.

Read full interview at: https://bit.ly/3xVTMrD Ternava: We support the teachers’ demands, but strike must end today (Klan)

The Mufti of Kosovo, Naim Ternava, told a press conference in Prishtina today that the Islamic Community of Kosovo supports the demands of the teachers but that the strike in the education sector must end as soon as possible. “We support the demand of Kosovo teachers to have a dignifying wage … I call on the Union of Education, Science and Culture to end the strike today so that our children can go back to school tomorrow,” he said. 

Ternava also called on the Union of Civil Servants to end their strike “and to return to their working places and seek their union rights through social dialogue”.

“I also call on the Government of Kosovo and the Assembly to adopt the law on wages as soon as possible and take into account the demands of the unionists.”

“I am left with hope that tomorrow pupils will be in schools and civil servants will be in their working places.”

KFOR says KSF did not ask to go north; did Rakic and Petkovic lie? (Express)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Defence refuted claims by the Serbian List that members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) were seen in the north of Kosovo. Defence Minister, Armend Mehaj, said the claims were fake news and dangerous misinformation. KFOR meanwhile said that based on existing agreements, the KSF needs the approval of KFOR to go to the north and that KFOR has not received any such request lately.

“According to existing agreements, the deployment of the KSF in the north of Kosovo requires the approval of KFOR. KFOR has not received any such request from KSF lately. The NATO-led KFOR mission remains fully focused on the daily implementation of its UN mandate to provide a safe and secure environment and free movement for all the people of Kosovo. KFOR remains vigilant on the ground and the commander of KFOR is in regular contact with all his key interlocutors, including representatives of Kosovo’s security institutions and the Serbian chief of defence,” KFOR told the news website today.

Carpenter: Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, slow but steady progress (Telegrafi)

The United States Ambassador at the OSCE, Michael Carpenter, in an online meeting with reporters on Monday, among other issues also talked about the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and the situation in the Western Balkans. He said the situation in the region remains delicate, when asked if there is a threat from a new conflict breaking out between Kosovo and Serbia and if the Western Balkans is under any threat from Russian influence. “Of course, there is always a chance for things to take a dangerous turn. I think that now, however, the dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade is making slow but stable progress and we strongly support the EU-facilitated dialogue, where the U.S. is present and has a seat at the table,” he said.

Carpenter said the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, is highly committed to the process together with his colleague, the EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak, toward a mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia. “There are problems that may cause disagreements. We have seen the situation with the ID cards, the licence plates, and there are a series of other issues disputed by both parties. We certainly support a diplomatic way forward through talks and compromise, which is not always easy, but as we have seen with the ID cards, it is possible,” he said.

Carpenter said they want to lead the process toward a mutual recognition between the two sides and good neighbourly relations. “It is really in the best interest of everyone in the Western Balkans for borders to be respected, to be mutually recognised, stabilised, so that we can focus on bringing peace and prosperity throughout the region,” he added.

U.S. Embassy: Russia-Serbia agreement, a wrong step! (Indeksonline)

The United States Embassy in Kosovo told the news website today that news of Serbia signing a cooperation agreement on foreign policy actions with Russia was a surprise and falls in complete contrast to other constructive meetings with Serbian officials in New York. “Further approximation with Russia is a step in the wrong direction and in opposition with Serbia’s declared European aspirations,” the embassy said.

The Union of Education gives signs that the strike in education could end! (Gazeta Blic)

Deputy leader of the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK), Ymer Ymeri, gave signs today that the strike in the education sector could end. In an interview with the news website, he said that if the government does not back down, they will consult the membership about the future course of action because the strike has been going on for a long time. “If the government doesn’t back down at all, we will talk with the membership and see what we will do because the strike has lasted for a long time and the government does not seem willing to make a move. We need to consult our membership but this remains a competency of the Strike Council of the BSBK [The Union of Trade Workers Unions of Kosovo] because the civil servants are on strike too and we need to coordinate with them about any decision. Whatever the membership decides, we will be their voice, but it is likely that the membership will see that there is no solution and that they will have to find a solution by themselves,” he said.

Abdixhiku slams Kurti for Japan visit when education sector on strike (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti for travelling to a two-day visit in Japan at a time when the education sector in Kosovo is on strike. “Over 320,000 children have not gone to classes for a month now – they are at home – but the Prime Minister of Kosovo chooses to travel to Japan. Inability and irresponsibility! This person does not know how to govern!” Abdixhiku wrote on Facebook. “This is no longer a normal situation. The children, families, teachers and the state cannot be damaged so easily. Who needs blame, insults and individual egos when at the end of the day we are left with a crisis?”

Osmani calls on Iranian women not to give up on their rights (Koha)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said that the whole world is following the protests in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amani while in police detention. Osmani called on Iranian women not to give up on their rights and freedoms. “My message to all the women of Iran and to all Iranians is ‘do not give up on your freedoms’. We know how difficult and painful it is, but the fight for freedom has a high cost. We paid a high cost for our freedoms but today we have our independence and freedom. We are with you in every step until you win. Don’t ever give up,” Osmani said.

International partners promise continued support for KSF (Koha)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) have organised the annual international conference “KSF and partners 2022”. KFOR chief of staff, John Bozicevic, said that in the past KFOR has helped the KSF medical staff, held drills in aviation, and that in the future they will find new ways of cooperation for peace and prosperity. “Thank you for the work we have done together, especially in the areas of demining, public order and humanitarian disasters,” he said.

Head of the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team (NALT), Joachim Hoppe, said their team is ready to aid the further development of the KSF in education and training. “We are now engaged in advising and developing the KSF in personnel leadership … We have very good relations with the KSF. We also need to be self-critical and we know that there is a long road ahead to meet our objectives,” he said.

UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abott, said that KSF members were trained in the UK and have been successful. “The liaison work with the KSF is very tactical and operational. Three KSF doctors have completed short courses while they were in the academy. We will continue to support intelligence capacities and also the support programme for the training phase,” he said.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Mayor Vulovic: "The situation in Zubin Potok still tense" (Blic, Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)

The mayor of Zubin Potok, Srdjan Vulovic, said last night that the situation in that municipality was extremely tense, and that the citizens were anxious and, as he said, slightly scared, reported Tanjug.

- What is most problematic is that the Kosovo Security Forces were formed as the Kosovo Protection Corps, which is supposedly in charge of dealing with natural disasters. However, there were no natural disasters in Zubin Potok these days - Vulovic told Tanjug. 

He said that beyond all laws and constitution of '' the so-called Kosovo, Kosovo security forces came to the north of Kosovo without the consent of the mayors of all four municipalities in the north of the province''.

Vulovic assessed that it was very worrying that "KFOR and the Quint ambassadors are silent about everything" and pointed out that at frequent meetings with KFOR representatives, all the problems affecting the Serbs in the north of the province are brought up, especially security problems.

- At all meetings, we provide them with all the documentation with all the violations of agreements and abuses by the ROSU forces in the North of Kosovo, and we persistently demand that they insist on the temporary Pristina authorities to take steps and protect the Serbian population - Vulovic said and emphasised that the Serbs in Kosovo  do not want to rattle with weapons.

According to him, Serbs want a peaceful life for themselves and their families, but a base currently being built in the area of the Zubin Potok municipality, which will be apparently used by “ROSU members”.

Although the municipal authorities immediately delivered a decision on the suspension of all works, ordered the investor to stop all activities and informed the police station in Zubin Potok, which further informed the regional police in Kosovska Mitrovica, no one has yet reacted, says Vulovic.

- After several days of inaction, we sent a request to the prosecutor's office in Kosovska Mitrovica to take steps in accordance with the law, because it is not normal for someone to steal someone's private property, and that no one reacts. The fight for our rights continues - said Vulovic and added that KFOR and Quint ambassadors, and especially the American embassy in Pristina, have been informed about everything.

Vulovic said that it was unknown what Albin Kurti's next move would be and repeated that the Serbs in the north of Kosovo "are on their own" and that they would not go anywhere, reported Serbian media, citing Tanjug.

KFOR, Mehaj on KSF in northern Kosovo (KoSSev)

Following report of Belgrade-based Vecernje Novosti daily on incursion of around 30 armed members of Kosovo Security Forces in Zubin Potok municipality and numerous reactions by official Belgrade and Serbian List representatives, KoSSev portal writes today that Kosovo minister of defence, Armend Mehaj refuted the accuracy of those media reports, but added that KSF units along with international partners cover “every corner” of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, KFOR said it received no request from KSF to visit northern Kosovo and recalled that KSF needs consent by KFOR Commander in order to be able to go to the north.

“According to existing agreements, deployment of KSF in northern Kosovo requires previous consent by KFOR. KFOR received no single request from KSF in this regard recently”, KFOR told KoSSev portal responding to its enquiry.

KFOR also underlined it remains fully committed to every day implementation of its mandate, based on UN SC Resolution 1244, in order to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo.

However, the KoSSev portal further said KFOR did not directly answer its question whether KSF came to the north or not.

Vecernje Novosti earlier reported that based on unofficial findings around 30 members of KSF entered Zubin Potok Municipality from the direction of Istok municipality, in the area of Mokra Gora mountain. The media report also included the number of vehicles that KFS used as well as their type and armament they had. 

It also said KSF members reached part of the mountain known as Uvor, where a former Yugoslav Army repeater was located and then continued to march the area of Zubin Potok municipality in length of three to five kilometres.

KoSSev portal recalled that Uvor is an administrative point of delineation between Zubin Potok and Istok municipalities, while the former military repeater was located on Mokra Gora mountain, in Zubin Potok municipality, at the very delineation line with central Serbia. It was bombed on several occasions in 1999, and then destroyed by mining during the conflict in Kosovo. 

Petkovic: EU to condemn Kurti’s war threats (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti unconsciously revealed his war plans by saying that refusal of Serbia to recognize Kosovo and not allowing Pristina to join international organisations could be a reason for possible conflict in kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo Online portal reports.

As media reported earlier in his interview for Swiss daily “Die Republik” Kurti is quoted as saying there are four reasons that could lead to possible conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, one of them being Serbia’s refusal to recognize its independence.

Petkovic added that Kurti sends a message that “Pristina will resort to arms in order to force Belgrade to recognize so-called independent Kosovo”.

He also said that “Kurti’s arms rattling is nothing else but expression of powerlessness and frustration over the fact that more and more states decide to revoke recognition of unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo”.

Petkovic also said that Serbia expects “from representatives of the EU states supporting Pristina to clearly demonstrate their commitment to stability and peace in the Western Balkans by condemning Kurti’s war threats in the strongest terms”. 

Selakovic: Croatia has stepped beyond framework of EU policy (Tanjug)

Commenting on a recent statement by Croatian FM Gordan Grlic Radman that “a recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo by Serbia was inevitable”, Serbian FA Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Monday the Croatian minister had stepped beyond the framework of the EU''s official, status-neutral policy on the issue, reported Tanjug.

"In spite of the Croatian minister's desires, Serbia will not recognise the unilaterally declared independence of its southern province and has a series of valid reasons not to, and its arguments are firmly based on international law, on the legally valid UN SC Resolution 1244, and on the fundamental principles contemporary international relations rest upon," Selakovic said.

He noted that Croatia's position on the issue was contradictory because it defended the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine while denying the same rights to Serbia, which he said was a position that was neither principled nor good-neighbourly.

Grlic Radman made the statement in an interview for the Albanian Post.

"The principles of international law must be universal in order to be principles at all, and any deviation from rules and acceptance of precedents, in fact, renders international law pointless and destroys its foundations," Selakovic said in a statement.

For that very reason, more and more countries are ready to derecognise “the self-declared Kosovo”, Selakovic added, expressing the hope Croatia, too, would take that path.

See at: https://bit.ly/3SA1qQr Kurti congratulated the European Day of Languages; The experience of Serbs from Kosovo bitter, they say - he brags about other people's results (KoSSev)

"Kosovo is a multilingual society and this value has deep roots in our country. (…) Kosovo remains strongly committed to promoting the value of multilingualism, considering that this value is a means of preserving the rich and diverse character of our society. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo will also redouble its efforts to ensure the protection of the right to use official languages. Happy European Day of Languages!" said Albin Kurti on the European Day of Languages, celebrated yesterday. 

He congratulated the World Day with a photo of him posing with the long-time commissioner for languages who works in the cabinet of the Prime Minister of Kosovo - Slavisa Mladenovic. He thanked him for his cooperation so far, KoSSev portal reported.

The portal wrote that on this occasion Kurti also listed what he saw as successful joint results of his work with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Office of the Commissioner for Languages:

"We founded the Balkan Program at the University of Pristina, where students from all communities can learn the languages of the Balkan peoples. This academic year, 15 students are enrolled in this program and we hope that this number will increase in the coming years; The framework curriculum of Kosovo has opened up the possibility of integrating community languages as optional subjects; We have launched an initiative to establish a translation and harmonization unit that will deal with multilingual legislation; We supported the functioning of the online platform 'VOC-UP' for language learning, through which more than 70,000 citizens of Kosovo acquired at least basic knowledge of the Albanian or Serbian language".

Contrary to these positive messages from the Kosovo PM's office, the Serbs testify to a different situation. Even though the Serbian language is the second official language according to the Kosovo constitution, representatives of civil society, journalists who report in Serbian, and citizens themselves, have been citing bitter experiences for years, only a fraction of which has been translated into research and recommendations, reported KoSSev.

Milica Andric-Rakic from the New Social Initiative reminds that language rights are the most visible part of Ahtisaari's plan, and the progress in that field - "more precisely - the absence of progress is most visible", she says.

Kosovo's institutions have been failing to respond to the problem of lack of quality and educated staff for decades. The Department for Balkan Studies is a good answer to that, but it is clear that this would not have happened without serious pressure from the OSCE, the British Embassy and the IOM, she reminds of the long-term efforts of these organisations to make, and the other projects listed by Kurti, happen in addition to Balkan studies. 

"And therein lies the problem, the level of respect for language rights depends to the greatest extent on foreign funds and the work of international and local non-governmental organisations, and this is unsustainable unless that approach becomes institutionalised. All the results that Kurti listed are the results of international and local non-governmental organisations, not the government of Kosovo," said Andric-Rakic.

''Affirmation of the languages of the local communities once a year also does not make sense, she further emphasises, if the rest of the year the top government "uses one of the languages of the non-majority communities in order to disavow the interests of that community precisely by using that language through the phrases 'Community nuk kalon' and 'Jo Zajednica'", she said. 

And Miodrag Milicevic, the director of the NGO "Aktiv", also believes that despite the efforts of the Kosovo government to present the situation regarding the use of the language as far better than it is in practice, the use of the Serbian language in everyday life still remains one of the biggest challenges with which citizens of Serbian nationality face in communication with the majority Albanian community and official institutions.

One of the basic problems at the level of institutions is the lack of political responsibility for the long-standing situation in this area, which is almost equally present in almost all public institutions, Milicevic points to the problem.

This problem is particularly pronounced in access to information of public importance.

"Going to the bank, the post office, the center for social work, the tax service and many other institutions of public importance is a challenge for citizens to which none of these institutions in charge of direct communication with citizens is ready to fully and adequately respond," he says and adds:

"Often an incomprehensible translation, or the absence of any translation, is an obvious violation of the rights guaranteed by the law and the constitution of the Serbian community in Kosovo. Many of these cases have been documented in numerous reports of local and international organizations, but there has been a lack of political will for any changes that would fundamentally solve this perennial problem".

Therefore, concludes Milicevic, the use of Serbian, as the second official language in Kosovo, must not be seen as a privilege of one community, but as an obligation of institutions to respond to the needs of the Serbian community adequately and fully.

The European Day of Languages is celebrated every year and was established by the Council of Europe in 2001. The goal is to promote and inform the public about the importance of language learning both within schools and outside of them, and to increase the level of multilingualism and mutual understanding, recalled the portal.

Petkovic banned from visiting Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic was banned from visiting Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Serbian national broadcaster, RTS.

Petkovic was supposed to attend the square opening dedicated to the Milic brothers in Mitrovica north, and visit Nemanja Mitrovic, Serb young man attacked in Babin Most recently who is staying in Mitrovica North hospital.

This is the ninth ban for Petkovic to visit Kosovo, since the beginning of last year, portal recalls. 

Reacting to the latest ban, Petkovic said that by doing so Pristina in the most direct way trampled over and violated the agreement on official visits.

“I have timely announced my visit in line with all procedures. It is clear that Pristina wishes no normalisation of relations if it prevents me, as Belgrade chief negotiator, from entering Kosovo and Metohija. It is clear that Pristina does not wish continuation of the agreement with Belgrade”, Petkovic said.   

The Socialists and Democrats MEPs: No accession talks if Serbia doesn’t align with sanctions on Russia (N1, media)

The European Union (EU) cannot continue accession talks with Serbia if Belgrade does not align with EU sanctions against Russia, said the Socialists and Democrats Group, the second largest political group in the European Parliament, reported N1.

This is how this group commented on the signing of the Plan of Consultations signed in New York by the foreign ministers of Serbia and Russia.

“That’s what we will say in the Parliament’s upcoming enlargement report. Very disappointing coming from a country aspiring to join the EU,” wrote member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Croatian MEP Tonino Picula.

Media published document signed by Lavrov and Selakovic – An ordinary plan of meetings, without those at highest level (Danas)

A document published by Belgrade-based Blic daily claiming to represent a document that Russian and Serbian foreign ministers signed in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session and received from diplomatic sources contains four pages only, Danas daily reports.  

According to Danas the content literally fits the headline, and includes a list of consultations between two foreign ministries for the period of next two years.

It is about the timetable of meetings in 2023 and 2024 and what is noticeable is that it includes no meetings of the Serbian or Russian delegations at the highest level.

The plan includes consultations on the following topics: Bilateral relations, regional and European affairs; Current Serbian-Russian relations and the situation in South-Eastern Europe; Foreign policy planning issues; Thematic relating to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Thematic relating to United Nations and Consular cooperation affairs, Danas daily said.

Hill: I saw the Serbia-Russia Consultation Plan (FoNet. N1)

US Ambassador Christopher Hill told FoNet news agency that he saw the Consultation Plan signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Russia, that there was nothing special in it, but that Russia wanted it to justify its war in Ukraine, reported N1. 

Hill said that they did not know what was written in the Consultation Plan signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Russia at the end of the week at the UNGA, but they knew that signing an agreement with a country like Russia was unusual and that they wanted clarification.

"I've seen the plan, there's not much to it. The question is why Russia wanted it, and obviously Russia wanted the plan to justify its war in Ukraine. Russia's behaviour was condemned by everyone in the USA, in India, even China criticized them, no one supports them in this effort. The question is, why would they get validation from anybody for what they did to their neighbour," Hill said.

When asked why they asked for an explanation of the signing of the protocol and whether it was an example of a coordinated campaign of pressure on Serbia from the West, Hill said that Serbia is not under attack, but that Russia is attacking Ukraine and that they asked for an explanation because it was strange that the end of the week at the UN, Serbia signed an agreement with Russia.

Asked to explain the position that no one should sign anything with Russia now, Hill said that people should understand that it is not about Serbia, but about Russia and the behaviour of Russia, which is ''committing war crimes in Ukraine and has gone beyond the limits of what is acceptable for anyone''.

"The question is why sign anything with them now; Russia should be focusing on getting out of Ukraine, and begging the rest of us for forgiveness," Hill said.

When asked whether there is room for the country to remain neutral and whether Serbia has the right to conduct its own foreign policy, Hill pointed out that Serbia has the right to conduct its foreign policy, but that the US has the right to clearly state what it thinks about certain decisions and that in this case Russia is behaving in a terrible way and no one should stand by and say that it is okay for one country to do such a thing to another.

Asked to comment on Serbia not recognizing referendums in four areas in Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, Hill said: "Serbia is right, it should not recognize those referendums, because they were not conducted properly, they are referendums under the gun, with threats with bayonet against people", reported N1, citing FoNet agency.

   

International 

  Ned Price: We Desire To Be A Partner To The Countries Of The Western Balkans (thepavlovictoday.com)

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price tells The Pavlovic Today the US goal for the Western Balkans against the Russian and Chinese influence.

Following the exclusive interview with Montenegro’s PM Dritan Abazovic for The Pavlovic Today, where he called on the United States to help the countries of the Western Balkans counter the Russian and Chinese influence, Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer asked Ned Price about the State Department’s assessment of those influences and concrete steps the US can take to counter them.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3fqpOpD Serbia Rules Out Recognizing Russian Referendum in Occupied Ukraine (Balkan Insight)

With a clear eye on Kosovo, Foreign Minister Selakovic said Belgrade could not recognize referendums that violate Serbia's 'policy of preserving territorial integrity and sovereignty'.

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic has said Belgrade will not recognize the results of Russian-held referendums in Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine.

“In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, but also in accordance with the generally accepted principles and norms of public international law, [Serbia] cannot accept the results of the referendum in the Ukrainian regions,” Selakovic told a press conference in Belgrade on Sunday, on his return from the UN General Assembly session in New York.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3DXWn8r Slim chance for Serbia’s progress towards the EU by the end of the year, relationship with Russia remains the biggest problem (EWB)

In the existing challenges for Serbia’s progress in the accession negotiations with the European Union, the biggest of which is currently harmonization with The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), it is hard to believe that by the end of this year could happen some sudden turn that would bind Serbia more firmly to the EU.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3r8E6h1 Junior Ruling Party Turmoil Could Shake North Macedonia Govt (BIRN)

A heated power struggle inside the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, the junior party in the ruling alliance, could spell trouble for North Macedonia’s pro-European government due to its tiny minority.

A group of prominent members of the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, the junior party in the ruling alliance, have called for a face-to-face meeting with leader Ali Ahmeti to express dissatisfaction about the way the party is being run, and have said they are considering whether to leave or not.

Among them are two DUI legislators, raising concern that the turmoil within the party could potentially reflect on the stability of the pro-European government, which already rests on a thin parliament majority.

“We are hoping for a face-to-face meeting with the [DUI] president [Ali Ahmeti] where we could clarify things before we make our next decisions, because his comments on our demands so far have not been clear enough,” a member of the group, which includes 20 high-ranking DUI members, told BIRN on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

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