• U.S. delegation visits Prishtina, meets President Osmani and PM Kurti (media)
• EU calls for agreements between Kosovo and Serbia (Radio Free Europe)
• Bid to challenge UN veto use raises questions on Kosovo (BIRN)
• In supporting Ukraine, Kosovo tacitly stakes claim for recognition (BIRN)
• Kurti hosts meeting with Quint ambassadors and EU Head of Office (media)
• Rakic warns with total civil obedience if arrests made in north (Koha)
• Kosovo leaders congratulate Macron on election victory (media)
• PDK, AAK calls for dismissal of Ambassador Berishaj (Koha)
• HLC analyses on why war crime victims hesitate to share their stories (Kallxo)
• Op-ed: The controversial legacy of Dick Marty in Kosovo (BIRN)
• COVID-19: 8 new cases, no deaths (media)

U.S. delegation visits Prishtina, meets President Osmani and PM Kurti (media)

One of the leading stories in the media is the visit by the U.S. delegation, led by Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried and Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar, and meetings with President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Donfried called on Kosovo and Serbia to engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue in Brussels saying that the status quo is unsustainable. “We support the process of dialogue facilitated by the European Union and we will help Kosovo normalize relations with Serbia, focused on mutual recognition. The status quo is unsustainable. It not only hinders the European future of Kosovo and Serbia, but it also benefits the Kremlin. Russia wants to destroy every unity and democratic consolidation in the Western Balkans,” she was quoted as saying.

Donfried also said: “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine has demonstrated how important and urgent ongoing work is to ensure Kosovo and its neighbors continue reforms necessary for their democratic consolidation and for their integration into European & Euro-Atlantic institutions.”

Commenting on concerns about the security situation, Donfried said: “I want to assure you that the U.S. and allies remain strongly committed. KFOR is the biggest deployment of NATO and it is a clear manifestation of our continued commitment for the security and stability of Kosovo. The U.S. is proud to call Kosovo its partner”.

President Osmani said that in her meeting with the U.S. delegation they discussed the urgency and progress in the dialogue process, focused on mutual recognition. Osmani said: “Kosovo remains a constructive party in the dialogue and committed to the process. I expressed our disappointment over Serbia’s failure to implement many agreements signed in Brussels, including Belgrade’s refusal to dissolve the illegal structures that continue to threaten the Kosovo Serbs. Our relationship with the United States and our relations with other international allies should not be determined by the dialogue with Serbia.”

Osmani said the meeting also focused on intensifying cooperation in the areas of security and the economy. “We are thankful to hear once again that the United States strongly supports our Euro-Atlantic integration and territorial sovereignty. The United States have no bigger ally than Kosovo. We may be a small country, but we can have a significant impact by working together with our allies,” she added.

Osmani also wrote on a Twitter post: “We’re grateful for the steadfast U.S. support for our firm Euro-Atlantic path & the dialogue centered on mutual recognition. Kosovo will continue to contribute to a more peaceful and stable Europe.”

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Twitter post after meeting the U.S. delegation: “Our democratic and economic progress, alignment in sanctioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, strengthening of bilateral relations between Kosovo and U.S. and the principled dialogue with Serbia centered on mutual recognition were topics of discussion with Assistant Secretary of State Donfried and DAS Escobar”.

Kurti also said that “in order to maintain long-term peace and stability, regional security and beyond, it is necessary for the countries of the Western Balkans that are democratic and have placed sanctions against the Russian Federation, to join the European Union and NATO as soon as possible”. “Meanwhile the Republic of Kosovo must join the Council of Europe and become part of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program, and we are preparing for this, and we certainly need the help of our allies and partners. Kosovo will continue to stand alongside the united democratic world in defense of democracy and peace in Europe and the region. Kosovo will remain a trusted friend, ally and partner of the United States.”

Some news websites reported that the U.S. delegation also met with leaders of opposition parties on Monday.

EU calls for agreements between Kosovo and Serbia (Radio Free Europe)

The European Union is hoping that there will be another meeting between Kosovo and Serbia at the level of chief negotiators this week, the news website reports. After last week’s failure to reach an agreement on license plates, a source from the EU told reporters on Monday that parties were invited to continue discussions on this and other topics. The source said that in the last meetings the Kosovo side was interested to reach a permanent agreement on license plates, but that the Serbian side was more interested in maintaining the status quo. According to the source, the parties are “very close” to reaching agreements on the energy and missing persons. “As far as the issue of missing persons is concerned, there are practically two words, half a sentence, that needs to be worked out in order to have an agreement,” the source said.

EU officials also said that agreements need to be reached in order to make way to a high-level political meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “Both of them told EU and Quint representatives that they are willing to come to the meetings whenever they are invited by the EU,” an unnamed EU official said.

Bid to challenge UN veto use raises questions on Kosovo (BIRN)

Momentum is building behind a bid to challenge the veto power of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members. What might it mean for Kosovo and Resolution 1244?

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3xTx18P

In supporting Ukraine, Kosovo tacitly stakes claim for recognition (BIRN)

Kosovo has stood firmly with the West in opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a country that has refused to recognise Serbia’s former southern province as independent. Might that support one day change Kyiv’s calculations?

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3vdX4pg

Kurti hosts meeting with Quint ambassadors and EU Head of Office (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti hosted a meeting with the Quint ambassadors in Kosovo and the EU Head of Office in Prishtina. A press release issued by Kurti’s office said the meeting focused on political developments in Kosovo and the political situation in the region. “Two months after the start of the Russian invasion and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, the need to coordinate positions and actions among the democratic world against the Russian Federation remains necessary. Kosovo’s reaction and alignment with the U.S., EU and UK, were immediate. In addition to sanctions against the Russian Federation, in line with those placed by the EU and U.S., Kosovo also showed solidarity with the Ukrainian people by expressing readiness to host up to 5,000 refugees from Ukraine while the first out of 20 Ukrainian reporters has already arrived in Prishtina. The meeting also discussed the process of dialogue between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia, for which the Government of the Republic of Kosovo is committed to be principled and balanced and focused on mutual recognition,” the statement notes.

Rakic warns with total civil obedience if arrests made in north (Koha)

Serbian List leader Goran Rakic and Minister of Communities and Returns said on Monday that there will be total civil disobedience in the north if Kosovo Police starts making arrests there. He told a press conference that he has information that the Special Prosecution of Kosovo has initiated proceedings against 70 Serb citizens, mayors and businessmen “for what Prishtina claims were attacks against the constitutional order of Kosovo”. “The reason was the protest against Prishtina’s unilateral moves last year. I will be direct, this is an ethnically and politically motivated persecution against our people,” he said.

Rakic said the Kosovo Serbs want to maintain peace but that "our tolerant position has limits”. “If Prishtina starts making unilateral moves, and arrests our citizens, then we will be forced to resist with all democratic and non-democratic means, including total civil disobedience to protect the rights of our citizens,” he said.

Rakic also said that the Serbian List has notified the Quint ambassadors and EU representatives and called on them “to stop Prishtina from creating chaos in the north of Kosovo”.

Kosovo leaders congratulate Macron on election victory (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani took to Twitter on Sunday to congratulate French President Emmanuel Macron on his reelection. “I look forward to strengthening cooperation & deepening our excellent bilateral relations. France’s support is key for our firm Euro-Atlantic path,” she wrote.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Twitter that Macron’s victory of hope over fear and a new chance for France to help unite Europe in peace, democracy and solidarity. “Looking forward to continue our cooperation & promote our common values,” he wrote.

PDK, AAK calls for dismissal of Ambassador Berishaj (Koha)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) have called for the dismissal of Kosovo’s Ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, amid reports of his involvement in a financial scandal. The PDK said in a statement that President Osmani and Prime Minister Kurti must dismiss the ambassador without delay.

HLC analyses on why war crime victims hesitate to share their stories (Kallxo)

The Prishtina-based Humanitarian Law Center published an analysis in order to promote the principles for dealing with the past and in particular the principle “The identity of victims and survivors and their families must be protected”. The analysis explains the reasons why the victims hesitate to tell their experiences to the judiciary and what methods can be used to protect their identity. Read the analysis at: https://bit.ly/3rQCvNK

Op-ed: The controversial legacy of Dick Marty in Kosovo (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Dean B. Pineles, a graduate of Brown University, Boston University Law School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and also served as an international judge with the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) from 2011-13.

A report by Swiss senator Dick Marty about war crimes allegedly committed by Kosovo Liberation Army fighters led to the establishment of a Hague-based tribunal, but not all of his activities in Kosovo achieved such significant results.

Dick Marty, the author of an infamous report in 2010 entitled ‘Inhuman Treatment of People and Illicit Trafficking in Human Organs in Kosovo’, has been back in the headlines this month.

Issuance of the ‘Marty report’ has proven to be one of the most significant events in Kosovo history over the last dozen years. And while his name may be less familiar now than it was back then – at least until very recently – the legacy of Dick Marty, love him or loathe him, looms large in Kosovo’s political and legal affairs.

Allegations were recently published that Marty was the subject of a foiled assassination plot by the Serbian intelligence services in December 2020, and since then has been living under armed guard by Swiss police and rarely leaves his house, and then only when wearing a bulletproof vest. Unsurprisingly, the Serbian authorities have vigorously denied the allegations.

This strange situation will require further investigation, but in the meantime, Marty’s significant influence on the course of recent history in Kosovo is worth revisiting in detail, so let’s take a look back at his report and see why it became so significant.

Read full opinion piece at: https://bit.ly/3EOhlVD

COVID-19: 8 new cases, no deaths (media)

Eight new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 22 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 428 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.