Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani hosted UK ambassador Jonathan Hargreaves (media)

• Kurti meets NDI director, discuss Kosovo and global developments (media)

• A conference on peace and stability in Balkans expected to be organised in Kosovo in October (media)

• Nita Shala appointed Kosovo's ambassador to Italy (RTK)

• Trump acquitted, Grenell: It's Hashim Thaci's turn (media)

• Rexha: Government has been continuously attacking media, starting from Prime Minister (Koha)

• Radoicic’s seized and confiscated assets: €3.5 million (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Djuric: EU incomplete without Serbia (Tanjug)

• Momirovic: FTA with Egypt great opportunity for Serbian farmers (Tanjug, media)

• Vucic: No mention of genocide in rulings against Serbia (N1)

• Botsan-Kharchenko: We join requests to suspend immediately renovation of Xhafer Deva’s house (Kosovo Online, Danas, social media)

• Jedinstvo newspaper demands attacker on journalists be punished (Radio KIM)

• Lawyer Petkovic: My client is charged with violating Kosovo constitutional order (Kosovo Online)

 

 

 Albanian Language Media

Osmani hosted UK ambassador Jonathan Hargreaves (media)

 

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, received on Monday the ambassador of the United Kingdom in Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves. They discussed the preparations for the Summit of the European Political Community, as well as the bilateral cooperation between Kosovo and the United Kingdom. President Osmani, as in the past summits, will represent Kosovo at the Summit of the European Political Community. 

 

Osmani and the ambassador discussed the topics that will be addressed at this Summit, including the need for collective efforts to protect democracy, as well as the contribution of Kosovo in these topics. The summit of the leaders of the European Political Community will be held at Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom, with the participation of about 50 European leaders and representatives.

 

Kurti meets NDI director, discuss Kosovo and global developments (media)

 

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, hosted the Director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Kosovo, Nancy Soderberg. During the conversation, Prime Minister Kurti appreciated the contribution and continuous commitment of Mrs. Soderberg and NDI, in many priority areas such as democratisation, transparency and institutional accountability. 

 

“The democratic progress of society in all spheres of social life remains the main focus of attention in the construction of policies and the development of our country. This was the second meeting for this year between Prime Minister Kurti and Director Soderberg. They discussed the developments in the country and the world, the results of the cooperation so far and the common commitment to the development and advancement of democracy,” informed the Office of the Prime Minister.

 

A conference on peace and stability in Balkans expected to be organised in Kosovo in October (media)

 

Prime Minister Albin Kurti was informed on Monday by the president of the Universal Peace Federation for South-Eastern Europe, Jacques Marion, about the plans to organise a conference on peace, stability and demographic transition in the Western Balkans. The announcement issued by the government states that this conference is expected to be held in October in Pristina, and Kurti was invited to be part of this conference, as a guest of honour and speaker.

 

Among other things, in the meeting they discussed the social and employment policies of the government, which aim to raise the overall well-being, inclusiveness, as well as about the activities and mission of the Universal Peace Federation.

 

Nita Shala appointed Kosovo's ambassador to Italy (RTK)

 

Kosovo president, Vjosa Osmani, has appointed Nita Shala as Kosovo's ambassador to Italy.

"Happy to appoint Nita Shala, an outstanding legal professional, as the new Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the Republic of Italy. I have known Nita professionally for about two decades and I have no doubt that she will serve her country with honour", Osmani wrote on X platform.

 

Trump acquitted, Grenell: It's Hashim Thaci's turn (media)

 

The former director of U.S. Intelligence, at the same time one of Donald Trump's close collaborators, Richard Grenell, has reacted after the former U.S. president was acquitted on Monday of one of the most serious charges against him for the publication of classified documents.

 

In a post on the X platform, Grenell mentioned prosecutor Jack Smith, who was investigating the Trump case, while earlier in The Hague he had investigated the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci. "The case of Jack Smith is shattered. It's your turn, Hashim Thaci", wrote Grenell.

 

Rexha: Government has been continuously attacking media, starting from Prime Minister (Koha)

 

Xhemajl Rexha, chairman of the Board of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), said that in these two years the government has attacked the media without interruption and in a public manner, starting from Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

 

“All the continuous attacks, public statements, with the organisation of denigrating campaigns against journalists, against individuals, against the media, you have done it repeatedly, publicly, starting with Prime Minister Kurti when he told a journalist at a press conference "that this question is from Serbia, it is coming from Serbia", which is an absolutely unacceptable, scandalous statement, dangerous for the security of journalists", Rexha stated in a KTV debate.

 

According to him, even the tendency to close Klan Kosova was aimed at attacking the media, since the issue of registering this broadcaster was an administrative issue and could have been resolved through an email from the Ministry, but Rexha says that this was used in the national aspect to incite the base and attack the media.

 

"You have accused the journalists of Klan Kosova, you have absolutely accused all MPs, and in general, you have told them that they work for the interests of Vucic and Serbia, you have told the journalists of Klan Kosova that they work for the interests of Serbia which is absolutely unacceptable, you have put them in danger", Rexha accused in the debate.

 

Radoicic’s seized and confiscated assets: €3.5 million (media)

 

According to the estimates of the Agency for the Administration of Seized or Confiscated Assets, the value of the sequestered and confiscated assets of the chief terrorist Milan Radoicic reaches about 3.5 million euros. Of this figure, over 3 million and 100 thousand euros are real estate.

 

Radoicic's most valuable property is estimated to be the villa built by Lake Ujman, which was revealed to the public after the raids that were carried out in connection with the terrorist attack in Banjska of Zvecan, for which he has taken responsibility. The value of this villa is 1,907,493 euros, a penthouse, which is estimated to be worth 644,400 euros, and the restaurant, worth 400,000 euros. His apartment is estimated to be worth 69 thousand 220 euros, while his office is 82 thousand 65 euros.

 

In addition to real estate, the authorities also confiscated 31 vehicles and another 8 seized in the value of 327 thousand 570 euros.

 

All of Radoicic's properties are monitored and secured through security cameras and by the Kosovo Police. According to the Agency, the monthly cost of property administration and insurance is 420 euros.

Serbian Language Media 

Djuric: EU incomplete without Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric met in Prague on Monday with Czech Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvorzak and noted that Serbia planned to complete its reform process - above all, legislative, economic and political reforms - within three years.

Djuric thanked Czechia for its continued support to Serbia regarding its key foreign policy objective of EU membership, noting that Serbia belonged in the EU but that the EU was also incomplete without Serbia. He noted as important the fact Czechia, as a member of the informal Friends of the Western Balkans group, as well as within the Visegrad and the Slavkov groups, was pushing for faster EU integration of the entire Western Balkan region, recognising its geostrategic significance.

"You can count on us preserving regional stability because we have a sincere will to advance our relations with everyone in the Western Balkans", Djuric said.

Momirovic: FTA with Egypt great opportunity for Serbian farmers (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Monday a FTA signed with Egypt last weekend was a great opportunity for Serbian farmers to break into a market of more than 106 million people. Market liberalisation for agricultural products will start as soon as the agreement enters into force following ratification by the Serbian and Egyptian parliaments, Tanjug news agency reported.

"For agricultural products, it takes effect immediately. The tariff fees will immediately be lifted altogether or reduced. The agreement covers 87 pct of agricultural products, 50 pct of which will be taken off the tariff list immediately", Momirovic told Tanjug.

"We got our chance, we got a market, and I am confident our people will take that seriously. This is not a gift, but an opportunity", Momirovic noted. He said the FTA would create jobs for thousands of newly-employed people and ensure higher selling prices to Serbian farmers, especially fruit growers.

Vucic: No mention of genocide in rulings against Serbia (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that there is no court ruling against Serbia for the genocide in Srebrenica, N1 reported.

“There is no genocide in Srebrenica in any ruling against Serbia”, he said, adding that politicians and media across the region have been lying about Serbia wanting to launch a war for the past two years. “We don’t want to go to war unlike the people accusing Serbia who are waging war every day”, he told reporters after presenting a decoration to Gendarmerie trooper Milos Jevremovic who was wounded in a crossbow attack while standing guard at the embassy of Israel in Belgrade.

Botsan-Kharchenko: We join requests to suspend immediately renovation of Xhafer Deva’s house (Kosovo Online, Danas, social media)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko condemned continuation of restoration works on Xhafer Deva’s house in Mitrovica South, adding it is not priority of Pristina authorities to respect memories of victims of Nazism, or multiethnic co-existence in Kosovo, but “rather rehabilitation and glorification of Nazi collaborators”, Kosovo Online portal reported. In a post on Instagram, Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko said that Pristina authorities independently secured significant financial funds to implement the project, disregarding justified revolt of Belgarde, anti-fascist organisations in Serbia and abroad.

“This once again proves that Pristina ‘authorities’ in no way have as priority respect for the victims of Nazism or care about multiethnic co-existence in the province, but rather rehabilitation and glorification of Nazi collaborationists. There is an evident attempt to impose a false ‘identity' on Kosovo Albanians through the heroization of notorious criminals responsible for mass executions of partisan movement participants and civilians, deportation of the Jewish population to concentration camps and recruitment into the SS ‘Skanderbeg’ division”, Botsan-Kharchenko said in a post.

He added this all is happening with the knowledge and tacit consent of collective West, which, as he said, does not think of bringing its protegees in Pristina to their senses, and which, according to him, encourages the further growth of radical right-wing sentiments in Kosovo as well as undermines the security of Serbian and other non-Albanian population there. 

Jedinstvo newspaper demands attacker on journalists be punished (Radio KIM)

“We condemn in the strongest term the heinous attack on journalists of Jedinstvo Zoran Vlaskovic and Politika Biljana Radomirovic, who were at professional assignment near the main bridge between southern and northern parts of Kosovska Mitrovica and demand perpetrator be punished”, Jedinstvo newspaper said in a statement, Radio KIM reports.

They emphasised that the attack on reputable journalists Radomirovic and Vlaskovic is an indicator that no Serb is safe in Kosovo. “For us, from the Jedinstvo outlet, the place of attack is particularly painful, as it is located near our former premises, from where Albanians evicted us one month ago, for the second time”, the statement added.

Jedinstvo newspaper requested international community representatives in Kosovo and all international organisations dealing with freedom of media, journalists’ freedoms and human rights to react and condemn the attack against Radomirovic and Vlaskovic. Jedinstvo also called upon KFOR to ensure security so Serbian journalists in Kosovo can carry out their tasks freely and professionally. 

Lawyer Petkovic: My client is charged with violating Kosovo constitutional order (Kosovo Online)

Fourteen workers from Strpce Provisional Municipal Authority responded to police summons in Urosevac yesterday. The summons did not specify the charges against them. Boban Petkovic, lawyer of the accused Z.J., confirmed to Kosovo Online that his client is suspected of violating Kosovo constitutional order and that after giving a statement, he returned home.

"Specifically for my client, the alleged offence is violating constitutional order or unconstitutional activities. When we asked for an explanation of these unconstitutional activities, the police officer stated that since the employees were working under Serbian laws, which automatically, according to his interpretation, are against Kosovo laws, all these actions are considered unconstitutional. According to the police statement, they informed us that the Prosecutor's Office for Serious Crimes in Pristina authorised them to take statements regarding their claims that the actions were against Kosovo constitutional order”, Petkovic explained.

Petkovic also said they have not received any information from Kosovo police regarding the continuation of the proceedings. The Strpce Municipal Provisional Authority was closed on July 7, 2022, following a raid by Kosovo special police units, who took all the documentation from the building and closed it down.