UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, July 7, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Kosovo demonstrated will for de-escalation in north (media)

Konjufca: Rama's proposal for Association contains territorial autonomy (media)

Rama on draft statute: Konjufca hasn’t read it - how can he comment on it? (Klan)

U.S. Ambassador Hovenier meets Albanian PM Rama (media)

Hovenier: Kosovo should fulfill ideals of its Declaration of Independence (media)

Italian Ambassador: EU measures towards Kosovo are reversible (RTK)

Kosovo, Albania governments sign 13 agreements (media)

Kurti meets Abbott, discuss current developments and bilateral relations (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Petkovic: Kosovo police again entered Serbia proper (N1, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

Dacic says Kurti can do anything and face no consequences (BETA)

Pavicevic says ‘hunting season on Serbs’ opened in Kosovo, everybody can be arrested (RTS, Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

Botsan-Kharchenko: We share assessments of President Vucic regarding situation in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Strpce Municipality freezes cooperation with Kosovo Privatization Agency (media, social media)

Kosovo police stopped ambulance vehicle in Grabovac, near Zvecan (Kosovo Online)

Montenegrin President to pay official visit to Serbia (N1, BETA)

International Media:

Belgrade to Stop Arms Exports ‘In Case of Aggression Against Serbia’ (BIRN)

Serbia to seek meeting with NATO chief, UN Security Council session on Kosovo tensions (AP)

Serb hardliners make a comeback in northern Kosovo (Financial Times)

NATO denies claims ambulances are smuggling weapons into North Kosovo (EU-OCS)

EU wants concrete steps by Kosovo to ease tensions before lifting sanctions, envoy says (Reuters)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Kosovo demonstrated its will for de-escalation in north (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani received Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama in a meeting on Thursday. They discussed the NATO summit, which will be held in July in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Berlin Process summit, which will be held in Tirana in October this year, as well as the current situation in Kosovo and the region, in relation to recent security developments in the north.

Osmani reconfirmed Kosovo’s commitment to address the common challenges faced by the region together with the Euro-Atlantic partners. In relation to the security situation in the north, Osmani emphasized that Kosovo has demonstrated the will for de-escalation, offering the organization of new elections in the north, in accordance with the legal framework of Kosovo. Furthermore, she emphasized that it is imperative that those who attacked NATO, journalists, Kosovo police and citizens in the north, be held responsible before the law, because impunity can encourage even more violence.

With regards the Berlin Process Summit, they discussed the necessity of entering into force all the agreements reached so far in this process, especially those related to freedom of movement, as well as the possibility of increasing the projects and beneficial funds for the countries of the Western Balkans within the Berlin Process.

On the upcoming NATO Summit, Osmani thanked Albania for its continuous support regarding Kosovo’s membership in this alliance, while reiterating the importance of moving forward with membership in the Partnership for Peace, as a step towards full membership in NATO, which would simultaneously contribute to long-term stability in the region.

Osmani and Prime Rama agreed to continue coordination for the benefit of the people of two countries as well as for the benefit of regional peace and security.

Konjufca: Rama's proposal for Association contains territorial autonomy (media)

The Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama met with the Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, who admitted that Kosovo's relations with Albania were hurt after Tirana’s decision to cancel the joint meeting of the two governments. However, Konjufca said that Albania's aid to Kosovo is irreplaceable, but that Rama's idea for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is unacceptable.

"We talked about the developments in the country and the political situation, but also the necessary help that we expect from the Republic of Albania and the Rama Government. All these difficult processes we are going through, Albania's help is irreplaceable", Konjufca told reporters after the meeting.

According to Konjufca, Rama can help Kosovo much more than he is currently doing. He also said that Kosovo is making efforts to establish law and order in the north, and it should be understood, as he said, that Kosovo is not to blame. “There can be responsibility, but it is positive. It is a responsibility to exercise our basic constitutionality in all the country's institutions,” he said. He also added that Rama is also very worried about the international pressure on Kosovo.

Konjufca said that even though Prime Minister Albin Kurti has not yet met his counterpart from Tirana, there is no conflict between Kosovo and Albania, but said that "Kosovo has been hurt by the non-holding of the meetings of the two governments". "There was no fallout... We were hurt by the cancellation of the government meeting, but not so hurt that we don't expect it at all. This will be fixed soon, if not tonight. It is the difference which is harming Kosovo when we are in our right,” he argued.

Commenting on Rama’s draft proposal for the Association, Konjufca said it foresees some kind of territorial autonomy for the Serbs. "He claims that the Association is in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo, but it seemed to me that certain elements of Rama's proposal contain territorial autonomy for the Kosovo Serbs, and this is contrary to the interest of the Albanian nation and the people of Kosovo,” he said.

Rama on draft statute: Konjufca hasn’t read it - how can he comment on it? (Klan)

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said that the draft of the statute of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority in Kosovo was written by high-level experts. In an extensive interview with Klan Kosova, he said that he has not consulted with anyone from the Kosovo government about this document, which he says he sent to three people: the German Chancellor Scholz, the French President Macron and the President of the Council of Europe, Charles Michel.

“I saw, they told me that Glauk has said that it has autonomy... I don't know what he is talking about, because we didn't talk at all about the draft of the Association. In the document they have not read! They haven't read it! Where do they know? Or do they see me in a portrait and read me like a mug? The draft that I prepared was prepared by experts of the highest level, and I sent it to three people: Chancellor Scholz, President Macron and President Michel", Rama said.

He further said that no one asked him for the document in question, but that he did it on his own initiative, and he says that in his opinion, it is the best possible thing.

He has said that there is still no official answer from the Government of Kosovo whether his meeting with Prime Minister Kurti will be held or not.

"But I am concerned by the fact that even now that we are talking, we still have not received an official and serious answer from a serious state that officially asks and answers officially".

He has stated that politics in Pristina has made Serbia look like a victim in front of the international community. "Who is responsible for this? This was not done by an intelligent movement of Serbia. This is the work of Pristina. Serbia has been given a comfortable position, and here the government receives the thunderbolts of the planet,” he said.

Rama has emphasized that he has nothing personal with the Kosovar Prime Minister, Kurti, but that he does not agree with the politics that he is doing recently. "This policy has become an obstacle, the wrong policy, I have nothing at all with the person. I do not attack Prime Minister Kurti. I keep my position towards certain policy. I have nothing personal. He is my friend and he is someone I enjoy debating with", he added, making fun of Kurti's statement that "Kosovo is the most democratic country in the Western Balkans".

U.S. Ambassador Hovenier meets Albanian PM Rama (media)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, met on Thursday with the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, during the latter's visit to Kosovo. “In accordance with diplomatic practice, Ambassador Hovenier meets frequently with a wide range of government officials. The ambassador was honored to have the opportunity to exchange views with Prime Minister Rama,” the U.S. Embassy in Pristina said in a response to the media.

Hovenier: Kosovo should fulfill ideals of its Declaration of Independence (media)

In marking the Independence Day of the United States of America at the American Embassy in Pristina, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier started his speech by quoting a part of the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo. This part of the declaration states that: "Kosovo [declares] a democratic, secular and multi-ethnic Republic, guided by the principles of non-discrimination and equal protection under the law. We will protect and promote the rights of all communities in Kosovo and create the necessary conditions for their effective participation in political and decision-making processes".

"This eloquent text is part of the promise of Kosovo and the basis of its independence", Hovenier said. However, he added, "I hope we can agree that sometimes Kosovo has not fulfilled the promises of these ideals".

He said that the United States is proud of the support it has given to the people of Kosovo in conceiving, and then realizing the vision of its independence, and that it will remain steadfast in continuing this support.

"In this spirit, I want to affirm that the United States and our partners stand by the people of Kosovo in the advancement and achievement of its founding vision: the democratic, sovereign, secular, multi-ethnic state,” Hovenier said.

Hovenier said that the U.S. and Western partners support Kosovo by offering advice, and even though they ask for "things that seem or are really difficult to do", but that they do so in accordance with the "long-term commitment to support the people of Kosovo and to get closer to those very ambitious ideals they have created for themselves."

Italian Ambassador: EU measures towards Kosovo are reversible (RTK)

Italian Ambassador in Kosovo, Antonello De Riu, said on Thursday that the EU measures against Kosovo are reversible, and that if after Kosovo presents the draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Serbia does not fulfill the commitments it has undertaken, then the European Union will take measures against Serbia too.

"These measures have been taken in order to encourage both governments to reverse their commitments. The commitment of the government of Kosovo has been to present as soon as possible a statute of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb majority, which has not been done by the government of Kosovo,” he said.

De Riu emphasized that all laws of a country must be respected, but for some issues, political decisions must be made to move forward. De Riu reiterated the request to Kosovo to reduce tensions in order to avoid the factors that could cause the deterioration of the situation in the north.

Kosovo, Albania governments sign 13 agreements (media)

The governments of Kosovo and Albania signed on Thursday 13 agreements, memorandums of cooperation and a declaration. Following signatures by the ministers of the Albanian governments, there were signatures by the ministers of the Kosovo government for the agreements to enter into force and benefit the citizens. A press release issued by the Kosovo government notes that the agreements cover cooperation in different areas, from security and justice to education and culture.

Kurti meets Abbott, discuss current developments and bilateral relations (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Thursday with the UK Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott, and discussed bilateral relations, developments in Kosovo and Kurti’s visit to London last month. “After the meeting on June 26 that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, had with UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, in London, he hosted today in a meeting the UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott. Bilateral relations, the visit to London and the meeting between Prime Minister Kurti and Secretary Cleverly, as well as developments in the country were part of the discussions,” a press release issued by Kurti’s office said.

Serbian Language Media

Petkovic: Kosovo police again entered Serbia proper (N1, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said Kosovo police officers on Thursday entered the territory of central Serbia and were spotted 500 meters from the administrative line between central Serbia and Kosovo, N1 reports.

This is just more proof that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Internal Affairs Minister Xhelal Svecla are violating UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Petkovic said.

“Kurti’s police again entered the territory of central Serbia, 500 meters beyond the administrative line, they entered in a police vehicle armed to the teeth. A police officer from Bujanovac today noticed a Kosovo police vehicle moving fast from Karacevo toward the village of Breznica. The vehicle was chasing a white van. The white vehicle made a turn going in the direction of the village”, Petkovic said.

When the Kosovo police officers realized that the Serbian police had spotted them, they got into the vehicle and drove off in the direction of Kosovo, Petkovic added.

During the conference Petkovic also showed a video depicting, as he said, the Kosovo police vehicle that entered the territory of central Serbia.

Video can be seen at: rb.gy/19yyz

“What if our police hadn’t spotted them, they would have gone to the Breznica village to poke around. They have no place in central Serbia, just like they didn’t on June 14“, he concluded.

Dacic says Kurti can do anything and face no consequences (BETA)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told TV Pink that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti can do anything and face no consequences, BETA news agency reported.

“This is a situation in which Kurti can take any kind of step without any consequences”, Dacic said, commenting on the situation in the north of Kosovo.

He said that the fundamental disagreement between Belgrade and Pristina is that the authorities in Pristina expect the Serbian authorities to recognize Kosovo “as independent” which, he said, “will not happen”.

“We will do everything for the sake of peace but we will not tolerate any pogrom or attacks on the Serbs. We will consistently defend our state and national interests but the situation is very difficult”, Dacic said.

Pavicevic says ‘hunting season on Serbs’ opened in Kosovo, everybody can be arrested (RTS, Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

Belgrade liaison officer in Pristina, Dejan Pavicevic said this is the most difficult period for the Serbian people in Kosovo in the last ten years, but also for Serbia, adding that “a hunting season on Serbs” had opened in Kosovo and anybody can get arrested just for having, as he said, Serbian name and surname, RTS reported.

Pavicevic told RTS it is extremely difficult to visit Serbs arrested in Kosovo, and that until now he only managed to carry out one visit “after long, long, time” and talk to six Serbs, arrested in the north since May 29, detained in prison facilities in Podujevo and Gnjilane.

“After that I requested to do it again, and visit Serbs arrested after the initial visit but unfortunately, there was no response. An absolute silence on the other side”, Pavicevic said.

He said he is in regular communication with the family of Nenad Orlovic, the last arrested Serb in Mitrovica North, who was shown in a degrading manner while under Kosovo police custody in a video that surfaced on social media. In that video Orlovic was without T-shirt, his hands tied behind his back and his head and face covered with a black plastic bag. As Pavicevic said, the father in law of arrested Orlovic suffered a heart attack two days ago, because of everything that happened.

He also said arrested Serbs he visited were maltreated by the Kosovo police ‘in the worst possible manner’, adding that Milun Milenkovic Lune suffered the most to the extent that in his case “I can say under responsibility that it was about an attempted murder. He was beaten so much and, as he told me, they only stopped when inspectors from Pristina came”.

Botsan-Kharchenko: We share assessments of President Vucic regarding situation in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said that Russia fully consents with assessments of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in relation to the unbearable situation in Kosovo, adding there are all reasons in place to consider the situation at UN Security Council session, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“We fully share the assessments of the Serbian President Aleksadnar Vucic in relation to the unbearable situation in Kosovo and Metohija. There are all reasons in place to consider this situation in a special session of the UN Security Council aimed at true de-escalation, ending persecution of the Serbs”, Botsan-Kharchenko wrote in a post on Twitter.

He also said Russia advocates for resolution of the Kosovo issue under the international and legal framework of the UN SC Resolution 1244, with full transparency and impartial approach by all participants.

Strpce Municipality freezes cooperation with Kosovo Privatization Agency (media, social media)

Strpce municipal leadership, headed by the mayor Dalibor Jevtic made a decision, that due to violation of the agreement by Kosovo Privatization Agency, freeze any cooperation with this institution, Serbian media reported, adding that the municipality informed the agency in writing about this decision.

The reason for this decision, as the municipality said in a statement, is that the agency “as instructed by Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti under direct influence of Nenad Rasic appointed new members of the Management Board “Brezovica”, two from Serbian and two from Albanian communities, with one of the Albanian members being resident of Mitrovica South, although one of the provisions of the agreement stipulate that all members of the board should be residents of Strpce municipality”.

They also said they will analyze information received about allegations that forgery of documentation by some candidates, now members of the Management Board, took place.

The Strpce municipality also said they informed international representatives about this “yet another unilateral decision of the Kosovo government, aimed at further destabilization of the situation in Strpce municipality”.

They urged Kosovo Privatization Agency to annul the decision, for the sake of stability and further cooperation, and return to the agreement made in December 2021.

Kosovo police stopped ambulance vehicle in Grabovac, near Zvecan (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo police stopped yesterday an ambulance vehicle in the village of Grabovac, Zvecan municipality, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Director of the Clinical Hospital Centre in Mitrovica North Zlatan Elek said this was the first stop of the ambulance vehicle following the address of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic yesterday, but not the first time at all given that Kosovo police stop ambulance vehicles all the time.

British MP and Chair of the Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns alleged earlier that the Serbian Orthodox Church takes part in the “weapons smuggling” from central Serbia to Kosovo, and that “weapons are being transported” with ambulance vehicles.

NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR refuted those allegations, saying there is no evidence about alleged weapons smuggling across an administrative line between Kosovo and Serbia with ambulance vehicles to be stored in Orthodox churches.

Montenegrin President to pay official visit to Serbia (N1, BETA)

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic will pay an official visit to Serbia on July 9-10. He is scheduled to meet in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Parliament speaker Vladimir Orlic.

Milatovic will lay a wreath on the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Avala Mountain with military honors, and place flowers outside the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school, Montenegrin Presidency said in a press release. The school was the site of a tragedy on May 3 this year when a 13-year-old student opened fire on classmates and staff.

In honor of the Montenegrin President, the Montenegrin Embassy will organize a welcoming ceremony at the Montenegrin House in Belgrade.

As Milatovic announced earlier, the visit to Serbia will be his first official visit to another country after Brussels, European Union institutions and NATO, and it is aimed at strengthening political and economic relations between the two states and advancing regional cooperation.

International Media

Belgrade to Stop Arms Exports ‘In Case of Aggression Against Serbia’ (BIRN)

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that next week he will probably sign a decision banning the further export of ammunition and weapons, because, as he said, the vital national interest of the country is currently threatened.

“We will check how contracts are holding. Everything must be prepared in case of aggression against the Republic of Serbia,” Vucic said, after a long speech on the heated situation in Kosovo where for months conflicts have raged between Serbs who are the majority in northern Kosovo and Kosovo Albanian police.

He stated that Serbia is not preparing for any wars and has done everything to de-escalate conflict, but that “it does not depend only on us”.