Albanian Language Media:

• Victims of sexual violence, Osmani: Let's bring perpetrators to justice (RTK)
• Kurti: We’re interested in X-ray scanners that enhance security at borders (media)
• Lajcak: Vucic and I agreed on next steps in dialogue (RTK)
• Bislimi after recommendation to lift measures: Association not a condition (RTK)
• COMKFOR, Naples Command reps talk about security and dialogue (media)
• EULEX present in delivery of body remains to Serbian authorities (Reporteri)
• Kosovo government provides financial support to Presevo Valley (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak and Vucic agreed on the next steps in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina (Beta, N1)
• Djuric met Lajcak: The position of Serbs in Kosovo dramatically worsened with the arrival of Albin Kurti to power (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic met Lajcak: The CSM formation the only way forward, we do not fall for Kurti's tricks (Kosovo Online)
• Pristina court sentences Rakic to three-month suspended prison sentence (N1, Beta, KoSSev)
• Paunovic: Pristina submitted amendments to SEECP PA to provoke Belgrade (RTS, Tanjug)
• "Kill, kill the Serb" performed in unison by Albanians and Croats (N1, KoSSev, SK)
• UEFA also fined the Football Association of Serbia (Kosovo Online)

                             Albanian Language Media

Victims of sexual violence, Osmani: Let's bring perpetrators to justice (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Wednesday that Kosovo's commitment to bring to justice the persons who committed sexual violence during the last war is unwavering. On the 'X' platform, she shared a video of herself while she was speaking at the UN.

"On this International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we continue to honor the courage and resilience of those who endured unspeakable horrors under Milosevic's genocidal regime. These brave women and men remind us of our shared duty to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Today, we see survivors in Kosovo transform their pain into powerful action, inspiring countless others to seek justice. Our commitment is unwavering: we must bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure that such atrocities are never repeated,” Osmani said.

Kurti: We’re interested in X-ray scanners that enhance security at borders (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Wednesday that the Kosovo government's aim is for Kosovo to have safe trade and mentioned the possibility of purchasing X-ray scanning equipment similar to that used by German authorities. He made these remarks during a visit at the Port of Hamburg following an invitation by German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin. “I thank the German Government's Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, for the warm welcome and this visit, which involves observing and learning about the X-ray scanning conducted at the Port of Hamburg for containers, trucks, and other transporters,” Kurti said.

“We are interested in having safe trade; therefore, security in Kosovo implies border security. Today, during this visit, we are seeing the conditions under which the German government would agree to equip us with such an X-ray scanner to enhance the security at the borders of Kosovo regarding the goods that enter Kosovo and we would become a part of Europe regarding border observation and safe trade. I thank Sarrazin once again for this opportunity at the Port of Hamburg, where top-level goods inspections are conducted concerning security,” Kurti said.

 

Lajcak: Vucic and I agreed on next steps in dialogue (RTK)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met on Wednesday in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and said that they have agreed on the next steps in the dialogue. "In Belgrade, I had an open discussion with President Aleksander Vucic on the current state of play in the dialogue. We agreed on the next steps for the next period,” Lajcak wrote in a post on X.

Bislimi after recommendation to lift measures: Association not a condition (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, said on Wednesday that no state has been against the lifting of the measures, except for some that have requested that they be lifted gradually. He said that they were unfair from the beginning. According to him, the additional injustice towards Kosovo was not imposing measures against Serbia.

"The absolute majority of countries believe that the imposition of measures against Kosovo was unjust, not imposing measures against Serbia was additional injustice,” Bislim said, after his briefing to the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee on European Integration.

Asked if the establishment of the Association is a condition for the lifting of the measures, Bislimi said that this was not requested by Borrell. "The measures are very specific and certain, Mr. Borrell's statement of June 3, does not mention the Association," he said.

"There are different interests of the member countries, not all of them advance the interests of the EU and Kosovo, but there are also those who favour some of Serbia's demands, since they believe that in this way they can push Serbia towards the west, but this is not our mission, we are happy every time Serbia takes decisions that lead it towards the west, but it is not our mission to carry out these", he added.

Speaking about the dialogue with Serbia, Bislimi said that the neighbouring country is the one that has been destructive, not Kosovo.

"Serbia has continuously opposed the implementation of the basic agreement, claiming that there is no basic agreement. Now the situation is complicated for the reason that as a precondition for the disbursement of the first part from the growth fund or group plan that is expected to be made in July is Mr. Lajcak's assessment of the constructiveness of the parties and this constructiveness will depend on the extent to which the parties accept the sequencing as a phase, and it will be a challenge for Serbia as well. I accept that they have a sequencing plan for an agreement that I do not know if it exists, which means Serbia will be forced to accept that there is an agreement for Kosovo and must implement it,” Bislimi said.

COMKFOR, Naples Command reps talk about security and dialogue (media)

Commander of NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, General Ozkan Ulutas, met on Wednesday with the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples, Brian T. Mutty, at the KFOR Headquarters, in "Film City" camp in Pristina.

"They exchanged views on the latest security trends, including KFOR's activities under its UN mandate and its support for the EU-mediated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina," the KFOR statement informed.

EULEX present in delivery of body remains to Serbian authorities (Reporteri)

EULEX forensic experts together with representatives of Institute of Forensic Medicine handed over on Tuesday at the border point in Merdare the remains of three people who were recently identified. EULEX has said that the remains of one person have been handed over to the family, while the remains of the other two have been handed over to the Serbian authorities.

"We remain committed to supporting our local counterparts at the IML and other relevant Kosovo institutions by providing forensic expertise and advice in carrying out the complex work of identifying all human remains in the IML morgue, so that members of the family realise their right to know the truth,” a statement by EULEX notes.

Ditor Haliti, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, told Radio Free Europe that the remains of the bodies that were handed over have

been kept at the Institute since the end of the war, but there were problems with their identification.

"They were at the Institute because they could not be identified during this time because the family members did not provide blood samples to be identified. Last year, blood samples of family members were given and additional DNA samples were sent, which gave us the results of those who have been identified", he said.

Kosovo government provides financial support to Presevo Valley (RTK)

The Kosovo government announced on Wednesday that it has decided in its meeting to help the Presevo Valley in order to support their lobbying activities during the visit to the Federal Republic of Germany this month. Through a media release, it is announced that the government of Kosovo, in the meeting held electronically, has allocated €10,270.00 as financial support for the Albanian National Council and the representatives of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, in order to support their lobbying activities during the visit to the Federal Republic of Germany this month.

Serbian Language Media 

Lajcak and Vucic agreed on the next steps in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina (Beta, N1)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said yesterday that he had an "open and fair conversation" with the EU's special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak in Belgrade, with the message that the EU as a mediator in Serbia has a "serious and responsible partner".

Vucic announced on his Instagram profile that he spoke with Lajcak about the situation in Kosovo and the "almost impossible conditions for the life of the Serbian population, caused by constant pressures and the arbitrariness of the authorities in Pristina."

"The EU, as the main mediator in this process, had and will have a serious and responsible partner in Serbia, and for our people in Kosovo and Metohija we remain an uncompromising support and protection of their homes and future," he said.

He added that he reiterated that the return to constructive dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and the normalization of relations lies primarily in the implementation of the Brussels Agreement, i.e., the urgent formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Earlier the same day, Lajcak spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric. 

Lajcak and Vucic agreed on the next steps in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina

The EU's special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, said that he and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, agreed on "next steps" in the dialogue yesterday in Belgrade.

"In Belgrade, I had an open conversation with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, about the current state of the dialogue. We have agreed on the next steps for the coming period," Lajcak wrote on X.

Djuric met Lajcak: The position of Serbs in Kosovo dramatically worsened with the arrival of Albin Kurti to power (Kosovo Online)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric met yesterday the European Union's Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and emphasised that the position of the Serbian people has dramatically worsened since Albin Kurti came to power in Pristina.

Djuric reiterated Belgrade's commitment to continuing the dialogue as the only correct path to resolving the most important national issue. He noted that since Albin Kurti took office as the head of the government in Pristina in the fall of 2021, there has been a significant deterioration in the position of the Serbian and other non-Albanian populations, as well as a "general decline in the situation in the province on all levels."

"Kurti's regime continuously attacks the dialogue process under the auspices of the EU and implements repressive measures aimed at creating a monoethnic Kosovo, thereby directly undermining the goals of the international community," Djuric pointed out.

The minister conveyed to his interlocutor that Belgrade supports the Draft Statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which was prepared by the European Union, and continues to insist on the full implementation of the Brussels agreements from 2013 and 2015, as well as everything agreed upon so far under European mediation.

Recalling the fact that more than 200,000 people have left Kosovo since 1999, and that more than 14 percent of Serbs have left the territory of Kosovo in the past year alone, Djuric reiterated his concern about the systematic persecution and violation of individual and collective human, economic, cultural, and political rights of non-majority communities there, predominantly Serbs.

"The state of Serbia will continue to be committed to peace and stability in the region and will do everything in its power to protect the interests of its people and ensure their safety and survival, which are at a dramatically high level of threat due to the long-term destructive actions of Pristina," Djuric emphasised.

Djuric spoke to Kharchenko

Djuric also spoke yesterday with the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade, Aleksandar Bocan-Kharchenko, whom he thanked for Russia's consistent position on respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, stressing that Serbia will continue to advocate for respect for the basic principles of international law, and that it will not change its strategic determinations, announced the Serbian MFA, among other things, reported Kosovo Online in a separate article.

Petkovic met Lajcak: The CSM formation the only way forward, we do not fall for Kurti's tricks (Kosovo Online)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, announced that he discussed the political and security situation in Kosovo with the European Union's Special Envoy for Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, in the light of the numerous escalating moves to the detriment of the Serbian people that Albin Kurti makes every day.

"I conveyed to him Belgrade's firm determination to continue the dialogue in which it is only possible to seek compromise and sustainable solutions in the area of Kosovo and Metohija, as opposed to unilateral and violent moves that Pristina resorts to,'' Petkovic said in an Instagram post.

He added that he told Lajcak that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, as agreed in Brussels, remains the only way forward by which it is possible to achieve the normalisation of relations.

"And we will not fall for Kurti's tricks and attempts at manipulation," added Petkovic.

Pristina court sentences Rakic to three-month suspended prison sentence (N1, Beta, KoSSev)

The Basic Court in Pristina, Kosovo, sentenced Goran Rakic to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 1,000 euros for failing to accurately disclose the requested information in the asset declaration form during the time when he was Kosovo Minister for Communities and Returns. Judge Naime Krasniqi-Jashanica delivered the judgment, after the court previously approved a plea bargain, reported KoSSev. The three-month prison sentence will not be enforced if Rakic does not commit another criminal offense within a year. Rakic is the former leader of the Serbian List, a Serb minority political party in Kosovo.

Paunovic: Pristina submitted amendments to SEECP PA to provoke Belgrade (RTS, Tanjug)

The Vice-President of the Assembly of Serbia Snezana Paunovic said that the amendments proposed by Pristina to the Draft Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Cooperation Process in Southeast Europe (SEECP PA) were ''absolutely tendentiously submitted with the aim of provoking Belgrade and stressed that the delegation of Belgrade opposes the amendments that call for the entry of 'the so-called Kosovo to the Council of Europe'', because it, as part of the territory of Serbia, is already in that organisation, reported RTS. 

Paunovic thanked Ljubljana, Athens and Bucharest for their principled stance and their decision to reject the proposed amendments and added that Pristina's amendments are completely incompatible with the idea of the Declaration.

"Of course, the amendments were not accepted and will not be an integral part of the Declaration. I have to express my great gratitude to the delegations that understood Serbia's aspiration and did not vote to make the work of this organisation meaningless, nor for the documents that are adopted within it," Paunovic for Tanjug after the session of the SEECP PA Standing Committee in Skopje where the draft Declaration was discussed.

She also pointed out that ''the amendments aimed to impose the so-called Kosovo as a topic through direct reference to Pristina's potential membership in the CoE and the events in Banjska''. According to Paunovic, the representative of the Pristina delegation, Fitore Pacolli, tried to present Pristina as a victim of some association and pointed out that such an appearance does not suit the SEECP PA format, which gathers 13 parliamentary delegations.

"It is interesting that they are trying to present Banjska as a terrorist attack, and they did not have an answer to my question, what is the term for the shooting of the Serbian children by the Kosovo policeman on Christmas," Paunovic said among other things, reported RTS, citing Tanjug. 

She added that the representatives of Pristina institutions always tend to impose themselves as the main topic, although SEECP PA is not an organisation that should deal with Pristina in a special way.

"Kill, kill the Serb" performed in unison by Albanians and Croats (N1, KoSSev, SK)

The duel between Croatia and Albania in the second round of Group B at the European Championship was also marked by the Balkan folklore expected by the fans, and it was not about torches and smoke bombs, reported N1, citing Sport Klub. 

We are not even talking about the flags that were displayed by Albanian fans at the stadium, and on which serious provocations could be seen. From the messages "Kosovo is Albania", through flags with KLA symbols to the messages "FCK Serbia". Not even about the intrusion of a large number of Albanian fans onto the field at the end of the match.

UEFA will record all this itself.

About half an hour before the end of the game, "Kill, kill, kill the Serb" was chanted from the stands in a joint performance by fans of both national teams.

And a local police officer joined the whole parade before the game in Hamburg.

UEFA also fined the Football Association of Serbia (Kosovo Online)

The European Football Association (UEFA) fined the Football Association of Serbia after the first matches at the European Championship in Germany. 

The Football Association of Serbia was fined 4,500 euros for throwing objects on the field, as well as another 10,000 euros for "provocative messages that have no place at a sporting event."

Serbia was fined a total of 14,500 euros for what happened in the match against England, while the "bill" of the Albanians against Italy was as much as 37,375 euros.

International Media