Albanian Language Media: 

• Another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly (media)
• Kurti: No institutional crisis in Kosovo; constitutional vacuum (Nacionale)
• Krasniqi: Kurti is keeping Assembly and people hostage (Koha)
• Osmani: Hatred must never again be allowed to prevail over humanity (media)
• Maqedonci: Agreement with U.S. guarantees strengthening defense (Koha)
• Kurti: Media owners and lack of professionalism is the problem (media)
• AJK reacts to Kurti’s remarks on Reporters Without Borders report (media)
• Petritsch: The idea for Kosovo’s partition came from Belgrade (KTV)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vujic: Serbia will use all legal mechanisms against the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo (Politika, Blic, Danas, Kosovo Online)
• Kosovo PM Kurti responds late to RSF report, blames media for press freedom decline (KoSSev)
• The Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Orahovac desecrated again (RTS, Danas, Radio Gorazdevac, KiM radio, KoSSev)
• Vucic: Talks with Putin on Kosovo and double standards (Kosovo Online)
• FM: There will be no EU sanctions over Vucic’s visit to Moscow (Beta, N1, Blic, RTS)

Albanian Language Media 

Another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly (media)

All media reported on Sunday another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly of Kosovo. The Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) tried to change the voting process for the new Assembly Speaker, from an open voting process to a secret one, but could not secure enough votes to form a committee that would oversee the process. The next assembly session will be held on Tuesday. 

Kurti: No institutional crisis in Kosovo; constitutional vacuum (Nacionale)

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister and leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, said on Saturday that there is no institutional crisis in Kosovo but a kind of constitutional vacuum. In his address at the General Assembly of the Vetevendosje Movement, Kurti said: “there is no institutional or political crisis in Kosovo. There is a constitutional vacuum. There is no crisis because the mechanisms of the democratic state are functioning, the law enforcement and security authorities are operational, and laws are respected and enforced throughout our republic. The new assembly has not been constituted yet, because the Constitution of Kosovo does not foresee what needs to happen when the proposal for the Assembly Speaker does not get 61 votes”.

Kurti said that the Assembly cannot be constituted only by one party. “The Assembly is not constituted by the winner, regardless of if it is an absolute or a relative winner. The Assembly is constituted by all and together … We have not blocked [the constitution of the assembly], because we proposed our candidate. We did so right away. The blockade comes from those that are voting against or those that are not voting at all,” he said.

Krasniqi: Kurti is keeping the Assembly and people hostage (Koha)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi accused Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti of keeping the Assembly, people and institutions of Kosovo hostage by repeating the same scenario in the Assembly. “It seems that for Kurti, Albulena Haxhiu [Vetevendosje’s candidate for Assembly Speaker] is more important than around 1 million people … The current situation is an institutional misfortune,” he said.

Krasniqi said the PDK is willing to take part in a meeting of party leaders called by President Vjosa Osmani. 

Osmani: Hatred must never again be allowed to prevail over humanity (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that “in Mauthausen, Austria, we marked 80 years since the liberation of the concentration camp by U.S. Army forces”. “We honor the victims who suffered and perished, and we reaffirm our pledge that hatred must never again be allowed to prevail over humanity. On behalf of the Republic of Kosovo, we paid tribute to all the victims, standing alongside fellow heads of state in remembrance,” she said.

In another post on X, Osmani said that Kosovo’s friendship with Austria remains a steadfast pillar of Kosovo’s European future. “Today, before the commemoration ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp, Prindon and I met with Austria’s President Alexnader Van der Bellen and First Lady Doris Schmidauer. Kosovo remains firmly committed to its Euro-Atlantic future. On this path, we are proud and grateful to walk alongside true friends like Austria,” she added.

Maqedonci: Agreement with U.S. guarantees strengthening defense (Koha)

The news website reported on Sunday that on June 13, Kosovo and the United States of America are expected to sign a framework document that guarantees closer cooperation between the two sides in the area of defense. Kosovo’s acting Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said the agreement aims to strengthen defense capacities and long-term cooperation with the United States. 

Maqedonci also said that the document, which covers the period from 2025 to 2030, “will further specify areas of cooperation with the aim of achieving the objectives of the Comprehensive Transition Plan, increased cooperation between our forces, cooperation in the defense industry and the joint contribution of our countries for peace and security in the region and the world”.

Kurti: Media owners and lack of professionalism is the problem (media)

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti commented for the first time on the latest report by Reporters without Borders which ranks Kosovo at 99 in the world freedom press index, saying that the report is concerning and regrettable but that the responsibility falls not on the government but on the media. “The media in Kosovo are free. The current position and the declining public trust come not because of government influence, but rather because of the control of [media] owners and the lack of professionalism,” he argued.

Kurti said that unlike previous governments, his government included no media owner and that the relations between the government and the media are distant and professional. “Before us, the government and the media were together, in fact even on holidays and vacations. We removed the government funding of the media so that we would not influence them and we have no media owner in the government so that we cannot control them,” Kurti said at the General Assembly of the Vetevendosje Movement. 

AJK reacts to Kurti’s remarks on Reporters Without Borders report (media) 

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) said in a statement that it is deeply disappointed with the response of Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, one week after the release of the Reporters Without Borders report on Kosovo. It argued that Kurti has failed to acknowledge or address the report’s findings. “Instead, he shifted blame to the media and journalists for Kosovo’s ranking at 99th place in the global press freedom index. Kurti’s proposal to offer ‘training and courses by the Government for journalists and media’ represents a troubling and unacceptable attempt at government interference in the work of the press. This suggestion undermines the professionalism and independence of Kosovo’s media. The Acting Prime Minister also neglected to mention the adoption of an unconstitutional law concerning the Independent Media Commission, the political influence his party exerts over the public broadcaster RTK, or the ongoing campaign of inflammatory and hostile rhetoric against journalists and media outlets by officials of his party. AJK urges Mr. Kurti, and whoever forms the next government, to engage in open and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders. The findings of the report must be taken seriously, and concrete steps must be taken to advance media freedom in Kosovo,” the statement notes.

Petritsch: The idea for Kosovo’s partition came from Belgrade (KTV)

Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch said in an interview with publicist Veton Surroi on Sunday that the idea for Kosovo’s partition was first proposed by Belgrade, and that former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and then EU High Representative Federica Mogherini were open to the idea. 

Petritsch, a key international figure in political processes in post-war Balkans, said his involvement in the debate was aimed to better understand what could be achieved through dialogue. “It was the first time that two Balkans leaders talked about borders in a peaceful way. I did not believe that partition was going to happen, but I hoped that through this discussion they would find another way forward,” he argued.

Petritsch said that at the time he had suggested organizing a meeting between Thaci and Vucic at the Alpbach Forum in Austria, where they shared the stage for the first time. He denied that maps were never put on the table, but said he noticed that Belgrade had unrealistic territorial expectations. “Serbs thought that they could get way more than they would give, and it does not work that way,” he added.

Serbian Language Media

Vujic: Serbia will use all legal mechanisms against the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo (Politika, Blic, Danas, Kosovo Online)

Serbia’s Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, stated that Serbia will intensify its efforts to counter the unlawful activities of illegal judicial institutions in Kosovo by using all available international and domestic legal mechanisms. In an interview with Politika on Sunday, Vujic emphasized that Serbia will particularly focus on presenting evidence of human rights violations against Serbs before United Nations bodies, with special attention to addressing the UN Security Council and reminding it of the obligations stemming from Resolution 1244.

The Minister recalled that despite the reduced role of UNMIK following the establishment of the EULEX mission, UNMIK still holds the mandate to protect the rights of all communities, including Serbs. He stressed that Kosovo remains a territory under UN administration, as Resolution 1244 is still in force.

“Criminal acts such as perjury that go unpunished, as well as the lack of accountability for abuse of official position, constitute systemic violations of human rights because they undermine every individual's right to a fair trial,” said Vujic, emphasizing that public prosecutors in Serbia are investigating all such cases and will initiate proceedings when sufficient evidence is gathered.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/bdf4ypnd

Kosovo PM Kurti responds late to RSF report, blames media for press freedom decline (KoSSev)

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has described the sharp drop on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index as “regrettable”, while shifting the blame from his government to the media themselves, reported KoSSev in English on Saturday.

Kurti made his first public comments on the report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) only at the end of the week, during a meeting of the main board of his Vetëvendosje movement. The report had already generated major public attention earlier in the week, following its release ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Kosovo was ranked 99th out of 180 countries in this year’s Index, a drop of 24 places from the previous year and the lowest position in the region. The report sparked wide reactions among journalists, civil society groups, and international organizations.

“The drop in the media index is regrettable. In Kosovo, there is freedom of expression and media freedom – I am a witness to that based on my personal experience and life here. This decline contradicts the reality we live in, and this contradiction should be clarified by the media themselves,” Kurti said, Ekonomia Online reported.

He emphasized that, unlike previous administrations, his cabinet does not include media owners and that relations between institutions and journalists remain “distanced and professional.”

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/44usjk34

The Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Orahovac desecrated again (RTS, Danas, Radio Gorazdevac, KiM radio, KoSSev)

Several tombstones’ crosses and inscriptions on monuments were broken at the old Orthodox cemetery in Orahovac, which is located in a part of the city where Serbs do not live, reported Danas on Saturday, citing RTS. The vandalism was noticed by Milan Stanojevic, the parish priest of Orahovac, during his last visit to the cemetery, who told RTS that it was the second attack on tombstones and crosses after Easter. He added that he reported the incident to the police, who then went to the field and investigated.

"Crosses and monuments in the old cemetery are a constant target of unknown persons... There is no single monument or cross that has not been touched," reports Stanojevic.

A week after Easter, the cross on the grave of the last buried Miroslava Dedic was also broken.

Her relatives put up the cross again, but it was desecrated again, while "I am beautiful" was written in chalk on the monument, reported Danas. 

The old cemetery is in the part of Orahovac where Serbs do not live after the 1999 conflict.

KiM radio recalled that the Rijaset of the Islamic Community of Serbia and the Mufti of Belgrade strongly condemned the desecration of the Orthodox cemetery in Orahovac. In a statement signed by Belgrade mufti Mustafa ef. Jusufspahic, it was pointed out that such acts are "an attack on the sanctuaries of a nation" and an expression of "intolerance and hatred that must have no place in modern society." Mufti Jusufspahic emphasized that graves are symbols of respect for the deceased and that their desecration represents "a deep injury and a true shame for the entire human race." He called on all institutions, international organizations and society as a whole to work together to protect the religious rights and freedoms of all citizens.

Vucic: Talks with Putin on Kosovo and double standards (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that during his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, they discussed the issue of Kosovo and double standards, as well as pressures exerted by certain parts of the world on Serbia to accept the secession of part of its territory. Vucic added that both the Chinese and Russian presidents emphasized their joint efforts to establish major changes and a more just global order, reported Kosovo Online on Friday night.

“We discussed Kosovo and Metohija and the fact that double standards exist in parts of the world that are trying to force us, through additional pressure, to accept the separation of Kosovo. We also spoke about the pressure to impose sanctions on Russia and many other topics,” Vucic told reporters.

He noted that the meeting with the Russian president was “long, substantive, and serious.”

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2hscbt6a

FM: There will be no EU sanctions over Vucic’s visit to Moscow (Beta, N1, Blic, RTS)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric said that Serbian diplomacy has shown “consistency” in recent days, and that there will be “no interruption of EU integration or sanctions from official Brussels” over President Aleksandar Vucic’s recent visit to Moscow.

Speaking to RTS, Djuric said that in the coming days, European Council President António Costa and EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas will visit Belgrade, and that he actually expects a strengthening of relations with Brussels, which “will not come at the expense of Serbia’s balanced foreign policy.”

“There will be no interruption of (European) integration or sanctions — this will soon become evident — and we can only expect continued development,” he said.

Commenting on Vucic’s visit to Moscow, the minister noted that it was significant for strengthening the country’s foreign policy position regarding Kosovo, as well as for the economic strengthening of Serbia.