Albanian Language Media:

• NATO and EU with mission to prevent conflicts in the Balkans (Koha)
• Blinken: NATO ready to face different challenges, including in Western Balkans (media)
• Borrell: We will ensure stability in north of Kosovo and border with Serbia (Express)
• Increasing number of Serbs in north get Kosovo license plates (VoA)
• VV MP: Association draft statute will be made public at the end of the process (media)
• Trendafilova in Pristina today; PSD says “she is not welcomed” (Gazeta Express)
• Hovenier: Always a pleasure to visit Peja (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Borrell calls Belgrade, Pristina to show will for agreements (N1)
• Dacic: 13 percent of Serbs left Kosovo over last year (Radio KIM, BETA)
• Petkovic, Botsan-Kharchenko discuss situation in Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Russian Ambassador meets with Serbian Defense Minister (N1, media)
• Hill: Serbs in Kosovo must know what they will get by establishment of CSM (KoSSev, media)
• Ambassador Hovenier visits Pec Patriarchate (KoSSev, Kosovo Online, social media)
• Vucic to meet with Kazakh FM on Wednesday (media)
• Albanian flags flying in southern Serbia (BETA, N1, Bujanovacke)

Albanian Language Media

NATO and EU with mission to prevent conflicts in the Balkans (Koha)

NATO will do everything to prevent the escalation of conflicts in the Western Balkans after recent increased tensions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. At the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, the situation in Kosovo was among the topics of discussion. Before the behind-closed-doors meeting, Stoltenberg was asked if he has information that Russia will try to incite a new conflict in the Balkans, he mentioned Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. “I have just returned from a visit to the region, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, and I met leaders from the whole region. And certainly what we see there are growing tensions. We saw growing tensions and an inciting rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And we also see serious incidents of violence in Kosovo, including the attack against NATO peacekeeping troops, where 93 soldiers were wounded and some of them seriously,” Stoltenberg said.

Commenting on the Banjska attack on September 24, Stoltenberg mentioned the killing of three Serb attackers that were part of the paramilitary group from Serbia, but not the killing of Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku, the news website notes. “These are serious events, and we need to remain focused on the Western Balkans. At the same time, as we are dealing with the war in Gaza and continuing to provide support to Ukraine, we will make sure that NATO will do what is needed to maintain or ensure stability in the region, because this is important not only for the Western Balkans, but for all of Europe and NATO,” he said.

Stoltenberg also said NATO is present in the region, and “we work together with the Euroepan Union, EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are also present in Kosovo. In the light of growing tensions, we have added thousands of troops to our military presence in Kosovo in the last weeks, and we will work closely with partners and allies in the region, to make sure that we will do everything that is needed to reduce tensions and prevent any escalation of conflict.”

Blinken: NATO ready to face different challenges, including in Western Balkans (media)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday before the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting that NATO is ready to face different challenges, including in the Western Balkans. “What we are doing in the NATO alliance is way more important than it has been before. We saw in the last three years that NATO has grown by addressing our common challenges. We are doing a lot of shared work within the Alliance, in the Western Balkans, with our NATO partners in the world, including Asia and the Pacific. And certainly we will talk about the crisis in Gaza and the situation in the Middle East,” he said.

Borrell: We will ensure stability in north of Kosovo and border with Serbia (Express)

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that EULEX and KFOR will continue to cooperate in order to ensure stability in the north of Kosovo, including the border with Serbia, the news website reports. After the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, Borrell said: “we talked about the Western Balkans, and you know how important it is for the European Union. Their stability, prosperity, and approximation with foreign policy is very important to us. Allow me to stress the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO in Kosovo, in the north. Our EULEX mission has strong cooperation with KFOR and are faced with difficult times. We will continue to ensure stability in that part of Kosovo and the border with Serbia,” he is quoted as saying.

Borrell also called on Kosovo and Serbia to engage on the reached agreement. “I call on Kosovo and Serbia to show increased readiness for the agreement on their European path,” he said.

Increasing number of Serbs in north get Kosovo license plates (VoA)

December 1 is the last day for Serbs in the north of Kosovo to replace their license plates issued by Serbia with Kosovo license plates “RKS”, the news website reported on Tuesday. Kosovo authorities have welcomed the growing interest of Serb citizens in registering their vehicles with legal license plates.

Svetolik Radovanovic is one of many Serbs in the north of Kosovo who early this week registered his vehicles with legal license plates before the December 1 deadline. “I am changing my license plates from KM to RKS. The process is going well, we have to wait in line for some time, but it is OK. The reason why I am changing the license plates is because I cannot move with KM plates,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Kosovo Ministry of Interior Affairs said: “we welcome the readiness of community members in the four northern municipalities to register their vehicles in line with the latest decision of the government of the Republic of Kosovo. So far, 3,000 citizens have registered their vehicles, and benefited from financial facilitation provided in the process.”

VV MP: Association draft statute will be made public at the end of the process (media)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Artan Abrashi, in an interview with ATV on Tuesday, commented on a version of the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities which was published in Kosovo. “This topic has dominated the public and reached toxic proportions. After every meeting in Brussels, Kurti informs the people. He talked about the general agreement framework that is in Kosovo’s favor. But here the Association draws more attention. I understand this but it is too early,” he said.

Abrashi claims he has not seen the draft statute and “I know what Prime Minister Kurti said that there is a confidentiality agreement not to make the draft public. The parties are still giving their comments”.

He also said that the draft statute will be published when the parties give all their comments and once the process is complete.

Trendafilova in Pristina today; PSD says “she is not welcomed” (Gazeta Express)

The President of the Specialist Chambers of Kosovo, Ekaterina Trendafilova, will hold a meeting in Pristina today with representatives of civil society as part of the communication program. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) meanwhile will hold a protest today against Trendafilova’s visit. “The Kosovo Liberation Army cannot be tried. Trendafilova’s visit to Kosovo is precisely aimed at fixing the image of this unfair court. The Special Court is facing a deep crisis of legitimacy. The PSD is determined not to allow these efforts. Trendafilova is not welcome here. Let us become united on November 29 and oppose the injustice that they are trying to interpret to us as justice,” a PSD statement notes.

Hovenier: Always a pleasure to visit Peja (media)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said during a visit to Peja on Tuesday that he “appreciated the warm welcome and a chance to again visit the historic Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, a UNESCO heritage site, and reflect while looking at its glorious frescos”. Hovenier visited the 9/11 “Memory and Friendship” Memorial in Peja, which includes a piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center donated by the New York Fire Department. Grateful to the Rotary Club of Peja for their initiative to install this memorial, reminding us all to #neverforget”. He attended the grand opening of the American Retail Park, “a significant private investment. This retail center will employ hundreds of people and bring some of the most popular textile, gastronomy, and service companies to Peja”. Hovenier also said that he “enjoyed very much my visit to the National Judo Center in Peja to see elite Kosovan judo athletes train. I got to congratulate some of Kosovo's Olympic champions in person - looking forward to seeing these athletes compete in Paris in 2024!”

Serbian Language Media 

Borrell calls Belgrade, Pristina to show will for agreements (N1)

The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called Belgrade and Pristina on Tuesday to show the will to clear their European path through agreements, N1 reports.

“We call Serbia and Kosovo to increase their will to look for agreements in order to clear their European path”, he told reporters before the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

He said that the Western Balkans are important to the Union and recalled that a number of EU member states are engaged in the Western Balkan and that the countries of the region are EU candidate states.

“Their stability, prosperity and alignment with EU foreign policy is of vital importance for us”, Borrell added. He also stressed the importance of NATO-EU cooperation in the north of Kosovo. 

Dacic: 13 percent of Serbs left Kosovo over last year (Radio KIM, BETA)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday that over the last year 13 percent of Serbs left Kosovo because of pressure from the Pristina regime on the Serbian population there, Radio KIM reports.

Speaking at Belgrade Economic Forum Dacic said that since the beginning of 2021 up to date there are 446 ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs in Kosovo recorded.

"No attempts of tendentious misinformation and placing the blame on Belgrade can hide the simple fact that Albin Kurti, since he has been at the helm of the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina, is the most responsible for the escalation of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija", Dacic said.

He added the return of over 200,000 internally displaced persons from Kosovo has not yet been made possible.

"That's why we appeal to international actors to ensure the safety of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija, as a condition of all conditions so that we can continue the dialogue process. Belgrade will be committed to dialogue, but we believe that, at this moment, it is necessary to implement without further delay all the obligations from the agreements reached so far, first of all to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities, an obligation that Pristina undertook more than 10 years ago with the Brussels Agreement", he said.

Petkovic, Botsan-Kharchenko discuss situation in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic met with Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Tuesday to discuss the political and security situation in Kosovo and problems facing Serbs there, Tanjug news agency reports.

At the beginning of the meeting, Petkovic said it was extremely important that the most recent round of the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels had addressed the process of drawing up a statute of a Community of Serb Municipalities as the first concrete step towards establishing the Community, which he noted was overdue for more than ten years now.

Petkovic placed special emphasis on the difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo, who he said were threatened by Albin Kurti and his authorities in Pristina on a daily basis through escalatory and other violent and unilateral moves.

He said that Kurti, by promoting the concept of a “Greater Albania” and by saying “the so-called Kosovo Security Force" was a direct successor of the terrorist organization "Kosovo Liberation Army"”, had directly threatened the entire Serb population in Kosovo. Petkovic noted that such “Greater Albania” concepts were evolving into threats to stability across the region.

Russian Ambassador meets with Serbian Defense Minister (N1, media)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Bocan-Kharchenko met with Serbian Minister of Defence Milos Vucevic and discussed the situation in Kosovo and the region, N1 reports.

Vucevic and Botsan-Kharchenko discussed Kosovo with the minister thanking Russia for its support in preserving Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He is quoted as saying that Belgrade’s long-term strategic commitment is to remain militarily neutral. The meeting was attended by Russia’s new Defense Attache in Serbia Major General Andrei Kindyakov.

Hill: Serbs in Kosovo must know what they will get by establishment of CSM (KoSSev, media)

US Ambassador to Belgrade, Christopher Hill said yesterday that Belgrade-Pristina negotiations are much more complex than it can be imagined, but that at the same time major question posed to Serbia is the one related to Ukraine, respectively what relations it will have with Russia, KoSSev portal reports.

Addressing the Belgrade Economic Forum, Hill said that the Brussels process contains all necessary elements and it is known what should be done.

He said Serbs in Kosovo must know what they will get by establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM), how their lives will look like, what Pristina will do, adding that CSM is a solution that would be adopted at the end.

As he said, the initial idea was that the CSM is established, and Serbia gives Kosovo capacities based on which it could become an EU member.

He noted that Serbs in Serbia are very passionate when it comes to the Serbs in Kosovo, adding that the incident in Banjska “must not be repeated”. 

He concluded it can be discussed about what KFOR can do for Kosovo, but that Serbia must understand that there is no other way than a political solution. 

Ambassador Hovenier visits Pec Patriarchate (KoSSev, Kosovo Online, social media)

US Ambassador in Pristina, Jeff Hovenier visited yesterday Serbian Orthodox Church Pec Patriarchate, memorial center Memory and Friendship, attended opening of the retail center and spoke with judo athletes in Pec, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Always a pleasure to visit Peja/Pec. Appreciated the warm welcome and a chance to again visit the historic Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, a UNESCO heritage site, and reflect while looking at its glorious frescos. ¼”, Hovenier wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In Pec Patriarchate, Hovenier was welcomed by Abbess Hartina and Novo Brdo Vicar Bishop Ilarion.

“Honored to visit the 9/11 “Memory and Friendship” Memorial in Peja, which includes a piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center donated by @FDNY. Grateful to the Rotary Club of Peja for their initiative to install this memorial, reminding us all to #neverforget. 2/4”, he added in a second post.

Ambassador Hovenier also spoke about the opening of American Retail Park as a significant private investment that would employ hundreds of people, and attended Kosovo judo athletes training in the same city. 

Vucic to meet with Kazakh FM on Wednesday (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet with Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu in Belgrade on Wednesday, the presidential press office has announced.

The meeting at the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic is scheduled for 11 am, and a press statement will be released afterwards.

Albanian flags flying in southern Serbia (BETA, N1, Bujanovacke)

Albanian flags are flying on the municipal administration buildings in Bujanovac and Presevo, southern Serbia, to mark Albania's public holiday - Flag Day, N1 reports.

The Bujanovacke portal reported that the Albanian flags were put up a day earlier, on Monday evening, because the heads of both municipalities left for the holiday celebration in Tirana, Albania.

Over the past few years Bujanovac Mayor Nagip Arifi personally put up the Albanian flag on the balcony of the municipal administration building on November 28, which was welcomed with applause by the Albanian councilors, but the ritual was skipped this year.

The Albanian flag was placed next to the European Union (EU) flag and that of the state of Serbia. Presevo Mayor Shqiprim Arifi did this personally in his municipality.