Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Serbia with its territorial aspirations undermines peace in the region (RTK)

• Osmani: It is necessary that perpetrators of aggression be brought to justice (media)

• Konjufca: Vucic has strong ties with the terrorist group in the north (RTK)

• Kurti: Today's Serbia lives in the past (media)

• EU and U.S. with another attempt to push the dialogue forward (Koha)

• Hovenier: There are commitments from Kosovo side to advance establishment of Association (ATV)

• Guerot: Visa liberalization is effective from January 1, 2024 (RTK)

• Zeqiri: I do not pave way for Serbian List to participate in elections with my resignation (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media:

• Belgrade, Pristina trade blame for security threats (N1, media)

• President Xi: Serbia our ironclad friend, we support its sovereignty, territorial integrity (Tanjug, media)

• Vucic: Eighteen agreements signed with China (media)

• Decision to release pending trial KSF member who shot at Serb boys in Gotovusa made six months ago (KoSSev)

• Kovac: No consensus on sanctions, EP resolution to be non-binding (media)

• Barbano meets Chairman of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (Kosovo Online, social media)

• German envoy says de-escalation agenda needed (BETA)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Serbia with its territorial aspirations undermines peace in the region (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the institutions of Kosovo are committed every day to build a safe society and state, to raise and strengthen the state's capacities to protect the country and the people, but Serbia remains a threat to the stability of the Republic.

He made this statement at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety (AKSP).

In front of the participants, public security officials from fifteen different countries of the world, Kurti emphasized that in the face of these global security challenges, the help, cooperation and interaction of all states that rely on democratic values, to deal with terrorism and crimes which threaten the security of states and peoples everywhere in the world, is necessary. 

He said that Kosovo, being a serious and reliable partner for its allies, contributes to regional peace and security, but its northern neighbor remains a threat to peace.

"Serbia continuously threatens the Republic of Kosovo militarily, to the point that it moves its military artillery around our border. Moreover, it has built 48 forward or offensive bases, 28 military and 20 gendarmerie, around our border. It did this along our border line, which is 381 kilometers long, and represents a constant threat to the security of our country. Serbia's dangerous actions, its territorial aspirations towards the Republic of Kosovo, and the fight against our statehood with all possible mechanisms, undermine peace and stability in the region and beyond," added Kurti.

He emphasized that Kosovo's institutions are always committed to dealing with the current challenges, but also to resolving disputes with neighbors through dialogue, especially with Serbia, as equal parties, based on the principles of reciprocity and mutual recognition between states.

"These principles, to us, are a guarantee of lasting peace and long-term stability in our region", he underlined.

Further, Kurti reiterated that Kosovo security institutions enjoy excellent cooperation among themselves and with the strategic partners, and this is the guarantee of successful management of any emergency or security challenge.

"They are built and operate with strategic documents that foresee concrete actions and division of responsibilities, to protect the life and property of our citizens, and our country", Kurti concluded.

Osmani: It is necessary that perpetrators of September 24 aggression be brought to justice (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has once again reiterated that it is necessary that the perpetrators of the September 24 attack in Banjska, Zvecan, be brought to justice. Osmani said this on Wednesday in the meeting she had with the new non-resident ambassador of Canada in Kosovo, Jessica Blitt, on the occasion of the delivery of credentials.

"The President also informed Ambassador Blitt about the latest developments in the field of security in the country, in which case she emphasized the great importance of continuing cooperation with allies, as well as the need to bring the perpetrators of the act of aggression of September 24 in front of the justice,” it is stated in the communique of the Presidency.

In this meeting, it is said that the readiness for the opening of new chapters of cooperation, as well as the joint commitment to advance the Agenda for Women, Peace and Security, was confirmed.

"President Osmani congratulated the ambassador on the duty and expressed deep gratitude for Canada's support for Kosovo and the excellent cooperation. Meanwhile, Ambassador Blitt added that on her part there will be greater engagement in various areas of common interest for both countries, especially in issues related to women's empowerment and gender equality", the communiqué states.

Konjufca: Vucic has strong ties with the terrorist group in the north (RTK)

Kosovo’s Speaker of the Assembly Glauk Konjufca said that the September 24 attack in the north was a terrorist attack and an act of aggression. In an interview for the show "Focus" on Radio Kosovo, he stated that the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, was aware of this attack and that it is a mockery if this is denied. As for the continuation of the dialogue, he said that its format should change after recent events.

"They have used the properties which are official of the Serbian Army. It is a mockery, I think, it is a mockery, with all this information and with the state character, even with the information that the foreign services have, to say that the president and the senior figures of the Serbian state were not aware, on the contrary, they stand and are very closely related to this attack", he said.

The event of September 24 has set back the whole process, Kunjufca stated, stressing that the format of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia must change.

"The blow given on September 24, we are almost convinced that it cannot continue in the register that it has been. It must change in the sense of this project that was presented by the emissary Lajcak, let's say the Association of Municipalities with Serb majority, Kosovo had it in the form of an obligation, which should be sequenced as the first project in time. It is difficult to take a step in this direction, facing a state from which heavily armed terrorist groups enter to annex the northern part of Kosovo. This was the goal", Konjufca said.

Speaking about the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority, he said that this time they will not make the same mistake, and that the bad experience from the past, makes Prime Minister Kurti take a stronger position when the Association is concerned. Konjufca said that this time Serbia must agree that the Association must be in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic.

The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo also spoke about the Serbian List, after its deputy leader, Milan Radoicic, announced himself to be the leader of the terrorist group and financier of this group, which killed a Kosovo policeman and injured two others.

"The Serbian list should have only one concern, whether they will be registered by the Central Election Commission or not, because the deputy leader of the party belongs to a terrorist group", he said.

Serbs, according to Konjufca, should form a party that has no connection with terrorists.

Kurti: Today's Serbia lives in the past (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that today's Serbia is living in the past, because it considers that its wars are not over yet. Kurti made these comments in a post on Facebook, reacting to Monday’s event, where, in the capital of Serbia, the statue of the former leader of the Chetnik movement during the Second World War, Dragolub Mihailovic, was inaugurated.

"After the billboards that carried the message "Belgrade dares", the statue of the former leader of the Chetnik movement during the Second World War, Dragoljub (Drazha) Mihailovic, was inaugurated yesterday on the street "Bregalnicka 24" in the capital of Serbia. The inauguration took place in the courtyard of his family's former house, which is expected to be turned into a museum. The synonym of numerous sufferings on the backs of many peoples and on the blood of thousands of people, Serbia immortalized in bronze. Ironically, the initiator was an association that called for humanitarian and ecological activities. The opposition that was made by various organizations and activists was useless", writes Kurti.

The Prime Minister clarified that the road where the inauguration took place was called "Bregalnicka", after the battle that Serbia fought during the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria (1912-1913), on the banks of the river Bregallnica in North Macedonia, along its efforts for territorial expansion. 

"So, the perpetuation of a war fought in a country that is now a member of NATO (North Macedonia), against a country that is now a member of NATO and the EU (Bulgaria). It is said that museums serve to protect the past. But it is one thing to hide the past, another thing is to justify evil. Even more so when the nostalgic commemoration alludes to the desired repetition", writes the prime minister.

Kurti further recalls that the High Court in Belgrade, on May 14, 2015, rehabilitated the World War II criminal, Dragolub Mihaillovic - Drazha, with a 39-page judgment. In recent years, we had the public denial of the Recak massacre by Aleksandar Vulin on December 10, 2019 and by Aleksandar Vucic on December 5, 2021.

"Today's Serbia lives in the past because it considers that its wars have not ended: neither the Balkan wars from the beginning of the last century, nor the world war in the middle of the 20th century, nor the one of 1998-1999 in Kosovo. The terrorist attack in Banjska of Zvecan on September 24 this year is just another battle of those unfinished wars from the point of view of official Belgrade", Kurti wrote on Facebook.

EU and U.S. with another attempt to push the dialogue forward (Koha)

A year after Kosovo and Serbia were submitted the French-German proposal, the European and American five will make another attempt to push the dialogue forward. Advisors to the president of France, the chancellor of Germany, the prime minister of Italy and the emissaries of the EU and the U.S. are expected to offer a new proposal during their visit to Kosovo and Serbia on Saturday.

According to the announcement from Brussels, the five aim at concrete progress in the implementation of the agreement and the de-escalation of the situation.

Germany's emissary for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, announced a push for the process. 

"We have some unresolved issues, but especially now there are clear expectations from the European Union about what Serbia will give for de-escalation, especially in relation to holding responsible the perpetrators of the September 24 attack. On the other hand, we strongly believe that it is not a good idea to focus only on de-escalation, we should also try to implement the Ohrid Agreement again and make a further push to get the overall positive result back there", he said in a statement for "Kosovapress". 

Sarrazin called on Kosovo and Serbia to be constructive and positive in this process.

Although he has heard about the plan of the Euro-American five, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said on Tuesday that he does not know its details. Vuçiqi said from Beijing, on Wednesday that he will insist on the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has also spoken in Beijing about Kosovo. He said that he met with Vucic and that he shares the same concern with him. 

Analyst Artan Muhaxhiri is waiting for a proposal to activate the parties in the dialogue process.

"It is expected that they will come up with some radical, creative proposal because of course it is not possible to continue with the current trajectory, that is, there cannot be any continuity according to the conditions that have existed up to date because the events in the north have transformed all this and therefore, their offer must be extraordinary so that it is also acceptable to the Kosovar side", said Muhaxhiri.

 According to him, it should contain the guarantee of Serbia's punishment for the events in the north. "The first step should be security, the guarantee that Serbia will be blamed and punished for the events in the north, and then maybe we can talk about a sequence or some acceleration, taking into account the benefits of Kosovo, since so far even this slowdown of the process has come as a consequence that Kosovo has not benefited much in the European way", he said. 

The visit of the advisers and the Euro-American emissaries has not yet been commented on by the government of Kosovo.

Hovenier: There are commitments from Kosovo side to advance establishment of Association (ATV)

The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, has stated that he has seen interest from Kosovo in advancing the issue of establishing the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority. Hovenier, who considers its establishment important and urgent, has said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has begun to see the Association as a means to address the concerns of the Serb community in Kosovo.

"I think September 24 underlined and made it very clear how urgent it is to move forward with this important work to achieve full implementation by both parties, on all the commitments in the basic agreement and the implementation annex. There are many good commitments in this basic agreement. They include things like avoiding the use of force, solving problems through peaceful means, respecting each other's boundaries."

"There are also commitments on the Kosovo side, related to pushing forward the association of municipalities with a Serb majority, as a means to address the concerns of the Serb ethnic community here. We also think that this is very important and urgent", stated Hovenier.

"A very important visit will take place, as we have discussed, and I think it is a reflection of the seriousness with which the United States and our European partners in the EU view the current situation. We want to see real progress. Not in the negotiation of new commitments between Kosovo and Serbia, but to see that the agreement reached in February and the implementation of the annex reached in March are fully implemented by both parties. I think that this next visit will be a manifestation of the importance for this to be realized", Hovenier emphasized.

Guerot: Visa liberalization is effective from January 1, 2024 (RTK)

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, wanted to give a political message to Kosovo and Serbia, with his statement given Monday in Tirana, according to which both countries must keep their word. This is what the ambassador of France in Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, said in an exclusive interview with RTK Prime.

He confirmed that there is no decision on the suspension of visas for Kosovo by France and that the liberalization will come into force on January 1, 2024. Among other things, in this interview the French ambassador also spoke about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the situation created after the attack of September 24 and other topics.

"The president was asked at the end of a bilateral visit to Albania, during which relations between France and Albania were strengthened. So, there was a question about the situation in Kosovo and he wanted to put both sides, Kosovo and Serbia, in front of the responsibilities", said Ambassador Guerot.

He further clarified President Macron's statement that he had three messages addressed to Serbia and Kosovo, inviting President Vucic to strongly condemn the September 24 attack, the killing of police officer Afrim Bujaku, as well as the attack as a whole, and to illuminate the attack as a whole and bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The second message for Kosovo and Serbia regarding the need to organize new elections in the north for reasons that are known and that I do not need to repeat. Elections with the participation of Serbs and the return of Serbs to institutions. The third message had to do with the need to form an association of municipalities with a Serb majority," said French ambassador Guérot.

He said that at the end of the three expressed requests, addressed simultaneously to President Vucic and the authorities of Kosovo, President Macron recalled that the liberalization of visas that is now in force in Serbia and that will be implemented from January 1, 2024 also in Kosovo, according to him, is a positive encouragement, a gesture of good faith and that this gesture was not reciprocal and that it is necessary for both parties to re-engage in dialogue.

"This was a political message that I hope both sides will listen to," said the French ambassador, among other things.

"Today, on October 18, the technical decision is not questioned, but it is really necessary for the political leaders to listen to the president's message", Ambassador Guerot said.

Zeqiri: I do not pave way for Serbian List to participate in elections with my resignation (Reporteri)

The mayor of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri, who comes from the ranks of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), has said that he will not leave his post to enable the Serbian List to participate in early elections.

"I think that the elections in the northern part of Kosovo should be discussed and examined from a political point of view to find a way for the good of our state. As for the resignation, I will not make it possible to the Serbian List to pave their way for elections, which caused all the harm to our country, and which is cooperating with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, we are waiting for a call from Prime Minister Kurti to discuss finding a proper way to solve this issue", Zeqiri said.

"The situation is calm, but there are still groups that make movements, put up flags and things like that, we need coordination with the international factor for all topics that are in the interest of our state", Zeqiri said. 

According to him, no citizen has so far signed the petition for which the Kosovo government took a decision to bring the four northern municipalities of Kosovo to the elections. Zeqiri added that this way of going to the elections will not work and that a political way is needed.

Serbian Language Media

Belgrade, Pristina trade blame for security threats (N1, media)

Officials in Belgrade and Pristina accused each other of posing security threats on Wednesday, N1 reported. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at the Kosovo Public Security Academy that Serbia poses “a military threat to Kosovo”.

In Belgrade, Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said that the Kosovo special police has to withdraw from the majority-Serb north of Kosovo with KFOR taking responsibility for the protection of the Serbs. He said Belgrade wants to continue the dialogue with Pristina but only after a de-escalation of the situation on the ground.

Petkovic told Japan’s Ambassador Akira Imamura that he is concerned by Kurti’s persistent attempts to annul all agreements and latest statement that he will not form the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) which is a guarantee of security and rights for Serbs in Kosovo, a press release said.

He also said decision to release pending trial a member of KSF Azem Kurtaj who wounded two Serb boys in Gotovusa village, Strpce, on Christmas Eve was particularly concerning and represents “an encouragement of its kind for the extremists and a clear message that justice for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija does not exist”. 

President Xi: Serbia our ironclad friend, we support its sovereignty, territorial integrity (Tanjug, media)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic Serbia was "an ironclad friend" of China and that bilateral relations between the two countries had withstood changes in the international landscape over recent years and were an exemplar of friendly relations between China and European states, Tanjug news agency reports.

Xi noted that China firmly supported Serbia in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and stood ready to continue to strengthen strategic synergy with Serbia in order to translate the traditional friendship between the two countries into more fruits of practical cooperation, China's CCTV said, quoting a Xinhua news report.

“Facing profound changes in the world unseen in a century, the two sides should view the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, as well as each other's development paths", Xi said.

Vucic: Eighteen agreements signed with China (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Beijing on Wednesday a record 18 agreements on cooperation had been signed with China and that many of the documents envisioned strategic cooperation.

"I believe what we have achieved in China is historic in significance and character, which will be evident in the years and decades that are ahead of us", Vucic, who is heading a Serbian delegation visiting China, noted.

"I had many bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum. As many as 18 agreements were signed... but what is more important than the number is the substance, the fact that they have a strategic character - a good part of them does", Vucic told reporters.

He thanked everyone in the Serbian government administration and Chinese partners.

Decision to release pending trial KSF member who shot at Serb boys in Gotovusa made six months ago (KoSSev)

Member of Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) Azem Kurtaj suspected of wounding two Serb boys 11-year old Stefan and 21-year old Milos on Christmas Eve, January 6, in the village of Gotovusa, in Strpce was released pending trial six months ago.

It is about a decision that the Basic Court in Urosevac made in May this year, however, this decision reached the defense lawyers of the two Serb boys this week only, and at their own initiative, KoSSev portal reported.

Azem Kurtaj was arrested soon after the shooting at the boys from a moving vehicle. He was then sent to detention. 

The incident caused strong reactions from Belgrade, the international community, but also Pristina, and they all condemned the shooting at the Serb boys.

Kurtaj was initially charged with three criminal acts – an attempted grievous murder, causing general danger and use of firearms, however, at a later stage the first charge on attempted grievous murder had been removed from official indictment, causing disagreements from defense lawyers.

In a first hearing held on March 16 this year, Kurtaj pleaded not guilty. At that hearing his detention measure was commuted to house arrest in the duration of two months.

Although he was released pending trial in May this year, the public learnt about it only six months later, the portal added.

“The hearing from March 16 is our last participation as representatives of affected parties in this process. We received nothing in writing, we did not take part in the written communication between prosecution, the court and lawyer of the defendant related to his detention. We received nothing officially”, Milos Delevic, lawyer of one of the two wounded Serb boys told KoSSev.

By searching for information in the court, Delevic together with a lawyer of the second Serb boy received information that Kurtaj was released pending trial in May already.

Although he finds the decision of the court and prosecution to release Kurtaj “unbelievable” he said he is more concerned by the change in the indictment, respectively that the “attempted grievous murder” charge had been excluded.

“We as defense of the affected parties demand qualification to be attempted grievous murder”, he emphasized. 

Kovac: No consensus on sanctions, EP resolution to be non-binding (media)

Commenting on a draft European Parliament resolution calling on the EU to impose sanctions against Serbia that would be similar to those against Kosovo, Elvira Kovac, a member of the Serbian delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, said on Wednesday the resolution would not be binding.

In a statement to Tanjug, Kovac said EU member states currently lacked the consensus required for imposing sanctions on Serbia. She added she saw five working versions of the draft resolution initially and it was clear that however things may be combined it can’t be good.

"But we need to understand that the resolution is not binding and that, whatever the EP - which has been the most critical EU institution lately if we compare the European Commission, the European Council and the EP - may say, their resolutions are not binding and imposing sanctions requires a consensus that is currently non-existent among member states", Kovac said.

She said she completely agreed with a section of the draft that called for an unbiased investigation of the September 24 events in Banjska.

Barbano meets Chairman of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (Kosovo Online, social media)

Head of EULEX Giovanni Barbano met yesterday with the Chairman of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, Jetish Maloku and expressed concern because the chief prosecutor is not appointed yet, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Substantial discussion w/ Chairman of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, Jetish Maloku. I praised the ongoing cooperation between EULEX & different Prosecution Offices & reiterated our support to a fully independent prosecutorial system, free from political pressure/interference”, Barbano wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“I also shared deep concern over the fact that the Kosovo prosecution is still not formally headed by a designated chief state prosecutor, considering the negative impact of this situation on the prosecutorial functioning from a rule-of-law perspective”, he added in a second post. 

German envoy says de-escalation agenda needed (BETA)

The German Government Special Representative for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin said a clear agenda has to be drawn up to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo, BETA news agency reports citing Pristina-based Kosovapress.

According to him, Germany and the European Union expect Serbia to hold accountable the people involved in the September 24 Banjska armed incident.

He said that focusing only on de-escalation is not a good idea, adding that the focus should also be on implementing the Ohrid agreement which requires a political commitment from both sides.

Sarrazin said the EU would call both Belgrade and Pristina to show a constructive and positive approach.