Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti and Vucic expected to meet with main European leaders on October 26 (RFE)
• EU presents "modern" draft for Association, invites Kurti and Vucic to Brussels (Koha)
• Haxhiu: Kurti has not yet confirmed his participation at Brussels meeting (media)
• Government informs about Kurti’s meetings in Greece (media)
• Svecla: Other groups are being trained in Serbia to attack Kosovo, Veselinovic, among them (Koha)
• Austria demands the recognition of Kosovo by the entire EU (Klan)
• Osmani begins her visit to Iowa, USA, goes by helicopter to Camp Dodge (media)
• Fajon: It is important to do everything in our power to de-escalate tensions (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Belgrade, Pristina to hold separate meetings with EU officials Thursday (Tanjug, media)
• Stoltenberg: Situation is Kosovo difficult, calls for restraint (N1, FoNet, Kosovo Online)
• New Serbian List leadership elected (KoSSev, media)
• Old cemetery in Mitrovica North plowed over by road reconstruction, Church to ask for protection of plot (KoSSev)
• Serbian List condemns desecration of old cemetery (Kosovo Online, media)
• Petkovic meets with CDU/CSU foreign policy adviser, informs him of difficult situation of Serbs in Kosovo (media)
• Vucevic, Grenell discuss situation in Kosovo (media)
• Grenell: Pristina must select date for elections, form CSM (BETA, N1, social media)
• Ilija Elezovic released pending trial (Kosovo Online, media)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti and Vucic expected to meet with main European leaders on October 26 (RFE)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, are expected to hold separate meetings with the four European leaders on October 26 in Brussels.

The European Union confirmed that Kurti and Vucic have been invited to Brussels on the sidelines of the European Council summit on Thursday.

Radio Free Europe learns from diplomatic sources that the plan is that on the sidelines of this summit, Kurti and Vucic will have separate meetings with the four European leaders, whose representatives visited Kosovo and Serbia on October 21.

According to the sources, the plan is that "the four leaders, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and the high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, have a joint meeting with the prime minister of of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, on the sidelines of the EU summit on Thursday".

Meetings of the same format are expected to take place with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic.

EU presents "modern" draft for Association, invites Kurti and Vucic to Brussels (Koha)

Without giving details about what exactly it is about, the European Union has confirmed that they have prepared a "modern European proposal" for the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority in Kosovo and now they expect the parties to "act quickly" on this, and all other obligations deriving from the dialogue.

The EU's spokesperson for foreign policy and security, Peter Stano, said this to several journalists, adding that this was the result of the meetings that the EU's special envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, had in Belgrade and Pristina during the weekend, where he was together with other western envoys.

Stano has confirmed that the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia have been invited to go to Brussels to participate in a meeting, which is said to be a "meeting in support of dialogue on the margins of the European Council".

According to EU sources, they say that "it is not necessarily a question of a meeting between them, but it remains to be seen later", but anyway they have been invited to be in Brussels on Thursday when the EU summit will take place.

"The discussions of the special envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, during the weekend in Belgrade and Pristina, focused on the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. There is no intention of replacing it. Various proposals and ideas were discussed, some of them in writing, and these discussions will continue. This also includes a modern European proposal for the statute of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority", Stano said. "We now expect quick steps from the parties, in order to prove that they are committed to continue the normalization process, fulfilling their respective obligations from the Agreement on the path to the normalization of relations, as well as all agreements from the past without delay and without preconditions, he said. The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia have been invited to participate in the meeting to support dialogue on the margins of the European Council later this week."

The EU summit, or as this meeting is formally known, the "European Council", takes place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. In that meeting, dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the security situation in the north of Kosovo, will be among the topics of discussion.

EU leaders are expected to express their deep concern for the security situation in the north of Kosovo in the conclusions that will be adopted, to condemn the attacks on the Kosovo Police, to demand that the perpetrators of the attack on September 24 in Banjska be brought to justice, but to demand the implementation without delay and without preconditions of the obligations from the dialogue.

Haxhiu: Kurti has not yet confirmed his participation in Brussels meeting (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu has said that the government of Kosovo, namely the Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has not yet confirmed the participation in the meeting to support the dialogue for the normalization of relations on the sidelines of the European Council meeting this week in Brussels.

"No, there is no confirmation, before I came to the studio I was informed a little about the latest actions that are related to the news that circulated today during the day about a possible meeting in Brussels. But at the moment, there is no confirmation from Prime Minister Kurti from the government of Kosovo whether we will or will not be present at this meeting", Haxhiu said in an interview with Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK.

Commenting on the terrorist attack in Banjska of Zvecan and its impact on the dialogue process, Haxhiu said that "after September 24, everything is different".

"We cannot separate the dialogue process from what happened on September 24. It is important to focus on security for the citizens of Kosovo, especially on the borders.

"Serbia must be punished for the terrorist actions it has undertaken in Kosovo".

Speaking about the meeting that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, had with the European-American delegation otherwise known as the "Big Five" which was led by the EU representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, Haxhiu said that on Saturday, they did not come with a "take it or leave it" offer.

"Lajcak and Escobar have presented their perspectives and plans in relation to this process. On the other hand, we have our positions, we said that the focus should be placed on the implementation of the Agreement", she added.

Government informs about Kurti’s meetings in Greece (media)

The government of Kosovo informed through press releases that during his visit to Greece, at the invitation of "The Economist", Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with the former Prime Minister of Greece, George Papandreou, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Giorgos Gerapetritis, as well as with the Greek Minister of Defense, Nikos Dendias.

With the former Greek Prime Minister, Kurti spoke about the latest developments in Kosovo after the September 24 terrorist attack, as well as about Kosovo's aspirations for membership in the Council of Europe.

The importance of deepening the economic cooperation and commercial exchange with Greece was discussed in the meeting between Prime Minister Kurti and the Greek diplomat, Gerapetritis.

"In the meeting, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized the commitment of the Republic of Kosovo in our journey towards the EU and the implementation of reforms. Our country aspires to become part of the Euro-Atlantic structures, for which we are doing our utmost to fulfill this objective".

Meanwhile, with the Minister of Defense of Greece, Kurti spoke about the patrolling of KFOR troops on the border with Serbia.

"Prime Minister Kurti also spoke about the cooperation with KFOR in patrolling the northern border and the security situation in the country, one month after the terrorist and criminal attack of September 24, carried out by paramilitary groups with the sponsorship and participation of Serbia", the press release reads, among other things.

Svecla: Other groups are being trained in Serbia to attack Kosovo, Veselinovic, among them (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, in an extensive interview with KTV said that he possesses intelligence information that other groups are being trained in Serbia for possible attacks on Kosovo. He has announced that these groups are being trained in army bases around the border with Kosovo.

"We have intelligence information that other groups are being trained, that not only Radoicic but also Veselinovic will be part of future attacks if we allow them to happen, with the sole purpose of causing a new situation on the ground where Serbia's position would improve in relation to their goal to destroy Kosovo", Svecla said.

He added that Kosovo will comply with all the procedures, requesting the extradition and trial of Radoicic before justice in Kosovo. "Not only towards him, but also towards those who have planned this attack on the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo, we will not stop there", he added.

Svecla said that the state of Serbia, the Government and the Serbian President are responsible for what happened in Banjska on September 24.

"They did the planning, the recruitment, the training, they did the arming and they brought this terrorist group to the border, which was just a wave of terrorists planned to enter Kosovo. There was also another group inside Kosovo", he said.

Svecla, has said that the plan for the terrorist attack in Banjska on September 24 was prepared militarily and was aimed at the annexation of the northern municipalities. According to him, Banjska was the meeting point of the members of the terrorist group. He said that if the Serbian paramilitary group's plan were to go through, another group would enter Leposavic from the Serbian border.

"Their initial goal was to find a safe corridor, they started from Izvoci along with a parallel hilly road in Banjska and would extend to Zvecan and North Mitrovica. Banjska was just a dumping ground. They did not enter all at once, groups entered in the evening hours. The meeting point was Banjska. It is a military plan. They would be settled in Zvecan and Mitrovica. They would meet with the other members in Zubin-Potok. While we have information that another group would enter Leposavic from the Serbian border. Our intelligence is very close to a number from this group, but I cannot say," he said on KTV's "60 Minutes".

"Some of the participants have been identified. We made several raids on the houses of those who lived in Kosovo. There is a certain number who are not citizens of Kosovo, and identification will be more difficult. By working with the internationals and putting pressure on Serbia, we must force it to fully clarify the case", he said.

"The health system is the least monitored for criminal actions. Even with Ahtisaari's package, they have some kind of autonomy. Therefore, they used this door to put in all that weaponry", he added.

Svecla has emphasized that the security institutions are conducting "the biggest investigation in the history of Kosovo" for the terrorist attack in Banjska. He stated that they are also investigating the role of the Banjska Monastery in the attack.

Svecla has said that the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, Serbian List, is a criminal organization, which has been and continues to be a pillar of criminals. He said that this party plays a destructive and oppressive role against Serb citizens in the northern municipalities.

"Lista Srpska has so far been the backbone of these criminals. Both Lista Srpska and Serbia have been their political umbrella. They had permission to break the law, to smuggle, to become millionaires and not to mention billionaires, but they had the obligation to continuously fight the institutions and statehood of Kosovo. This was their employer-employee relationship with the state of Serbia", he said.

"In the files of Veselinovic and Radoicic, at the beginning of their criminal activity they had crimes such as stealing cars or car cassette recorders, so they were street gangs, and then they were part of a chain that stole cars and they have sent them to Serbia, a criminal activity that leaves the impression of ordinary crimes, and then because of their internal war they have been raised and strengthened. Undoubtedly, they have Albanian collaborators, now this controversial businessman has become fashionable. We also have some controversial businessmen who are involved in these smuggling activities. Radoicic was not able to smuggle himself, Radoicic's wealth had not become as big as it is, limiting his criminal activity only to the north of Kosovo," he said.

Austria demands the recognition of Kosovo by the entire EU (Klan)

The Austrian Minister for the European Union and the Constitution, Karoline Edtstadler, has said that she expects the entire European Union to recognize the independence of Kosovo.

In a public letter, she emphasized that if Europe wants to turn its words of solidarity with the Western Balkans into action, it must aim at five points, one of which is "Recognition of Kosovo by all 27 EU as soon as possible and the granting of candidate status before the EU elections".

Minister Edtstadler has criticized the EU for inaction towards the Western Balkan states in the last 20 years.

"Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia were promised a future in the EU 20 years ago. What has happened since then? A little. Accession negotiations have opened with four countries, but all four are at a virtual deadlock. The other two countries are still at the beginning: Bosnia and Herzegovina has candidate status since the end of 2022; Kosovo submitted its application for EU membership in December 2022 - without any decision from our side on how we want to continue with it", said the Austrian minister, among other things.

Osmani begins her visit to Iowa, USA, goes by helicopter to Camp Dodge (media)

President Vjosa Osmani is on an official visit to the United States of America. Through a post on X platform, she announced that she has already started her official visit to the state of Iowa, USA.

Osmani went by helicopter to Dodge Military Camp.

"The Iowa National Guard has played a key role over the years in strengthening the capacity and capabilities of our Security Forces. We are here to expand our sister state partnership and to further strengthen our unbreakable ties with the USA," Osmani wrote.

Fajon: It is important to do everything in our power to de-escalate tensions (media)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon, commenting on the announced meeting between the representatives of Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels, said that she expects that there will be no further escalation of tensions and that the two sides will return to dialogue.

"It is always important to do everything in our power to de-escalate tensions, so that there are no further escalations and for both sides to return to the table, and this means the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina," she said at a media conference within the 12th forum of the EU strategy for the Danube region in Brdo near Kranje.

The head of Austrian diplomacy, Alexander Schallenberg, emphasized that it is important for Serbia to bring the participants of the conflict in Banjska to justice.

"It's something you have to do. Glorifying someone who committed murder as a hero is something that is not well received in Europe," he told reporters.

Serbian Language Media

Belgrade, Pristina to hold separate meetings with EU officials Thursday (Tanjug, media)

Officials of Belgrade and Pristina are due to hold separate meetings with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday, a source in the EU told Tanjug. The source said the two parties would not hold a joint high-level meeting.

Details about the place and time of the meetings are yet to be announced.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said earlier in the day representatives of Belgrade and Pristina had been invited to a meeting on the sidelines of a European Council meeting later this week.

Stoltenberg: Situation is Kosovo difficult, calls for restraint (N1, FoNet, Kosovo Online)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Pristina and Belgrade need to refrain from actions that can further escalate the situation and should return to the dialogue facilitated by the EU, N1 reports citing Kosovo Online.

Stoltenberg told a media conference that NATO has increased its presence in Kosovo with several hundred troops from Romania, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.

“There is a tense and difficult situation, we are following that very carefully, and we have increased our presence, especially in the North. The main message is that both Pristina and Belgrade need to refrain from actions that can further escalate the situation or increase tensions and to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric”, Stoltenberg said.

He also said Pristina and Belgrade should engage in the EU–facilitated dialogue.

“I think that is also an important message, in Kosovo we see how NATO and the European Union are working hand in hand, the increased NATO military presence supports the diplomatic and political efforts of the European Union”, he added.

New Serbian List leadership elected (KoSSev, media)

Clinical Hospital Center (CHC) in Mitrovica North Director Zlatan Elek, a pediatric surgeon, has been elected the new head of Serbian List. The decision was made by a unanimous vote at a session of the party, which began at noon in Mitrovica North yesterday, KoSSev portal reports.

“President Elek pointed out that in the coming period Serbian List will also be the rallying point around which the Serbs in Kosovo will gather, as well as that all important political decisions will always be made in coordination with official Belgrade, and in the interest of the entire Serb people, while preserving necessary unity“, SL said in a statement.

Five new vice-presidents were also elected – Dragisa Milović, former mayor of Zvecan, Ivan Zaporozac, the president of the Provisional Authority of Mitrovica North Municipality as of Friday and director of the School Administration for Kosovo and Metohija, the mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, Tanja Vujovic, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Dragana Antonijević, director of the Student Center.

As of yesterday, members of the Serbian List Presidency include Gordana Savic, Srdjan Popovic, Srdjan Vulovic, Nemanja Bisevac, Slavko Simic, Ivan Todosijevic, Verica Ceranic, Sinisa Lazic and Sasa Milosevic.

Old cemetery in Mitrovica North plowed over by road reconstruction, Church to ask for protection of plot (KoSSev)

Kosovo authorities are building a road leading to destroyed Albanian houses, the reconstruction of which was recently launched as part of the announced program for the return of Albanians to the Brdjani and Mikronaselje settlements in North Mitrovica.

However, the road passes through the now plowed-over old town cemetery – and the tombstones located there could be several hundred years old. The plot belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC). The Church is set to raise the issue of protection in the coming days, KoSSev portal reports.

The cemetery in question is a town cemetery where the last burial took place in the fifties (1953). According to preliminary estimates, the cemetery also houses tombstones that are several hundred years old. Mitra Reljić, Professor at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Pristina settled in Mitrovica North, pointed out that this could be the case. She has been studying Serbian cemeteries in Kosovo for decades.

The cemetery is located on land belonging to the SOC. It is a plot of about 30 acres, and as KoSSev unofficially learned, it has been registered in both Serbian and Kosovo legislation. The houses in question could be built on part of this church lot. As KoSSev learns, the Church will soon check the cadastre and raise the issue of protection.

Regarding this case, the portal also reached out to Kosovo police, who told the portal that they did not provide assistance to the workers who perform these works, stressing that a journalist should contact the municipality regarding the issue. KoSSev did not manage to get an answer regarding the issue from the municipality of North Mitrovica yesterday. It contacted the Chair of the Mitrovica North Municipal Assembly Nedzad Ugljanin who was unaware of the road reconstruction, adding that he will visit the spot today and then address the media.

Read the full article at: https://tinyurl.com/5824a8sk

Serbian List condemns desecration of old cemetery (Kosovo Online, media)

The Serbian List in the strongest terms condemned the digging up of the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Mitrovica North, which, as they said, is being carried out by Albanian companies at the behest of the Albin Kurti’s government and demanded from international community to urgently react and stop desecration of Serbian graves, Kosovo Online portal reports.

"After Albin Kurti's regime started the process of confiscating Serbian properties (in relation to expropriation in the north deemed as disputable by many) and digging up the roads between Serbian villages, now they dared to dig up our cemeteries, desecrate them and scatter the bones of our ancestors", Serbian List said in a statement.

They added that “people of Mitrovica North and an entire Serbian people in Kosovo resent this shameful, inhuman and anti-civilization act with sadness, disbelief and justified anger”.

"This act must be urgently stopped, and the situation on the ground must be restored to its previous state, in cooperation with the priests of the Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church Raska-Prizren Eparchy", the statement concluded.

Petkovic meets with CDU/CSU foreign policy adviser, informs him of difficult situation of Serbs in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic met on Tuesday with the foreign policy adviser of the CDU/CSU group in the German Bundestag, Franz Xaver Mauerer and informed him of extremely difficult security conditions for Serbs in Kosovo, especially in the north, Tanjug news agency reports.

According to a statement released by the Office, Petkovic said “tragic developments in Banjska, which he noted Belgrade had never wanted nor had anything to do with, were a result of unilateral, unlawful and violent moves by Pristina that had intensified over the past year in the north of Kosovo, as well as daily provocations, groundless and arbitrary arrests of Serbs, seizure of Serb-owned land, terror by Pristina's special police - for which there was no place in the north of the province under agreements - beatings of Serb children, shootings of Serbs that, as a rule, no one was called to account for, and construction of illegal parapolice bases”.

Petkovic informed Mauerer of steps and efforts Belgrade was constantly undertaking with a view to defusing tensions and normalizing the situation in the north of Kosovo, and noted a firm and unequivocal commitment to preserve peace and solve all open issues through the EU-facilitated dialogue.

"There is no rule of law in Kosovo-Metohija - all decisions are made on ethnic grounds at the expense of the Serbs", Petkovic said, citing the example of arbitrary arrests of Serbs. They are held in custody for months in inhumane conditions, without adequate medical care, while Pristina has released a member of Kosovo Security Force who fired at two young Serbs, Stefan and Milos Stojanovic, on Christmas Eve, Petkovic added.

Vucevic, Grenell discuss situation in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic met with former US special envoy for Kosovo Richard Grenell on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reports. Grenell held the post during the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

"We discussed the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and all measures our country has taken towards de-escalation and a reduction of tensions", Vucevic wrote in a post on his Instagram account.

Vucevic said they had welcomed increased KFOR presence in Serb communities in Kosovo, aimed at preserving peace and stability.

Grenell: Pristina must select date for elections, form CSM (BETA, N1, social media)

Former US presidential envoy for Belgrade and Pristina talks Richard Grenell said Tuesday that in Kosovo a date should be set for the holding of elections in four northern municipalities, and the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) formed.

“This morning I heard directly from the Minister of Defense in Serbia that they welcome the presence of more NATO troops in Kosovo and have dramatically decreased the number of Serbian troops along their border. (PM) Albin Kurti and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani must now select a date for elections in the North and create the Association of Serbian Municipalities”, Grenell said in a post on X following his meeting with Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic.

Ilija Elezovic released pending trial (Kosovo Online, media)

The Basic Court in Pristina made a decision yesterday to release pending trial Ilija Elezovic from Mitrovica North, who had been in detention for more than a month. Elezovic was arrested by Kosovo police in Mitrovica North on September 20, under accusations of allegedly committing war crimes, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Prior to yesterday’s decision on October 19, his detention was extended by two more months. His defense lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic said back then that the judge decided to extend detention despite having medical documentation testifying and proving the poor health condition of Elezovic.

Media reported earlier that his defense lawyer said Elezovic is a serious oncological patient in an advanced stage of illness. During the previous weeks he was visited by OSCE, UNMIK and EULEX representatives, Ombudsperson, and twice by the International Red Cross from Geneva representatives.