UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, September 27, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jim O'Brien (media)
Osmani: Kosovo should have more coordination and cooperation with the U.S. (media)
Kurti: Diplomatic and economic ties with Greece have increased (RTK)
Gervalla meets her counterpart from Monaco, discusses joint projects (media)
Pacolli: Hovenier's message should not have been conveyed to Kosovo but to Serbia (RTK)
Haxhiu hosts Danish Minister of Justice, discusses implementation of agreement on prisons (media)
Rasic: Radomirovic fired for involvement in suspicious activities in the north (Dukagjini)
KFOR and Serbian army carry out synchronised patrolling (media)
Anti-smuggling measures, police set up obstacles for trucks at the Bernjak/Brnjak bridge (Dukagjini)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic meets SG Guterres in New York, discusses Kosovo, cooperation and geopolitical challenges (Kosovo Online)
Vucic: We know they deceived us with the Brussels Agreement (Kosovo Online, media)
Petkovic: “Pristina continues police occupation of northern Kosovo” (media)
Serbian List: Decision on allocating building in "Bosiak" Mahala made by illegitimate Albanian councillors (Radio KIM)
Serbian List: Possible abolishment of Serbian goods import ban decision is not a merit of Nenad Rasic (Radio KIM)
Gerxhaliu: U.S. and Europe have taken Serbian goods blockade seriously; compromise will certainly be reached (Kosovo Online)
Kosovo police placed concrete barriers on Bernjak/Brnjak bridge (KoSSev)
Vucic not sure he can make it to parliamentary debate on lithium, will attend that on Kosovo (N1)
Serbia, Azerbaijan sign agreement on additional gas supply (N1)

International Media:

Serbia-Albania joint bid with political history set to win hosting of soccer’s Under-21 Euros (AP)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani meets with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jim O'Brien (media)

During her stay in New York for the High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met with the Assistant Secretary of State, Jim O'Brien. "Another meeting with the Assistant Secretary of State, Jim O'Brien, to discuss the further deepening of cooperation with the United States, as well as taking steps that are in the interest of the citizens of Kosovo, the Euro-Atlantic integration of our country, as well as peace and security in the entire region", Osmani wrote.

She also met the president of Gambia, Adama Barrow and Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Osmani: Kosovo should have more coordination and cooperation with the U.S. (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani spoke in an interview with Voice of America, about the importance of Kosovo's coordination and cooperation with the United States, not only on matters related to the dialogue with Serbia. She said that history has shown that whenever Kosovo has worked closely with Washington, it has been successful, benefiting both Kosovo and its citizens.

Although she considered the actions of the Kosovo government to extend sovereignty in the north as entirely legitimate, Osmani stressed that cooperation with allies would make these efforts sustainable, reflecting positively in foreign policy through Kosovo’s membership in international institutions.

Kurti: Diplomatic and economic ties with Greece have increased (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as part of the High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, met with the Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in New York.

“Good meeting with Greek PM Mitsotakis today. We discussed ways to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, which have seen a positive and significant increase in the past three and a half years, especially intensifying following visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens in January of this year. We also spoke about developments in our region and its necessity and perspective for European and Euro-Atlantic integration,” Kurti wrote on X platform.

He also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the same time the current Deputy Prime Minister and the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel.

During Thursday, Kurti had a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, with whom they discussed bilateral relations, their potential and cooperation programs between Kosovo and Singapore.

Kurti also held separate meetings with the Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Haoliang Xu and the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa.

Gervalla meets her counterpart from Monaco, discusses joint projects (media)

The deepening of bilateral cooperation in specific areas, including the economy, climate change, environmental protection and clean energy, was the focus of the conversation in the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gervalla, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Monaco, Isabelle Berro - Amadei. This meeting was held on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Pacolli: Hovenier's message should not have been conveyed to Kosovo but to Serbia (RTK)

The Vetevendosje Movement MP, Fitore Pacolli, has assessed Wednesday’s statement by the U.S.ambassador, Jeffrey Hovenier, as unfair.

"It is not the right message that should have been conveyed to the state of Kosovo. Such a statement would best suit the state of Serbia, not the state of Kosovo. If we look at Kosovo's journey, it has never sent a message like Serbia sends, whenever it wants to, that it will side with other countries, even Russia, China and other countries that threaten peace in the region. Kosovo has never been a state that has threatened or tried to destabilise the peace in neighbouring countries", Pacolli told RTK.

According to her, the Serbian state is the one that is not putting their foreign policy in line with the policy of the European Union and the United States of America regarding Russia's war against Ukraine and other geopolitical developments. She said that Kosovo has done a lot of work to advance democracy and that its foreign policy is in line with Western countries, the United States of America and the European Union.

According to her, in all international reports, Kosovo is the first in terms of the region in the issues of deepening democracy, fighting corruption and in the issue of media freedom and freedom of expression.

Speaking about the criticism of the European Union, she said that “we are in a situation where we suffer because of Serbia because we are a smaller country. We are being pressured to continue moving forward and accept some concessions, which are painful for our country. Kosovo has accepted many concessions", she said, mentioning the demarcation of the border with Montenegro and other concessions that came with the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

She also spoke about CEFTA, as she said that government representatives are in the process of a solution. "Our demand has been clear even for the German state, that the moment we have scanners that will help Kosovo control every truck that enters and leaves its territory, then we will be ready to remove the security measures".

Haxhiu hosts Danish Minister of Justice, discusses implementation of agreement on prisons (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, met on Thursday with her Danish counterpart, Peter Hummelgaard. They discussed the progress in the implementation of the agreement on prisons. In a press release issued by the Ministry of Justice, it is stated that within this agreement, 5 million euros have been transferred for the renovation of the prison and the construction of new workshops, a project which will be completed within 18 months.

"The project for the renovation of the prison and the construction of the infrastructure was drawn up by the Correctional Service of Kosovo, which has already signed the contract for drawing up the technical specifications. During this period, in addition to infrastructural works, the current staff will be trained and new staff will be recruited, according to the needs defined in the agreement.”

Rasic: Radomirovic fired for involvement in suspicious activities in the north (Dukagjini)

Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns Nenad Rasic said in a media conference that the reasons for the request for the dismissal of his deputy Radoica Radomirovic came due to suspicions of involvement in suspicious activities in the north, relying on the information provided by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla and the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi.

"In accordance with the very poor performance that I have observed, I talked with Radomirovic about two or three weeks ago and I asked him to resign, because in general I am not satisfied with his work. Unfortunately, he took it a little too dramatically and made those moves, such as leaving the party, that's why I was forced to ask the prime minister to replace Radomirovic," said the Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic.

Asked what the suspicions are about, Rasic did not give many details except for confirming that Radomirovic is being investigated for some actions.

KFOR and Serbian army carry out synchronised patrolling (media)

The NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, and the Serbian Army carried out on Thursday a synchronised patrol on both sides of the border of Kosovo with Serbia, near the municipality of Podujeva."These efforts are part of KFOR's daily mission to support sustainable security throughout Kosovo and regional stability," KFOR's announcement states.

Anti-smuggling measures, police set up obstacles for trucks at the Bernjak/Brnjak bridge (Dukagjini)

The Kosovo Police has placed partial obstacles on the bridge in Bernjak/Brnjak which connects this village of Kosovo with the territory of Serbia. The police say that this was done to prevent the movement of trucks and the smuggling of goods.

"That area was uncovered, unblocked. Today, the border police set up partial obstacles, they used zig zag obstacles so that trucks cannot pass, while small cars can pass," said the deputy director of the police in the north, Veton Elshani.

"There are no static points, but there are increased patrols and other ways we control that area," said Elshani.He added that they have taken care that the residents of these villages do not have problems with traffic.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic meets SG Guterres in New York, discusses Kosovo, cooperation and geopolitical challenges (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Kosovo Online portal reported. Vucic discussed with Guterres the main topics of the 79^th UN General Assembly session, global sustainable development goals and the need to intensify international cooperation and role of UN in resolving growing challenges such as war conflicts, humanitarian crisis, energy transition, climate change and fight against poverty and inequality.

In a post on Instagram Vucic also said that he informed UN SG Guterres in detail about the situation in Kosovo. He also said a particular topic of conversation was the future “we build now for new generations, young people who rightly expect the biggest possible responsibility and commitment to resolve growing challenges”.

Vucic: We know they deceived us with the Brussels Agreement (Kosovo Online, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday many people told him after his address at the 79^th session of the UN General Assembly that he spoke to the core of the problem, adding it is rare for someone to “have the courage to say what he presented”.

He emphasised that he spoke at the session as the Serbian President, as the leader of a small country struggling with a problem partly imposed on it and partly of its own making.

"The problem originates from the 1990s, not to mention the lies we deluded ourselves with from 2000 until the declaration of independence. Now we are more realistic; we know we don’t want conflicts or wars. We know they deceived us with the Brussels Agreement. They say the Munich Agreement was a buying of time, maybe they wanted that for us too, but it turns out we are resilient, both legally and politically, and in terms of life. We will continue to fight for our country”, he said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/S3Shv

Petkovic: “Pristina continues police occupation of northern Kosovo” (media)

“Pristina continues police occupation of northern Kosovo and, for this purpose, has now designated a seized building in Kosovska Mitrovica, which previously housed the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO) Fund, the Kosovska Mitrovica Administrative District, and the Vucitrn Social Welfare Center”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said in reaction to the decision of Mitrovica North municipal assembly to allocate this building to Kosovo Interior Ministry. The Ministry placed its signboards on the building, long before this decision had been made, Serbian media recalled.

Petkovic added the building in "Bosniak" Mahala had been "illegally and forcibly seized from the Serbs with long-barrelled weapons on August 30".

"The workers, who spent their lives providing services to everyone equally, were evicted from their workplaces, and now (Albin) Kurti's police have moved into the building. Furthermore, this illegal decision was made by Kurti’s illegitimate municipal councillors, for whom not a single Serb voted in the elections. The decision is directly aimed against the Serbian people in northern Kosovo and Metohija and represents another move by Albin Kurti that violates the Brussels Agreement, as Kurti’s monoethnic police have no legal right to be in the northern part of the province under any provision of this document", Petkovic said in the statement.

As he said "this entire process is unfolding before the eyes of the international community". "They are silently witnessing the militarization of northern Kosovo and Metohija by Kurti's police, who are carrying out terror and tyranny, shooting at Serbs, beating Serbian children, brutally arresting Serbian youth, and using all available means to intimidate the Serbian people", Petkovic said.

Serbian List: Decision on allocating building in "Bosiak" Mahala made by illegitimate Albanian councillors (Radio KIM)

“Despite the calls from international community to cease unilateral, escalatory and uncoordinated actions repression of (Albin) Kurti’s regime, legal and institutional violence, continues with decision to hand over to Kurti’s monoethnic police an usurped building in which Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Pension and Disability Fund, Centre for Social Welfare and Kosovo-Mitrovica Administrative District were offering services to citizens”, Serbian List said in a statement, Radio KIM reported.

As it was added “decision to hand over seized property without any legal or other grounds to (Xhelal) Svecla’s protegees was made by illegal and illegitimate Albanian councillors, who have neither legitimacy nor support of northern Kosovska Mitrovica people”.

“Having in mind all illegal decisions made against the interests of people in the municipalities in the north by illegal and illegitimate councillors, it should be clearly said that a day will come when all those decisions will be annulled and the situation returned to the previous condition. Policy of force, repression and confiscation would be defeated by power of justice and truth”, Serbian List also said.

They called on the international community to condemn this “escalatory decision whose only goal is to inflict damage to the Serbs, given that dozens of thousands of people would not be able to receive services because of this usurpation”.

Serbian List: Possible abolishment of Serbian goods import ban decision is not a merit of Nenad Rasic (Radio KIM)

“Announcement that soon an abolishment of a discriminatory decision to ban import of Serbian goods from central Serbia to Kosovo and Metohija may happen, is not a result of the work of Nenad Rasic (Kosovo Minister for Communities and Returns), illegal minister of Albin Kurti”, Serbian List said in reaction to the statement Rasic made yesterday that Kosovo is close to make decision on revoking the ban to import Serbian goods, Radio KIM reported.

The Serbian List said if such a decision would be made it would be “a consequence of a clear warning that Pristina would be excluded from the Berlin Process, and CEFTA will make decisions regardless of their stance”. They termed Rasic’s statement as an attempt to profit politically ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, and not as a product of his care about the Serbian people.

“If it were to the will and desire of Nenad Rasic, Serbs would be left without anything, even without their own properties, as he did when he voted for illegal appropriation of the properties belonging to the Serbian owners in Leposavic and Zubin Potok”, Serbian List added in a statement.

Gerxhaliu: U.S. and Europe have taken Serbian goods blockade seriously; compromise will certainly be reached (Kosovo Online)

The former chairman of Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and economic expert, Safet Gerxhaliu, told Kosovo Online that the U.S. and Europe have taken the ban on Serbian goods imports to Kosovo seriously, and he believes that a compromise will certainly be reached.

There is no official decision on the ban of Serbian goods imports to Kosovo, and the Kosovo government claims it is a "security measure." However, the fact is that since June 14 of last year, a blockade on Serbian products has been in effect.

Gerxhaliu recalled that Germany had offered an alternative if, as he says, the issue is indeed a security concern.

International Media

Serbia-Albania joint bid with political history set to win hosting of soccer’s Under-21 Euros (AP)

Serbia and Albania are set to co-host the men’s Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a soccer project that aims to overcome political tensions.

UEFA said Thursday only the Serbia-Albania bid met a deadline this week to file detailed tournament plans. Belgium and Turkey had declared interest earlier in the bidding process scheduled to be decided at a Dec. 16 meeting of the UEFA executive committee.

The Serbian and Albanian soccer federations teamed up in May to plan the organisation of the 16-team tournament played every two years that needs eight stadiums to host 31 games.

Albania soccer federation leader Armand Duka, who is a UEFA vice president, told The Associated Press in May that “it’s a 100% football project” with “a very good political message that we can get across.”