Headlines - 13.07.2018

• Haradinaj: Merkel told me more work to be done on visa liberalisation (Zeri)
• Opposition calls for extraordinary assembly session on negotiating team (Koha)
• AAK MPs: Dialogue should not resume without visa liberalisation (RTK)
• Haradinaj meets leaders of the Serbian List (RTK)
• Haradinaj criticized for meeting Serbian List officials (Epoka e Re/Bota Sot)
• Deda: Thaci discussing partition of Kosovo (Zeri)
• Serb members that left KSF no longer receiving salaries (Kosova Sot)
• Vulin to Zaev: There is no Kosovo, only Serbia (RTK)
• Russia has not changed its position on Kosovo (RTK)

Haradinaj: Merkel told me more work to be done on visa liberalisation (Zeri)

On return from London for the EU-Western Balkans Summit, Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, spoke to reporters yesterday about the meeting he had with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who said to him that Kosovo needs to do more before gaining visa liberalisation. “With regards to dialogue, Germany is an important factor. The role of the national government is very important. As for the visas, the Chancellor did not wish to come with assessment before the Commission does so,” Haradinaj said. nevertheless, he noted that visa liberalisation is not a lost cause and that people of Kosovo will benefit from it this year. Haradinaj said he spoke in his meetings about the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and used the opportunity to call on all political parties to support talks and President Hashim Thaci in the capacity of chief negotiator. “I think Kosovo is duly represented by the president and at the same time opposition parties are also necessary. When the president is there, it is just as if I am there. I am part of the dialogue team,” Haradinaj said.

Opposition calls for extraordinary assembly session on negotiating team (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that the opposition has called for an extraordinary session of the Kosovo Assembly after the decision to form the negotiating team for the finale of talks with Serbia. The session will be held on July 16, two days before the second meeting between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels. President Hashim Thaci has confirmed he will attend the meeting in Brussels, but Assembly President Veseli and Prime Minister Haradinaj have not confirmed their participation. The Office of the President confirmed that both Veseli and Haradinaj will be part of the negotiating team. The paper further notes that Haradinaj has called on the opposition not to block the process of talks, even though several hours later his party – the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo – sponsored a resolution calling for dialogue to be suspended until Kosovo gets visa liberalization.

AAK MPs: Dialogue should not resume without visa liberalisation (RTK)

Kosovo Assembly MPs from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) have initiated a motion for a draft resolution which would request from the government not to resume with the final phase of the dialogue with Serbia without complete liberalization of visas for Kosovo people. “We consider that Kosovo has implemented all the conditions, criteria, recommendations including the technical and political ones, more than any country in the region and lack of visa liberalization continues to be a great unjust for the citizens of our country,” said MP from this political party, Donika Kadaj Bujupi.

Haradinaj meets leaders of the Serbian List (RTK)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradianj met on Thursday with the leader of the Serbian List, Goran Rakic and his deputy Milan Radojicic. They discussed the general situation in Kosovo with a special stress on the aspects of security, economic and social development. A communique issued by the government does not mention any discussions on the possibility of return of the Serbian List to the government.

Haradinaj criticized for meeting Serbian List officials (Epoka e Re/Bota Sot)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP, Armend Zemaj, has criticized Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj for meeting with officials of the Serbian List in his office. In a Facebook post, Zemaj said deputy leader of the Serbian List, Milan Radojicic, is accused of involvement in organised crime, extortion, intimidation. Calling Radojicic “north’s boss”, Bota Sot reports that Radojicic is a close associate to Zvonko Veselinovic, both of whom the paper says are being investigated by Serbian authorities on organised crime charges.

Deda: Thaci discussing partition of Kosovo (Zeri)

In an interview with the paper, Alternativa MP Ilir Deda accused President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, of discussing with Serbia partition of Kosovo and that he has no legitimacy to lead the process of dialogue. “When someone discusses partition of Kosovo, the society needs to mobilise,” he said. Deda said further that no decision can be taken on Kosovo’s behalf without running them through the Assembly first. “At the same time there needs to be a consensus of political parties. I am sorry we are deadlocked, that my colleagues from the opposition parties are not coming up with a name as an alternative to Thaci,” Deda said. Asked whether he has someone in mind for the job, Deda replied: “Of course we do but we don’t want to one-sidedly throw names in public… Alternativa will have not one but several proposals. It needs to be someone credible, renowned and educated.”

Serb members that left KSF no longer receiving salaries (Kosova Sot)

40 Serb members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) that asked to be demobilized are no longer receiving their salaries because when they submitted their resignation they no longer went to work, the paper reports on page ten. KSF Commander, Rrahman Rama, said their withdrawal is not definite and that there is no going back. Rama said the Serb members left “because someone minded the success of this organization”. He also said that all allies of the KSF, including NATO, were informed about the pressure and blackmail against Serb members of the force.

Vulin to Zaev: There is no Kosovo, only Serbia (RTK)

The Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) said after the invitation for his country to join NATO, that FYROM’s example should be followed by the neighboring countries, and invited Serbia and Kosovo to continue with the dialogue in Brussels mediated by the European Union. His statement caused reaction of Serbia’s Minister of Defense, who said that Zaev should know that “there is no Kosovo and Serbia, but only Serbia and a territory under temporary administration of the United Nations in accordance with Resolution 1244.”

Russia has not changed its position on Kosovo (RTK)

Maria Zaharova, Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, was asked during a press conference if official Moscow has changed its position towards Kosovo after the meeting of Russia’s Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev with the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci in Ankara. “Our principled position on the Kosovo issue has not changed,” Zaharova said.