• Palmer: Serbia and Kosovo cannot prosper without agreement (CorD/Zeri)
• Kurz: No solution for Kosovo without backing from major powers (CorD/media)
• Stoltenberg: NATO intervention was necessary (RTK)
• PM Haradinaj meets U.S. Ambassador Kosnett (media)
• Haradinaj: Kosovo fulfilled criteria for visa liberalisation (Epoka)
• Weller and Emerson reported to join Kosovo negotiating team (media)
• Weber: Talk has it that Thaci pushes border idea to avoid specialist court (Kosova Sot)
• Osmani: Confirmed reports of Thaci-Vucic meeting in Rome (Koha)
• Head of EU civilian operations visits Kosovo (media)
• Albright and Clinton to visit Kosovo on 12 June (RTK)
• Turkey’s defence minister to visit Kosovo today (Telegrafi)
• Analysts: Parliamentary elections not before internal party ones (Zeri)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Palmer: Serbia and Kosovo cannot prosper without agreement (CorD/Zeri)

Zeri summarises an interview that the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer gave to CorD magazine where he said that the agreement on normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia should be “locally-owned” and that this is the only way the agreement would be implemented. “United States encourages the parties to demonstrate their full ownership of the process, reduce negative rhetoric, and work together constructively towards an agreement,” Palmer said.

Palmer said that although the U.S. is not a party to the negotiations, it strongly supports the EU-facilitated dialogue. “Normalisation is essential to both countries' European aspirations. Kosovo and Serbia should reach an agreement that is implementable, durable and does not create instability in either country or the region. We will seriously consider any agreement that meets these conditions,” he added.

See the full interview: https://bit.ly/2uMQpTc

Kurz: No solution for Kosovo without backing from major powers (CorD/media)

Kosovo online media report on an interview that the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had with CorD magazine where he emphasised that any solution for Kosovo needs to have the support of the major powers, especially the permanent members of the Security Council. “We have an interest in being in close partnership with the United States regarding the Western Balkans and to have their support in encouraging progress on this important issue,” Kurz said.

Kurz pointed out that Serbia should be aware that without an effective and comprehensive normalisation of relations with Kosovo “there will be no accession to the European Union.” He said that Austrian will support what the two sides agree to but noted that such a solution “must contribute to more stability and not to more instability.”

See the full interview: https://bit.ly/2G1CDCB

Stoltenberg: NATO intervention was necessary (RTK)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke about NATO air strikes in Serbia during the Kosovo conflict. He said he is aware that Serbia’s memories are still painful due to the NATO air strikes in 1999 and due to the civilians who lost their lives as consequence of these strikes, however, he added, what NATO did at that time was necessary for Kosovo and to guarantee security for all inhabitants of Kosovo, including Kosovo Serbs.

“We were witnesses of miseries and Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina and then we saw violence against civilians in Kosovo. In order to help end this violence and murder of civilians, NATO ever since stayed in Kosovo and is helping on guaranteeing security and defense of all citizens, including Serbs,” Stoltenberg said.

PM Haradinaj meets U.S. Ambassador Kosnett (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj met yesterday with U.S. Ambassador in Kosovo, Philip Kosnett, most news websites report. “We discussed about challenges and our joint efforts to advance the rule of law,” Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting. “Kosovo and the U.S. remain committed to the partnership and friendship between their two peoples”.

Haradinaj: Kosovo fulfilled criteria for visa liberalisation (Epoka)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj said on Wednesday during his meeting with the German Ambassador to Kosovo Christian Heldt, that Kosovo has fulfilled all criteria for visa liberalisation and it does not represent any danger for migration. He added that recent statistics have shown drop in numbers of Kosovo citizens who migrated out of the country. According to him, there were 723 requests for migration in 2018.

Weller and Emerson reported to join Kosovo negotiating team (media)

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Social-Democratic Party Frasher Krasniqi said Kosovo has the best local and international experts in the Negotiating team. “The Negotiating Team has engaged for creation of the state platform some of the best local and international experts for Kosovo, among whom Marc Weller and Ben Emerson,” Krasniqi wrote on his Facebook account. "It is incorrect, ill-intentioned and unscrupulous tendency to compare our team's staff with Serbia's experts," he wrote.

Weber: Talk has it that Thaci pushes border idea to avoid specialist court (Kosova Sot)

German expert on the Balkans, Bodo Weber, said that there is talk among politicians in the West that President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci is pushing forward the idea of exchange of territories with Serbia so that he can avoid possible prosecution from the Specialist Chambers. “I cannot confirm this but I can say I have heard of different drafts of the agreement from senior EU officials and they all contain an element of amnesty,” Weber said.

He also spoke about the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini saying that she is the key person that initiated the idea for exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia. “This is absolutely important to underline. There was a crucial difference between Ms. Ashton and Ms. Mogherini, apart from the negotiations technique, in that Ms. Ashton never allowed Belgrade or anyone reopen the [Kosovo] status issue,” Weber said.

Osmani: Confirmed reports of Thaci-Vucic meeting in Rome (Koha)

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Vjosa Osmani said there are confirmed reports that President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci secretly met Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic in Rome. “The President as you know had a series of secret meetings with Vucic including in Rome, Italy, and these have been confirmed through several contacts. He had confirmed them himself but somehow this information escaped. He said the meeting was behind the cameras but a president of a country cannot have such secret meetings with the president of a country that disputes your statehood,” Osmani said.

Head of EU civilian operations visits Kosovo (media)

Commander of EU Civilian Operations, Vincenzo Coppola, visited Kosovo and met President Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri and representatives of international community in Kosovo. He also met head of EULEX, Alexandra Papadopoulou.  Coppola said that the meetings provided a good opportunity to asses the state of implementation of EULEX’s current mandate. “EULEX’s assistance to its Kosovo partners has changed as a result of its new 2018-2020 mandate, but the Mission's commitment to help the Kosovo authorities in strengthening its rule of law system remains unchanged,” he said.

Albright and Clinton to visit Kosovo on 12 June (RTK)

On 12 June, Kosovo marks the 20^th anniversary of liberation and entering of NATO troops in Kosovo. In order to honor the key international personalities who contributed on liberation of Kosovo, three former presidents of Kosovo Fatmir Sejdiu, Behgjet Pacolli and Atifete Jahjaga together with the current President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci, will organize a grand reception in Pristina. The entire organizing is trusted to former President Jahjaga. Balkan.info has learned that two former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeline Albright and Hillary Clinton will attend the ceremony.

Turkey’s defence minister to visit Kosovo today (Telegrafi)

Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s Defence Minister will be visiting Kosovo today. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj will be hosting a meeting with Akar at 15:00 hours. 

Analysts: Parliamentary elections not before internal party ones (Zeri)

The paper quotes on the front page political analysts saying that they don’t expect there will be early parliamentary elections in Kosovo before major parties – the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) – undergo their own internal elections. Analysts say the priority for the mentioned parties is now the internal elections process and that parliamentary elections would be unlikely before this autumn.