• Mustafa: Talks have not stalled; mutual trust is fundamental (media)
• Kurti: Serbs to have a minister; we won’t form coalition with Serbian List (media)
• Muhaxherri reveals which five ministries belong to LDK (RTV Dukagjini)
• Haradinaj calls on winning parties not to delay formation of government (Zeri)
• Albanian PM insists on Balkans Mini-Schengen (Koha)
• KSF continues to be most trusted institution by Kosovo people (Epoka)

Mustafa: Talks have not stalled; mutual trust is fundamental (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa said on Monday that coalition negotiations with the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) have not stalled. “The process of talks is ongoing and has not frozen. Any sitting down at the table is an opportunity to find common solutions,” he said.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting with leaders of party branches, Mustafa called for mutual trust. “What we in LDK believe is fundamental is to have mutual trust as the only way for us to be partners,” he said adding that no party in the coalition government would be a so-called ‘superpower’.  He noted further that the issue of Kosovo president is a matter of principles and also related to mutual trust as is the division of ministerial posts.

On the potential candidate for the post of president, Mustafa said when the time comes, in 2021, LDK structures will come forward with a proposal.

Kurti: Serbs to have a minister; we won’t form coalition with Serbian List (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) leader and candidate for Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with Euronews Albania on Monday that LVV would not form a coalition with the Serbian List. Asked if he was violating the Constitution of Kosovo by refusing to include the Serbian List in the new government, Kurti said the Constitution does not specify that when there are 12 ministries, one should belong to the Serbian List.

“We will not violate the Constitution, but we will not form a coalition with the Serbian List. We will respect our obligation. One government minister will be from the Serb community, preferably not from the Serbian List,” Kurti was quoted as saying. “We should not confuse the constitutional obligation with the ruling coalition. We are not obliged to form a coalition with the Serbian List”.

Muhaxherri reveals which five ministries belong to LDK (RTV Dukagjini)

Gazmend Muhaxherri, Mayor of Peja and member of the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said in an interview with RTV Dukagjini on Monday that LDK and the Vetevendosje Movement have agreed on the division of ministries but that the problem is the post of Kosovo President.

“We have been informed that the ministries have been divided, but the blockade rests with the post of President. We, the members of the [LDK] Presidency have more advanced information. The two parties will get five ministries each and this is a done deal,” he said.

According to Muhaxherri, the LDK will get the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Muhaxherri also said that the LDK has made another offer to the Vetevendosje Movement. “If they don’t want to give us the posts of Kosovo President and Assembly President, they can give us the post of Prime Minister, and they can take the posts of Kosovo President and Assembly President and the ministries they want,” he said.

Haradinaj calls on winning parties not to delay formation of government (Zeri)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj called on the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to form the new government without delay.

He said that the responsibility for the creation of new institutions falls on the leading party not the second-largest one. “It is wrong to think that the responsibility is equal for all. Only the winner is responsible, it is the one that needs to find the adequate governing formula,” Haradinaj said at a press point.

He underlined that his Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) will not be part of a possible LVV-LDK coalition government. “We are an opposition party,” he said.

Albanian PM insists on Balkans Mini-Schengen (Koha)

The paper reports on page two that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will host the next meeting of the initiative for a Balkans Mini-Schengen. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will stay in Tirana during the weekend and attend the meeting. The paper further notes that the confirmation of the meeting comes four days after leading political parties in Kosovo called on Rama to annul the summit which will be held in Tirana on Saturday. Vetevendosje Movement, LDK, PDK and AAK representatives said regional cooperation with Serbia cannot be discussed as long as the latter denies the war crimes committed in Kosovo.

KSF continues to be most trusted institution by Kosovo people (Epoka)

The Pristina-based Kosovar Centre for Security Studies published on Monday the ninth edition of the Kosovo Security Barometer which shows that the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) continues to be the most trusted institution by the citizens of Kosovo with 81 percent, the paper reports in one of its front-page stories. 59 percent of the respondents said they trust the Kosovo Police, whereas the Kosovo Assembly and the Government are among the least trusted institutions. Over 50 percent of the respondents said they believe the courts and prosecutions are corrupted.