• Health Institute confirms 8 new cases with COVID-19 (media)
• A group of doctors from Serbia not allowed entry to Kosovo (Kallxo)
• Abazi: Grenell has insufficient info about Kosovo-Serbia relations (Telegrafi)
• Konjufca: Serbia's discriminatory approach to Kosovo (media)
• Civil society against Kosovo-Serbia agreement ending up at SC (Koha)
• Kurti: We do not encourage gatherings (media)
• Police: Protests allowed if in line with health recommendations (media)
• LDK: Mock protest, tendency for state capture (Telegrafi)
• Hoti: New government will promote institutional standards (media)
• PDK's Haliti: PDK and LDK should have formed a coalition (KTV)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Health Institute confirms 8 new cases with COVID-19 (media)

All media reported on Wednesday that Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health confirmed 8 new cases with COVID -19. The new cases are from the municipalities of Rahovec, Vushtrri and Mitrovica.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Kosovo stands at 932, of which 202 are active cases.

A group of doctors from Serbia not allowed entry to Kosovo (Kallxo)

A group of 21 doctors from Serbia have not been allowed to enter Kosovo for not possessing adequate permits while 70 others have been allowed in.

Kallxo quotes sources saying that the Kosovo's Ministry of Health has requested Serb doctors to apply for license with the ministry if they wish to perform doctor services.

Sources said that the 21 doctors initially said they were planning to come to Kosovo only for monitoring the health situation but then said they would also provide health services. "They have been advised to apply for license," a source said.

Abazi: Grenell has insufficient info about Kosovo-Serbia relations (Telegrafi)

Kosovo's acting Deputy Prime Minister Haki Abazi said that the U.S. presidential envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, Richard Grenell, does not have sufficient information about the relations between the two sides.

Speaking to RTV Dukagjini, Abazi said: "Grenell does not have enough information. The positions on the situation he presented in an interview are restricted."

Abazi also said that Grenell had originally said that if Kosovo lifts the tariff, Serbia would have to follow by ending derecognition campaign. "Somewhere along the way the derecognition part disappears. Grenell's insistence even through tweets implies pressure be put on the weak. I lived for many years in the U.S. and I know how you get to higher posts."

Konjufca: Serbia's discriminatory approach to Kosovo (media)

Kosovo's acting Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca took to Twitter on Wednesday to condemn what he called a discriminatory approach by Serbia to Kosovo.

"The Kosovo government condemns Serbia's discriminatory and unequal regional approach to Kosovo. Serbia has opened its borders to citizens of all countries in the region, but not to citizens of Kosovo."

"This approach proves once again that Serbia is not interested in normalizing relations with Kosova. The Republic of Kosovo will reciprocally respond to this obstacle of Serbia for the citizens of Kosova."

Civil society against Kosovo-Serbia agreement ending up at SC (Koha)

Representatives of several civil society organisations in Kosovo came out against the possibility of the Kosovo-Serbia agreement being discussed in the margins of the UN Security Council, Koha reports.

Butrint Berisha from the Pristina Institute for Political Studies said that the current form of talks should not be changed. He added that the only thing that could be discussed at the Security Council would be the abrogation of the 1244 resolution.

Similarly, representatives from the Group for Legal and Political studies think tank said Russia's possible involvement in the dialogue process should not be permitted.

In a recent interview to Koha, the U.S. Balkans expert Daniel Serwer warned that Kosovo could face pressure from the U.S. to allow Russia's involvement in the negotiations process.

Kurti: We do not encourage gatherings (media)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said his government does not encourage gathering of citizens, a day after a group tested out a protest in Pristina while maintaining social distancing measures.

"We request all measures of the Health Ministry of and recommendations of health experts be respected. We understand the need to protest, we recognise it as a fundamental human right and in this aspect it is our duty to continuously call on citizens to be active by respecting the measures of physical distance, personal hygiene and the 180-minute allowed daily activity," Kurti said yesterday at a news conference.

Police: Protests allowed if in line with health recommendations (media)

Kosovo Police issued a statement following a mock protest held in Pristina by a group of activists while respecting social distancing measures.

The Police said that protests are allowed during a pandemic but only if they are in line with the applicable legislation and the protective measures set out by the Ministry of Health in coordination with the National Institute for Public Health.

"Based on these decisions, the organisers of political gatherings at all times need to keep in place protective measures, keep distance from one another and entitled to go out as scheduled," the Kosovo Police said.

LDK: Mock protest, tendency for state capture (Telegrafi)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has reacted to the mock protest staged by a group of citizens, members of a social network club supporting acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, saying it represents a tendency for Kosovo's capture, Telegrafi reports.

In a statement, LDK said: "It is unacceptable to allow such a mass gathering at a time when no country in the world allows them. It is unacceptable for citizens to be arrested for the same actions but keep silent about activists and militants of the ruling party."

Hoti: New government will promote institutional standards (media)

The Democratic League of Kosovo's candidate for prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, commented on the first 100 days of the government led by Albin Kurti saying that ministers from his LDK party performed their duties in line with legal requirements.

"Today, at the meeting of the acting government, they showed that LDK has a different culture of governance - which is respect of the institution and the state of Kosovo but also not allowing the personal and institutional integrity be undermined," Hoti wrote on Facebook.

He said that "arbitrary" governance will end when the new government is voted which he said will promote institutional culture in accordance to European standards.

PDK's Haliti: PDK and LDK should have formed a coalition (KTV)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) senior member and former Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, Xhavit Haliti said in an interview to KTV that his party and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) should have formed a coalition after the fall of Kurti's government.

Haliti said that if the Hoti-led government is formed, the LDK-AAK-NISMA-AKR coalition will be short-lived "because of their appetites for power".