• COVID-19: Five new cases, no deaths (media)
• Kurti: We would welcome recognition from Greece (media)
• Political commentators discuss Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Klan)
• LDK's Halimi criticises Kurti's approach to dialogue with Serbia (Kallxo)
• Hyseni: Kurti to implement Washington agreement in entirety (T7/G. Express)
• Gerxhaliu, Blakaj discuss missing persons, exhumation efforts (Koha)
• KSC holds status conference against former KLA leaders (media)
• Kosovo Sentences Montenegrin for Chanting Serb Nationalist Slogans (BIRN)

COVID-19: Five new cases, no deaths (media)

Five new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. Eight persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 104 active cases with COVID-19.

Kurti: We would welcome recognition from Greece (media)

Several news websites cover an interview that Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti gave to the Greek daily To Vima during his recent visit to the country where he stressed that Greece's recognition of Kosovo would be a sign that Athens is ready to take on a leading role in the Balkans region.

"We are grateful to Greece for its support and positive attitude towards the Republic of Kosova in the integration processes in both the region and Europe. We highly appreciate the constructive attitude towards our country, which Greece has proved again with the support given in favor of visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosova. Greece needs to be with the people of Kosova and give the hand of support. Greece and Kosova should strengthen their own independent relationship due to the long common history, the common goal of stability and peace in the Balkans and the long common future."

Prime Minister Kurti, argued against land swap idea with Serbia and the redrawing of borders in the Balkans and also stressed that the status of Kosovo has been permanently settled and the dialogue with Belgrade concerns only the future relationship between the two countries. "Kosova seeks to resolve outstanding issues with the neighbors through dialogue. We will only be able to fix the relations in the Balkans with a principled and well-prepared dialogue, founded on European values. The independence of Kosova is thirteen years old. Since the decision of the International Court of Justice in 2010, which validated the fact that Kosova’s declaration of independence did not violate international law, the debate on states has been closed. I will not discuss the status of Kosova, nor our territorial integrity. It is a settled matter. We cannot permit the revival of failed projects for territorial exchange nor those for the Bosnianization of Kosova. Serbia should now distance itself from the Milosevic regime, and not insist that in some way it continues to achieve the old goals, with new means. The only subject is the relationship between Kosova and Serbia."

Kurti said the Government of Kosovo is focusing on two urgent priorities: managing the pandemic and economic aspect. "In addition our reforms in the justice system, fights against corruption and the preserving public funds have had a positive impact in increasing the citizen’s trust towards public institutions. On the economic front in the first five months of this year we have recorded some very positive and promising results. Our economic activity has been increased by 15%, our budget revenues by 30%, exports by 66% and for this year we project economic growth by 7.9%. We have also designed an economic revival package with 1.1 billion euro contributions to our economy."

Kurti said that 'no comment' would be the best comment to non-papers recently circulating. "We must move towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration. Kosova has no dilemmas. The EU and NATO are both our values and our destination. Knowing that current regional framework cannot prepare us for EU accession, in Tirana Summit I have proposed that we upgrade CEFTA to SEFTA (South East European Free Trade Agreement) based on the EFTA – EEA model which would elevate the whole region and overcome current obstacles. We certainly hope that European Commission can seriously consider this proposal and start a dialogue that would lead to concrete results. We are convinced that if we walk this path together, then we will be able to address the many challenges and achieve our shared objective."

Political commentators discuss Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Klan)

A group of political commentators discussed the possible outcome of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue at a TV debate, aired by Klan Kosova.

Publicist and former advisor to PM Albin Kurti, Shkelzen Gashi, said he anticipates the U.S. to 'intervene' in the dialogue and that it is positive that the Kosovo side is trying to define non-negotiable principles which Gashi said should have been the role of the facilitator. "I think there will be a United States intervention for the mere fact that the EU is not proving capable of defining the non-negotiable principles of this process which shows that there needs to be an intervention from a facilitator far more powerful that the European Union."

Dukagjin Gorani noted that if Serbia had agreed to sign the peace agreement proposed by Kosovo PM Kurti in the last meeting in Brussels, this would imply recognition of the state of Kosovo. "Of course I think such a document will come out at the end and I think the end of this process should be recognition of our country," he said.

Bekim Collaku, former Kosovo minister and chief of staff to former President Thaci, meanwhile said that the dialogue is not focusing on the main issue - that of mutual recognition. "My sources said that Brussels is disappointed with what happened in the second round, the request for a peace declaration and the donation of books act. The aim is to have a serious discussion. Miroslav Lajcak said no progress was made. I think Kurti's strategy is maintaining 'status quo'," he noted.

Analyst Rrahman Pacarizi said he would like to see Kurti coordinating the declaration of peace with the U.S. which would constitute a very wise move. He added that Kosovo should not get used to the 'normalisation of relations' term but insist on mutual recognition as the end-goal of the dialogue.

LDK's Halimi criticises Kurti's approach to dialogue with Serbia (Kallxo)

Political spokesperson of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Sibel Halimi said the absence of a platform containing clear objectives and presented to the Assembly MPs before and after each round of talks with Serbia in Brussels reduces Kosovo's role into that of Prime Minister Albin Kurti's performance for internal consumption.

In a Facebook post, Halimi said that everything seen thus far from the meetings in Brussels was "Kurti's extraordinary opportunity to address his audience and accumulate political power."

Hyseni: Kurti to implement Washington agreement in entirety (T7/G. Express)

Skender Hyseni, Kosovo's former chief negotiator in dialogue with Serbia, said that Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti will have to implement the Washington Agreement in its entirety.

Speaking to T7, Hyseni said: "Kurti will have to implement the Washington Agreement item by item. Kosovo has no chances of gaining new membership without the support of important world partners."

Hyseni also accused Kurti of using the dialogue with Serbia for election campaign and that he suspects no results will be achieved if the process continues in the same way. "He [Kurti] perceives each of his movement as part of campaign."

Gerxhaliu, Blakaj discuss missing persons, exhumation efforts (Koha)

Arsim Gerxhaliu, head of Kosovo's forensic institute, said there are delays on the part of the Serbian side regarding excavations in sites suspected to contain mass graves. He said the fact that excavations efforts in the Kizevak site lasted six years is an indicator of delays. "Rudnica too, the first visit there was in 2003," he said.

Gerxhaliu said they are waiting to begin excavations at a site near Novi Pazar as well as in other locations in Serbia, including a coal mine near Sinica.

Meanwhile, Director of the Humanitarian Law Centre in Kosovo, Bekim Blakaj, said that of 1,632 persons missing in Kosovo, 400 are members of the Serbian community. He said the Kosovo side should make efforts to determine the whereabouts of these persons whereas he noted that the Serbian side knows very well the whereabouts of the Albanian missing persons.

KSC holds status conference against former KLA leaders (media)

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers held a status conference in the case The Prosecutor v. Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi. The pre-trial judge Nicolas Guillou proposed the next session to take place on 13 or 14 September, which was accepted by both the prosecution and the defence.

Veseli's defence argued that his client considers he is being held hostage at the detention facility in The Hague considering what he said were delays on the part of the prosecution to begin the trial. Thaci's defence meanwhile requested the prosecution to disclose the preliminary list of witnesses, a motion supported by the defence of the other three accused but rejected by the prosecution.

Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi are in detention at The Hague since November 2020 and stand accused of war crimes against persons suspected of being opposed to the KLA.

Kosovo Sentences Montenegrin for Chanting Serb Nationalist Slogans (BIRN)

Pristina Basic Court on Wednesday convicted Montenegrin citizen Risto Jovanovic of inciting hatred by chanting nationalist slogans such as “Kill the Albanians” during a gathering of Serbian Orthodox believers to mark Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day) in Gazimestan in Kosovo on June 28.

The court sentenced him to six months in prison but ruled that Jovanovic can pay a fine of 6,700 euros instead of serving the sentence, which his defence agreed to do.

“Jovanovic is guilty of charges of intentionally causing discord and intolerance among ethnic groups living in Kosovo on June 28 in Gazimestan, shouting ‘Kill the Albanians’, ‘We will wash Kosovo with blood’ and ‘Kosovo is Serbia’. Jovanovic is banned from entering Kosovo for five years by the court’s decision,” the court said.

Jovanovic, who had denied the charges, was arrested during the annual Vidovdan gathering at the Gazimestan monument near Kosovo’s capital, Pristina.

Vidovdan is an important religious date for Serbs as it is also when Ottoman forces defeated the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo.

At the Vidovdan event, Kosovo police prevented participants from displaying flags, T-shirts and banners with nationalist messages, which sparked several incidents, one of which resulted in the arrest of Jovanovic.

Montenegrin media reported that he was detained when he objected to Kosovo special police forces asking an Orthodox nun to open her bag, while Kosovo media reported that he was among a group of people who were chanting nationalist slogans.

Jovanovic’s arrest sparked a protest in front of the Montenegrin government building and parliament on June 30, with demonstrators calling on the authorities to secure his release.

Montenegrin news websites Borba and IN4S reported on Wednesday that the largest coalition in Montenegro’s ruling majority, the pro-Serb Democratic Front, will pay 6,700 euros to secure Jovanovic’s release.