• PM Kurti for RFE: Situation in north could have escalated into armed conflict
• Kosovo opposition reacts to Kurti’s mention of war (media)
• Petkovic: Kurti’s latest statements show he wants war not dialogue (media)
• Kurti meets KFOR commander, discuss security in Kosovo (media)
• Kusari-Lila: We will resist Association as we have done so far (media)
• How Russia’s Ukraine war is stoking tension in Kosovo (The Washington Post)
• Europe keeps a wary eye on Kosovo, Serbia (politico.eu)
• Bislimi meets Ambassador Ziv, talk about deepening relations (media)
• Grenell has telephone conversation with Thaci (media)
• Two deaths and 331 new cases with COVID-19 in last 24 hours (media)

PM Kurti for RFE: Situation in north could have escalated into armed conflict

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe on Monday that on July 31, in the northern municipalities of Kosovo, there was a risk of the situation escalating into an armed conflict.

Kurti said that the roadblocks in the north, which were set up in opposition to the decision on licence plates and entry documents for Serbian nationals, were positioned in a way that allowed for shots to be fired at vehicles and people crossing through that area.

Kurti said he will not discuss the decisions on licence plates and entry documents at the meeting he will have with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on August 18 in Brussels. He argued that in order to avoid a situation where the July 31 tensions could be repeated on September 1, international factors must oppose Belgrade and its destructive policy vis-à-vis Kosovo. “We will do everything in our power to avoid them but it certainly depends on how much the international factors will manage to oppose Belgrade in its destructive approach toward our country, our constitutional order and the freedom and security of our citizens,” he said.

Asked about the agenda of the meeting in Brussels, Kurti said that there is no official information about the agenda, “but what we have exchanged with Borrell is that we should aim for a dialogue for an agreement, not dialogue for dialogue, an agreement that should be legally-binding, which achieves full normalisation and is centred on mutual recognition”. “In this respect, I am interested to discuss on August 18 about the comprising elements of the overall framework of the agreement that we want to achieve through the dialogue,” he said.

Kurti said he has doubts about infiltrations from Russia because, in his opinion, the Kremlin wants to use Serbia as a platform to destabilise the Balkans, and in particular to attack Kosovo. Asked about the Russian national that was stopped and declared persona non grata in Kosovo and if her intentions in Kosovo are known, Kurti said: “there is no doubt that she did not have good intentions. Those that interviewed her, came to this conclusion. This is a person that is well known in many countries of Eastern Europe for her destructive activity in the service of the Kremlin. It is no coincidence that she tried to enter Kosovo through the border crossing in the north. So she was in Serbia where she was probably welcomed and from there she tried to enter Kosovo and our authorities stopped her and then expelled her. It is no surprise that she came from Serbia because Russia wants to use Serbia as a platform to destabilise the Balkans and in particular to attack Kosovo, which is a success story of the NATO intervention to stop Serbia’s genocide in the spring of 1999 and a success story of economic development and a qualitative democracy.”

As per the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Kurti said organisations are needed that bring municipalities with geographical or economic features, but not ethnic-based organisations.

Asked if he still believes that a final settlement with Serbia can be reached during his term in office, Kurti said: “I think that within this mandate there are the possibilities, the readiness and the interest to reach a legally-binding agreement for the full normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, centred on mutual recognition. The being of Kosovo is in order, we are an independent, sovereign, and democratic state. What is not in order is our relationship with Serbia. This is an abnormal relationship, and it needs to be normalised”.

Kosovo opposition reacts to Kurti’s mention of war (media)

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku, has criticized Prime Minister Albin Kurti, for talking about war and not about investments and integration in Kosovo.

"Kosovo needs stability and development. Our country, in addition to its own security, also has the largest military alliance, that of NATO, which guarantees our territorial security against any possible aggression. This is our truth; and we must feed this desire every day - strengthening ourselves in security and strengthening the alliance with NATO as a historical goal. The international panic about Kosovo's war, crisis and instability is only in Vucic's and Serbia's interest," Abdixhiku writes.

Former Prime Minister and current LDK MP Avdullah Hoti said that Kosovo needs wisdom and normality in governance. He said that messages that encourage positivity for our Euro-Atlantic future and, as he said, for a better life and for investment security should be sent from Kosovo.

Vlora Citaku, deputy chair of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) wrote that ‘there is no war in Kosovo anymore. Do not cause fear and panic. NATO is the guarantor of Kosovo's sovereignty. Serbia knows very well what an open conflict with NATO brings. It proved it.’

“There was a war in Kosovo 23 years ago. Some of us were adults and had the opportunity to fight back then" Citaku wrote. According to her, a status quo and eventual discussions about stickers and barricades, mostly suit Serbia.

"The conventional war is over. Now the battles are of a different nature," she wrote.

Petkovic: Kurti’s latest statements show he wants war not dialogue (media)

Head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said on Monday that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, with his latest statements shows “that he openly wants war and not dialogue and an agreement”. “If Kurti publicly confirms that the Association of Serb municipalities will never be formed, and that Serbs must accept unilateral and violent decisions on license plates and identity cards, it is clear to everyone that Kurti is calling for conflicts,” he said.

Kurti meets KFOR commander, discuss security in Kosovo (media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti met on Monday with the KFOR Commander, Major General Ferenc Kajari. They stressed the importance of KFOR in ensuring peace and security in Kosovo, which is a common goal and priority of the institutions of Kosovo and KFOR.

"Prime Minister Kurti emphasized the necessity of conveying clear messages about the actions of criminal structures in the north of the Republic of Kosovo, which seriously affect security in the country. In the joint meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, the Prime Minister expressed the readiness of the government, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, for the continuation of close inter-institutional cooperation and the coordination of actions, in the service of peace and security for all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo," reads a communique issued by the Office of the Prime Minister.

The KFOR commander thanked Prime Minister Kurti and Minister Svecla for the good cooperation between the Government, the Kosovo Police and KFOR, while he congratulated the policemen for their professional behavior regarding the events in the north of Kosovo.

Kusari-Lila: We will resist Association as we have done so far (media)

Head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said on Monday that they will resist the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities, if the insistence on its establishment is to strengthen a mechanism of Serbia in Kosovo. She told a press conference that credible arguments are not being created to improve the lives of Serbs in Kosovo but rather to create mechanisms for Serbia’s influence. Kusari-Lila also said that the Serbian List has been abstaining from all actions within Kosovo’s institutions. She further argued that the Serbian List does not represent the interests of Serbs in Kosovo but only the interests of Serbia.

How Russia’s Ukraine war is stoking tension in Kosovo (The Washington Post)

Three decades after the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, the ethnic hostilities that ignited the conflict linger on. Kosovo declared its independence from former Yugoslav republic Serbia in 2008, but Serbia refuses to let it go. There was a flare-up in the dispute in mid-2022 that raised fears of violence on the European Union’s southeastern frontier before the situation was defused. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added a new dimension to the standoff, with Serbia coming under pressure from the EU to cut ties with Moscow.

Read more at: https://wapo.st/3d6378M

Europe keeps a wary eye on Kosovo, Serbia (politico.eu)

Panic has subsided — for now, at least — after a border dispute last week fueled fears that Kosovo and Serbia might be careening toward another war on European soil.

On the ground here, people have been downplaying such possibilities, pushing back against wild speculation — and disinformation — racing around social media. For locals, these intermittent flare-ups are a regular occurrence and not necessarily a precursor of a return to the fighting and bloodshed that dominated the Balkans in the 1990s.

Yet with Russia’s full-scale war raging to the east in Ukraine, Europe is on edge.

Read more at: https://politi.co/3d4YsE3

Bislimi meets Ambassador Ziv, talk about deepening relations (media)

The Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Development and Dialogue, Besnik Bislimi, hosted Israel's Ambassador to Kosovo, Tamar Ziv.

They talked about the deepening of relations, the advancement of partnership and cooperation from health to investments for water pipes and drinking water supply. They also discussed employment strengthening role of women and great potential of Kosovo youth, as government priorities.

One of the topics mentioned during the meeting was the lack of visa liberalization and the isolation of Kosovo. Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi also spoke about the situation in the north and the two government decisions on license plates and documents for entry and exit, which will start their implementation and enforcement from September 1.

Ziv also met with the officials of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Grenell has telephone conversation with Thaci (media)

Former U.S. envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell, said in a Twitter post on Monday that he had a telephone conversation with former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci who is awaiting trial in the Hague. “I just spoke with HashimThaci from prison in The Hague. I am confident that the people of Kosovo would be at peace if he were still President. They would also have greater economic cooperation with their neighbors – and more jobs for their children if Thaci were back,” Grenell said.

Two deaths and 331 new cases with COVID-19 in last 24 hours (media)

331 new cases with COVID-19 and two deaths from the virus were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. There are 7,399 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.