• Kurti very optimistic that a deal can be reached this year (media)
• Kosovo ready for any threat says president (Euractiv)
• ‘Partial independence’: Kosovo reflects on secession from Serbia (Al Jazeera)
• Krasniqi: I haven’t received reply from Brnabic on model of National Council of Serbs (media)
• “Kurti advanced level of meetings, from corridors to official tables” (media)
• Haliti: Association paves the way for Kosovo’s integration (media)
• Kosovo’s ‘Commander Wolf’ Cries Foul as War Crimes Trial Begins (BIRN)
• Kosovo Miners Remember Bravery and Betrayal of Underground Strike (BIRN)
• Serbia ready for Kosovo dialogue if Serb municipalities are discussed (Euractiv)

Kurti very optimistic that a deal can be reached this year (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an interview with France 24 that he is optimistic that an agreement will result from his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on February 27, and that the agreement would then lead to the complete normalization of relations between the two sides, which according to him “could happen this year”.

“I cannot say at the moment when the agreement will be reached. But, I am dedicated, constructive, creative in reaching this agreement, because time is of the essence... The EU proposal gives 'de-facto' recognition and contains many paragraphs from the German-German model of 1972, which led to seats in the UN for both countries … I think the next meeting will show how hopeful we can be for this year. I am optimistic. I am very optimistic that there can be an agreement this year,” Kurti said.

See full interview here: https://bit.ly/3khRkIz

Kosovo ready for any threat says president (Euractiv)

President Vjosa Osmani has reassured of the readiness of Kosovo's security force to face dangers that the country is facing from Serbia but also regionally, as the nation celebrated its 15^th independence anniversary over the weekend.

The small Western Balkan state has been rocked by unrest over the last year as Pristina tries to implement policies and laws to assert its independence which it declared from Serbia in 2008 following the 1998-1999 Kosovo-Serbia war. These attempts did not go down well with Belgrade or the Kosovo-Serb minority living mainly in the country’s north.

“Just like our army, which proves itself and makes us proud every time, the Kosovo Police, which recently faced increased commitment due to the developments in the north of the country, has shown commitment and determination to maintain order and law, but above all, for to maintain sovereignty in every corner of the Republic of Kosovo,” Osmani said.

"These girls and boys are the descendants of the Kosovo Liberation Army who returned and protected the dignity of our people, so thank you to each and every one of them,” she added.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/3XGo0sJ

‘Partial independence’: Kosovo reflects on secession from Serbia (Al Jazeera)

For Teuta Hadri, Kosovo’s declaration of independence on February 17, 2008 was “a century’s long dream”.

Hailing from a family actively involved in the national movement of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, she believed it was “a dream of three generations” to achieve this collective goal, she told Al Jazeera from her home in Pristina, the country’s capital.

A 66-year-old Albanian Kosovar political activist and physician, Hadri is the grandaughter of Avdullah Hadri, one of the first intellectuals to open Albanian language schools across the country – the first one in 1915 – at a time when Serbian was the language used in education.

During the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, Hadri as a physician and a member of the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms risked her life providing medical services to those in need and helping to shelter families.

She recalled breaking into tears as former Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci declared independence, himself trembling as he read the declaration.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/3XMwQ8D

Krasniqi: I haven’t received reply from Brnabic on model of National Council of Serbs (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, recently called on Serbian Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic, to discuss the model of guaranteeing the freedoms and rights of minorities in Kosovo, and as the minister said, in particular for the Serb minority. In an interview with TV Dukagjini, Krasniqi said he hasn’t received a reply from Brnabic for discussion.

“I have not yet received any invitation from Brnabic for this email that I sent to her, but we are open to talk about the model of the National Council of Minorities,” Krasniqi said.

He also commented on the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority, saying that this Association does not advance the rights of the communities in Kosovo, as it has an ethnic character.

“As a political representative of the Egyptian community and as a government minister, I deeply believe that the rights of the communities in Kosovo cannot be advanced as they will be isolated and have an ethnic character, everything in Kosovo is built in the spirit of Kosovo is multiethnic,” Krasniqi said.

“Kurti advanced level of meetings, from corridors to official tables” (media)

Jeton Zulfaj, advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, commented on Kurti’s meetings during the Munich Security Conference, arguing that compared to previous leaders of Kosovo, Kurti has raised the level of meetings. “From the level of running through the corridors to shake hands to leaders and various representatives, he is now at the official and state tables representing [Kosovo] in a dignified manner,” Zulfaj said.

He also commented on the meeting of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken with the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic. “Serbia, as you know, has not imposed sanctions on Russia, and the U.S. strongly supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. And this year, the main topic of the conference was the Russian aggression in Ukraine. I think there are many reasons to meet the president of Serbia, the support of the Serbian people for Russia's war in Ukraine is over 70 percent, it (Serbia) has not sanctioned it, and Serbia's behavior towards this battle is disturbing and he (Blinken) had a lot to say to Serbia," Zulfaj added.

Haliti: Association paves the way for Kosovo’s integration (media)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Xhavit Haliti, said on Monday that Kosovo and Serbia must accept the French-German plan. “The French-German plan is not favorable for either Kosovo or Serbia, but it is a necessity of the time and the negotiation process should be accepted by both sides, in order to open the perspective of the Europeanization of both peoples,” he argued.

On the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Haliti said: “it is quite problematic, but I have the impression that the media and some exponents of the Vetevendosje Movemet and some self-proclaimed patriots are confusing things on purpose and for the sake of balance”.

Haliti also argued that “the Association paves the way for Kosovo by integrating it into international institutions such as NATO, EU, UN, OSCE” and that it enables Kosovo Serbs to break free from Serbia’s control. “They will continue be respected citizens of Kosovo, but with the right to organise some internal issues. While the EU and the USA will be guarantors that the Association will not have executive powers,” he added.

Kosovo’s ‘Commander Wolf’ Cries Foul as War Crimes Trial Begins (BIRN)

Kosovo ex-guerrilla Pjeter Shala goes on trial at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers this week, accused of abusing civilian detainees held at an Albanian metal factory during wartime, but his defence claims that his own rights have been abused.

Little-known in his home country before his arrest nearly two years ago, former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA member Pjeter Shala will appear at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday for the opening statements in his trial.

Shala, whose nom de guerre was Komandant Ujku (Commander Wolf), is the second KLA ex-guerrilla to go on trial for wartime crimes at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

He is charged with arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder in the northern Albania town of Kukes, at a metal factory which indictment claims was used by the KLA as a detention centre.

“The alleged crimes with which Mr Shala is charged took place between approximately 17 May 1999 and 5 June 1999 against persons detained at the Kukes Metal Factory (Albania) allegedly used by the Kosovo Liberation Army,” the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3xF0XUS

Kosovo Miners Remember Bravery and Betrayal of Underground Strike (BIRN)

One Friday morning, three days before the workers at the huge Trepca lead and zinc mining complex in northern Kosovo launched a mass underground hunger strike on February 20, 1989, more than 80 of them met at a café in the city of Mitrovica before they started their shift to discuss their plans.

One of the miners who was at the meeting was Shyqyri Sadiku. “Because we were afraid of exposure and reprisals, we did everything shrouded in secrecy,” Sadiku told BIRN.

Sadiku, who was 25 years old, was the supervisor of the first of the working day’s shifts. It was decided that his shift would start the strike.

“I called my colleagues who were the supervisors of the other shifts. When the time came to leave, we declared a strike. The next shift joined us so we were all underground,” he said.

More than 1,200 miners joined the strike at the Trepca complex to oppose constitutional changes that would abolish the autonomy of Kosovo within the Yugoslav federation, therefore giving Serbia more control over the province, against the wishes of its ethnic Albanian majority.

The strikers were also opposing the forced retirement of ethnic Albanian university professors and calling for the resignation of three senior leaders of the Communist establishment: Ali Shukriu, Hysamedin Azemi and Rrahman Morina, who were seen as loyal to Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of the all-powerful Serbian ruling party, the League of Communists.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3kgsXuE

Serbia ready for Kosovo dialogue if Serb municipalities are discussed (Euractiv)

Serbia is ready for dialogue on Kosovo as long as the Association of Serb Municipalities is concerned, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said at the Munich Security Conference where he had a difficult talk with EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell during which the country was strongly criticised for not sanctioning Russia.

It was “not an easy conversation” Vucic told Pink TV about the discussion with Borrell over the preparation for a potential meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

“We are ready for dialogue, but the Serbian municipalities association must be discussed”, he said.

The association would see a mono-ethnic structure with executive powers set up in Kosovo, parallel to the government in Pristina. Kosovo’s Constitutional Court ruled against it, stating Kosovo is not a mono-ethnic country. Since it was agreed on in 2013, the Kosovo government has refused to implement it and has argued that provisions Serbia agreed to at the same time have also not been implemented.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/419pbnC