Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti on arms confiscated: Another victory for rule of law and security (media)
• “Northern Brigade” makes death threat against Minister Svecla (Telegrafi)
• Administrative instruction for citizens’ initiative in north published (media)
• Mayor: No conditions for elections soon; resignations more dignifying (Klan)
• Sadiku: Serbs are not in favor of elections through petition (KTV)
• Lajcak meets COMKFOR Ristuccia, “grateful for KFOR’s vital work” (media)
• Konjufca: In case of early general elections, race will be for second place (ATV)
• Kurti meets OSCE Head of Mission, discuss cooperation (media)
• Kurti hosts Swedish Ambassador, discuss dialogue and elections in north (media)
• Muja: Haziri’s statement about second set of sanctions, speculation (Indeksonline)
• Increase in direct foreign investments, almost €100 mil from Germany (Nacionale)
• Deputy minister points to abuse with school books distribution in the past (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• “Early parliamentary elections in Serbia in December” (N1, Blic) 
• PM Brnabic: Elections - better sooner than later (NMagazin, Beta, Blic)
• Lajcak and Ristuccia - Exchanged assessments on "potential sources of future tensions" (KoSSev)
• Head of EULEX visit to the North: We are committed to promoting human rights and security (KoSsev)
• Grenell: Thaci was accused because they did not want Trump to achieve success in the Balkans (Kosovo Online, Blic)
• The special prosecutor approved the Kosovo PM to testify in the case of Milenkovic (KiM radio)

International Media:

• Turkish reserve forces to leave Kosovo after fulfilling mission (Anadolu Agency)

   

Albanian Language Media

 

Kurti on arms confiscated: Another victory for rule of law and security (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti commented on the police operation in the north on Tuesday which resulted in the confiscation of arms. “Another victory for rule of law and security: today Kosovo Police, in the presence of KFOR, raided an arms depot in Zveçan used to smuggle weapons into Kosova for distribution to violent gangs. Military-grade arms such as automatic rifles, hand grenades and explosives were confiscated,” Kurti said.

“Northern Brigade” makes death threat against Minister Svecla (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, has received a death threat from the Serb organization “Northern Brigade” on Facebook, after he had reported about the seizure of many weapons, including automatic rifles, bullets, hand grenades and explosives in the municipality of Zvecan. The news website contacted the Ministry of Interior Affairs who said that security bodies are working on the case. “As you have seen the comment was made on Minister Svecla’s public page and in terms of the content of the message, the case is being treated by the security bodies,” a spokeswoman for the ministry told Telegrafi.

Administrative instruction for citizens’ initiative in north published (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said on Tuesday that the administrative instruction for the citizens’ initiative for recalling elections in the northern municipalities has been finalized. The instruction is expected to make way for the withdrawal of the mayors and the organization of new elections. See full administrative instruction at: https://shorturl.at/gmy59

Mayor: No conditions for elections soon; resignations more dignifying (Klan)

Mayor of Zubin Potok municipality, Izmir Zeqiri, in an interview with Klan Kosova on Tuesday, commented on the adoption of the administrative instruction through which the citizens in the north can decide in favor or against the dismissal of the mayors of the four northern municipalities. According to Zeqiri, there are no conditions for early elections in the north. “Based on what we are seeing on the ground, I don’t see any conditions, be it for elections or for this initiative. I don’t see any condition for immediate elections here,” he said. “I say this because elections do not depend only on the minority, which is the Albanian communities in these municipalities, but it depends greatly on the majority [the Serb community] and the majority is barricaded in the position that it does not respond to any state initiative. This is why I say that I don’t see conditions for holding elections anytime soon here. The process will take a long time and I don’t believe that Serbs will respond to the initiative”.

Zeqiri also said that resignations by the current mayors would be more dignifying “both for us the mayors and the government”.

Sadiku: Serbs are not in favor of elections through petition (KTV)

Deputy chair of the municipal assembly of Mitrovica North, Skender Sadiku, said on Tuesday that all communities in the northern municipalities are tired of the tense situation there and that all of them, including the Serb community, want a solution that would end the tensions. He argued that Serbs are not in favor of going to new elections through a petition. “It [the administrative instruction] was not welcomed with enthusiasm, although the instruction is lower than a law. This will depend greatly on the majority community, the Serbs, who are not willing to follow this form; there are also other options, including resignations, which is the easiest path. There was another option for the mayors to change their place of residence and automatically go to elections,” he said.

Lajcak meets COMKFOR Ristuccia, “grateful for KFOR’s vital work” (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met on Tuesday in Brussels with the commander of KFOR troops in Kosovo, Major General Ristuccia. “Important to exchange notes on developments on the ground and share our assessments on potential sources of future tensions. Grateful for KFOR’s vital work in building a secure environment in Kosovo,” Lajcak said after the meeting.

Konjufca: In case of early general elections, race will be for second place (ATV)

President of the Kosovo Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, said in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday, that if Kosovo goes to early general elections this should be done in a constitutional manner. He said that if the opposition secures enough votes for a no-confidence motion “it would be healthier for the country to go to elections” and that the race would be for the second and not the first place. “I did not say that we [Vetevendosje] would win 51 percent. We could get 54 percent, but even if we get 10 percent less, the race in Kosovo will be for second place,” Konjufca argued.

Kurti meets OSCE Head of Mission, discuss cooperation (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Tuesday with the OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, and discussed cooperation between the Kosovo government and the OSCE mission. They discussed the process of early elections in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo, and Kurti expressed his appreciation for the OSCE’s support in addressing the secondary legislation in relation to Article 72 of the Law on local self-government. The meeting also focused on the integration of non-majority communities and the obstacles that they face. Kurti expressed his concern about “the threats and intimidation by Belgrade and illegal structures against the new police officers from the Serb community that recently joined the Kosovo Police”.

Kurti hosts Swedish Ambassador, discuss dialogue and elections in north (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, together with Minister for Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, hosted in a meeting on Tuesday the Swedish Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund. Discussing relations between Kosovo and Sweden, Kurti and Westerlund focused on the Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo established year and opportunities to increase trade exchange. They also talked about the process of European integration and enlargement in light of meetings with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Athens, where there were discussions about the EU Development Plan and the speech of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who said at the Bled Strategic Forum that 2030 should be a target deadline for the EU and Western Balkans countries to be ready for enlargement and membership.

Kurti and Westerlund also discussed current issues, including the dialogue and the elections which are expected to be held in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo.

Muja: Haziri’s statement about second set of sanctions, speculation (Indeksonline)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Armend Muja, reacted on Tuesday to a statement by Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Lutfi Haziri who warned that the EU has prepared a second package of measures against Kosovo and that the Kurti-led government is aware of this. Muja said Haziri’s statement is speculation. “There is a tough race in the market of political speculation in Kosovo between Skender Hyseni, Baton Haxhiu and Fatmir Sheholli. Lutfi Haziri seems to have joined the race. The latter represents a party with voters in Kosovo,” Muja told the news website. He also said that Haziri should at least do what MPs from all Euro-Atlantic countries are doing: talk about Serbia’s destructiveness.

Increase in direct foreign investments, almost €100 mil from Germany (Nacionale)

Despite warnings by a U.S. State Department report and a statement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the investment climate in Kosovo could suffer, in the first half of the year Kosovo marked an increase in direct foreign investments, achieving a considerable increase compared to the same period from last year. According to the Central Bank of Kosovo, the total value of direct foreign investments in Kosovo from January to June has reached €374.2 million and this is an increase of 14 percent compared to the same period from last year.

“The amounts of direct investments in Kosovo until June 2023 totaled to €271.9 million which shows that the value of ID in Kosovo (374.2 million) is higher than the ID invested by Kosovars abroad (101.9 million). Direct investments reached €374.2 million which is a 14 percent increase compared to the same period from last year (327.3 million until June 2022,” the CBK said in a statement.

In the period from January to June this year, direct investments from Germany reached 92.5 million making Germany a leading country in terms of foreign direct investments in Kosovo.

Deputy minister points to abuse with school books distribution in the past (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Education, Taulant Kelmendi, argued in a Facebook post on Tuesday that in the past there was abuse with the distribution of school books to pupils, and that it amounted to nearly €500,000. “The budget planned with the budget plan, year after year, was surpassed by almost twice its value. Former ministers of education, former ministers of finance, former prime ministers, who are now in the opposition, and are opposing the destruction of this abusive practice, were the signatories of decisions to buy school books and to increase expenditures,” he claimed. “It is possible to stop the abuse, to be transparent with the state budget and to supply the pupils with school books, and meanwhile we don’t feel any regret for those that were involved in these [abusive] practices”.

     

Serbian Language Media

 

“Early parliamentary elections in Serbia in December” (N1, Blic) 

N1 has been told by a source close to the leadership of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) that President Aleksandar Vucic has decided to hold early parliamentary elections in December.

Last night, N1 reported that the source said that he was told of the decision a day before the opposition called for elections before the end of the year.

The source said that the SNS leadership held meetings with a number of local party branches to prepare for the elections. He said that the SNS leaders have ordered independent opinion polls to see the party’s standings at national and local level. “The possibility of local elections being held at the same time in some cities and municipalities has not been excluded. That will be decided in the next few days since there is time to meet the legal deadlines for early elections by the end of the year,” the N1 portal’s source said.

The opposition parties that have been organizing the Serbia Against Violence protests demanded early parliamentary and Belgrade city elections by the end of the year on Tuesday. They said that they would meet the demands of the protests as soon as the SNS falls from power.

Vucic said on several occasions that early parliamentary elections would be held but kept moving the possible date forward. He mentioned a possible vote for parliament by the end of the year late in August.

PM Brnabic: Elections - better sooner than later (NMagazin, Beta, Blic)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, estimated that the elections in Serbia could come "relatively quickly" and added that it is better that they come "sooner than later", reported NMagazin portal. 

She told TV Prva that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), of which, as she added, is a proud member, is always in favor of elections.

"We (SNS) never run away from elections, we think it is always good to check the electoral will and see what the citizens want," said Brnabic.

The PM said that the elections should be held "better sooner than later", but without specifying the date and type of voting.

She believes that this should happen "because Serbia has no time to waste and has ambitious plans" and because "Serbia must continue to move forward".

Asked about the deadlines for the election campaign, of 60 and 90 days, she answered that it could certainly happen relatively quickly.

She pointed to the different positions of the opposition regarding the elections since the beginning of May. The Prime Minister said that she does not understand the responsibility of people who "literally on a daily basis" say different things about the elections.

Brnabic assessed that with yesterday's attempts to obstruct the work of the parliament, the opposition showed that the interests of citizens are not important to it.

She told Prva television that she was "honestly appalled" by today's behavior of the opposition MPs and added that the government did not have the "luxury" to cancel the session or postpone it.

She repeated that today's meeting was about the rebalancing of the state budget, i.e., the increase of salaries and pensions, the allocation of money for the treatment of rare diseases and assistance to various categories of citizens.

She said that she does not know of any political option, anywhere in the world, which, as she said, works against the interests of the citizens. The Prime Minister accused the opposition of being only interested in coming to power.

Lajcak and Ristuccia - Exchanged assessments on "potential sources of future tensions" (KoSSev)

The representative of the European Union for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, met yesterday in Brussels the commander of KFOR, General Angelo Michele Ristuccia. They discussed the situation in Kosovo. And while the crisis in the North continues, the interlocutors "exchanged assessments on potential sources of future tensions", reported KoSSev portal.

According to him, the two exchanged information about events in Kosovo.

"It is important to exchange notes on developments on the ground and share our assessments of potential sources of future tensions," said Lajcak in a post on network X (formerly Twitter). 

He also thanked KFOR for building a safe environment in Kosovo.

In his announcement, Lajcak did not provide more details about the "assessments of potential sources of tension" they discussed.

The commander of KFOR has not announced anything about yesterday's meeting in Brussels.

Head of EULEX visit to the North: We are committed to promoting human rights and security (KoSsev)

The head of the EULEX mission, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, visited the north of Kosovo yesterday. "A very important field visit to the beautiful region of Mitrovica," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Barbano visited the main bridge on the Ibar River, and then met with political and civil society representatives.

"I had the opportunity to listen with interest to the representatives of political parties and civil society who expressed the needs and concerns of citizens for security," said the head of EULEX.

He emphasizes that this EU mission is dedicated to the protection of all citizens.

"I personally assured them of EULEX's unwavering commitment to promoting human rights and the security of all communities in Kosovo," said Barbano.

The head of EULEX also spoke with the president of the Serbian List yesterday, which was reported by this party on the same day.

As they stated, Goran Rakic discussed with Barbano the withdrawal of special units from the North and the increased presence of EULEX and KFOR patrols.

Grenell: Thaci was accused because they did not want Trump to achieve success in the Balkans (Kosovo Online, Blic)

The former envoy of the United States of America for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell, recalled the third anniversary of the Washington Agreement, which was signed on September 4, 2020, in the White House between Kosovo and Serbia.

On the occasion of the third anniversary, Grenell posted several pictures from the signing on Instagram with the message:

- Some pictures behind the scenes on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Washington Agreement between Donald Trump, Kosovo, and Serbia. We started with President Hashim Thaci who represented Kosovo, until Jack Smith accused him because he did not want Trump to achieve success in the Balkans - said Grenell.

The special prosecutor approved the Kosovo PM of Kosovo to testify in the case of Milenkovic (KiM radio)

Lawyer Dejan A. Vasic submitted yesterday a request for the testimony of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the case of Dragisa Milenkovic from Kisnica, in the Gracanica municipality, after the special prosecutor previously approved that Kurti be heard as a defense witness.

The request that current PM Kurti testify in the proceedings against Dragisa Milenkovic for an alleged war crime was submitted by lawyer Vasic last month.

"After the special prosecutor approved obtaining evidence by hearing as a witness for the defense of the current Prime Minister of Kosovo, Mr. Albin Kurti, today I submitted a repeated request to the Prime Minister for testimony through the government office," Vasic told Kim Radio.

He added that he submitted his contact information with the request for possible clarification of the content of the testimony.

"I expect the testimony to be accepted in the coming days," the lawyer concluded.

KiM radio recalled that Dragisa Milenkovic was arrested on June 21 in Kisnica. The Prosecutor's Office charges Milenkovic with an alleged war crime against the civilian population in the period from 1998 to 1999. It is suspected that he "systematically carried out torture, physical and psychological violence", and that he "treated Albanian prisoners inhumanely".

   

International Media

  Turkish reserve forces to leave Kosovo after fulfilling mission (Anadolu Agency)

Reserve forces deployed to Kosovo will return Wednesday, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Tuesday. 

Türkiye continues to contribute to regional and global peace and stability within the framework of duties in the UN, NATO, EU, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as in the context of bilateral relations, and closely monitors developments in the Balkans, where shared historical and cultural values exist, it said.

Türkiye deployed additional troops to Kosovo in June in response to NATO's request after recent tensions.

"Our deployed unit, following its arrival at Sultan Murat Barracks in Kosovo on June 6, 2023, has made a significant contribution to ensuring peace in Kosovo between June 10 and Aug. 31, and has successfully fulfilled its mission," it added.

Tensions gripped Kosovo as local Serbs protested the election of ethnic Albanian mayors in four municipalities in May in northern municipalities.

Ethnic Serbs in the north -- the country’s second-largest ethnic group -- protested the election of ethnic Albanian mayors.

"Türkiye will continue to fulfill its commitments to NATO and contributions, just as it has always done," it said.