Albanian Language Media:

• Bislimi: Without signing agreements, we can’t move toward implementation (RFE)
• Lajcak: Discussions were helpful to make progress on a number of issues (media)
• “EU officials expect Kosovo to adopt Association draft statute soon” (KTV)
• PDK’s Tahiri says Kurti agreed to self-governing autonomy for Serbs (Klan)
• Westerlund: Association draft statute in line with the Constitution (Kanal 10)
• Kosovo Assembly adopts budget for 2024 (media)
• Zelensky warns “Russia could be laying ground for conflict in Balkans” (media)
• Kurti: Diaspora has enriched our country in innumerable ways (media)
• Dozens protest in Pristina, ask government “not to side with Israel” (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic after the Brussels meetings: We talked about the CSM Statute, energy, the missing, expects the dialogue to continue (RTS)
• Thursday's round of Brussels dialogue concludes without trilateral meeting (Tanjug)
• Dacic: Serbia's re-election to the UNESCO Executive Board greater security in protecting heritage in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• US imposes sanctions on two Serbian politicians (N1)
• Vucic: Open Balkan an affirmed peace platform (Tanjug)
• Blast shakes Mitrovica North (RTS, N1)

Albanian Language Media

Bislimi: Without signing agreements, we can’t move toward implementation (RFE)

Kosovo’s chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia, Besnik Bislimi, said on Thursday after meeting EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak in Brussels that without signing the agreements reached so far, “we cannot move toward their implementation”. His Serbian counterpart Petar Petkovic on the other hand said that the main topic of his discussion with Lajcak was the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Selimi and Petkovic met separately with Lajcak and no tripartite meeting was held.

Bislimi confirmed that the meeting discussed a sequenced plan for the implementation of the agreement on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and the implementation annex.

Asked if there were discussions on the draft statute of the Association, Bislimi said the point was on the agenda but that the Kosovar side made clear its position on October 26, when Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with European leaders. He said that the draft statute and the agreement for normalization must be signed before they can be implemented. “The implementation cannot start without signatures, because we need guarantees that we have a valid agreement that has obligations for the other party too,” he said.

Lajcak: Discussions were helpful to make progress on a number of issues (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Thursday after separate meetings with chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia that “discussions were helpful to make progress on a number of issues on our agenda.”

“EU officials expect Kosovo to adopt Association draft statute soon” (KTV)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj said in an interview with the TV station on Thursday that EU officials expect Kosovo to start adopting this year the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and to send it for evaluation to the Constitutional Court, “and then immediately Serbia would recognize the passports, ID cards, licence plates and would no longer insist on the footnote”.

Palokaj said that discussions in Brussels are no longer focused on reaching an agreement but on the implementation steps of the Basic Agreement reached in February.

PDK’s Tahiri says Kurti agreed to self-governing autonomy for Serbs (Klan)

Abelard Tahiri, senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), commented on Thursday on the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, saying that when he looks at the structure of the mechanism “the content includes self-governing autonomy for the Serbs, and political and territorial autonomy”. “It even outlines its borders. And to top it off and what it establishes it as a parallelism vis-à-vis the institutions of Kosovo is the arbitrage,” Tahiri argued.

Westerlund: Association draft statute in line with the Constitution (Kanal 10)

Swedish Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund, said in an interview with the TV station on Thursday that from what he has learned the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is in line with the Constitution of Kosovo. “The Constitutional Court will decide and from what I have understood it is in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and it doesn’t have any executive competencies, so we need to move forward with the formation of the Association. At the same time, we certainly need the de facto recognition from Serbia,” he said.

Kosovo Assembly adopts budget for 2024 (media)

With 62 votes in favor and no abstaining, the Kosovo Assembly adopted on Thursday the budget for 2024. When the law was being voted, opposition MPs left the session and did not take part in the vote. The budget is over €3.3 billion. Over €1 billion will go to subsidies and transfer, over 850 million for capital expenditures, over 800 million for ages and nearly 500 million for goods and services.

Zelensky warns “Russia could be laying ground for conflict in Balkans” (media)

All news websites cover a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who said that Russia might be laying the groundwork for a conflict in the Balkan region. “Pay attention to the Balkans. Believe me, we get the information. Russia has a long plan: middle East, the second distraction will be the Balkans. At least if the partners don’t do anything now, then there will be such an ‘explosion’ again, and again it’s not a new story. Russia will invest in ensuring that one Balkan country fights another,” Zelensky told a press conference.

Commenting on Zelensky’s statement, UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee chief Alicia Kearns wrote in a post on X on Thursday: “I’ve warned repeatedly that we need to find our backbone in the Balkans & not repeat failures of deterrence. The Balkans is our backyard & we have historic responsibilities. I warned in June of what we might see in Kosovo but was rubbished. Sadly my concerns were realised.”

Kurti: Diaspora has enriched our country in innumerable ways (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday that Kosovo’s “diaspora has enriched our country in innumerable ways: advocating against genocide, providing financial support, sharing their extensive skills etc”. Kurti said he was honored to launch “the inaugural Ulpiana Forum, the the first of its kind, exploring innovative government-diaspora collaboration”.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said at the ceremony that the Forum “seeks to strengthen the relationship between diaspora engagement, development and diplomacy. The core of our ambition is to formalize the institutional, informational, & implementation steps to assist us in establishing a meaningful culture of diaspora engagement.”

Dozens protest in Pristina, ask government not to side with Israel (media)

Several news websites covered a protest by activists of the Collective for Feminist Thought and Action in downtown Pristina on Thursday in sign of solidarity with the Palestinians. Telegrafi news website reported protesters called on the Kosovo government not to side with Israel and accused the latter of “committing genocide and transforming Gaza into a large mass cemetery”. Protesters also said that with the march they don’t intend to show support for Hamas and “we condemn the attacks on every innocent citizen”. 

Serbian Language Media 

Petkovic after the Brussels meetings: We talked about the CSM Statute, energy, the missing, expects the dialogue to continue (RTS)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said that at the meetings held in Brussels today, the drafting of the statute of the community of Serbian municipalities was discussed, as the first concrete step towards the formation of the CSM.

Petkovic told journalists in Brussels that he was grateful to the experts who were in the Belgrade delegation and who are proof that Belgrade approaches the dialogue in a responsible manner.

"They spoke clearly about all aspects of the draft statute, especially the part that refers to executive powers, primarily spatial planning, health, education, economic development and that Belgrade financed it," said Petkovic.

He pointed out that energy and the issue of the missing were also on the agenda, and that he expects progress there as well.

"Discussions were held with Lajcak's team, but also with EU experts on these topics. I expect that we will continue discussions in the coming period. The Statute is very important, because it represents the backbone of the CSM, and everything must be in accordance with the Agreements from 2013 and 2015. After more than five hours of talks that we had today in Brussels, we return with the conviction that through dialogue and compromise solutions we can make progress in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina," said Petkovic.

He emphasized that Belgrade is a committed party and absolutely committed to peace and stability.

He added that at the meeting he emphasized the importance of holding Serbian elections in Kosovo scheduled for December 17, as well as the untenable situation in the north of Kosovo  where 'illegal Albanian mayors lead four Serbian municipalities', reported RTS.

Thursday's round of Brussels dialogue concludes without trilateral meeting (Tanjug)

The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak held separate meetings with Belgrade and Pristina delegations in Brussels on Thursday but a trilateral meeting announced prior to this round of dialogue did not take place, reported Tanjug.

Lajcak first met with a Belgrade delegation headed by the director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic, and work on a statute of a Community of Serb Municipalities was the main topic.

Separate expert meetings were held simultaneously to discuss missing persons and energy.

After the meeting with the Belgrade delegation, Lajcak met with Pristina's chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi.

The EU had announced that Lajcak could hold a trilateral meeting with the delegations of Belgrade and Pristina after the bilateral meetings, but that failed to materialise.

Dacic: Serbia's re-election to the UNESCO Executive Board greater security in protecting heritage in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Serbia's election to the UNESCO Executive Board for the third consecutive time, according to the assessment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, was a significant diplomatic success for Serbia, recognition of its previous work in this organization, and acknowledgment of the foreign policy it pursues. As Dacic states in an interview for Kosovo Online, this election also means greater security that Belgrade will succeed in protecting its priorities regarding state and national issues, especially in conditions where there are attempts to reclassify Serbian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija as 'Kosovar'.

Although, he says, many countries in the world will continue to push for Kosovo's admission to UNESCO, the votes that Serbia received yesterday are a clear indication that it will never happen. Regarding the possibility of Kosovo becoming a member of the Council of Europe, Dacic points out that the situation is different there, but the admission of Kosovo to that organization would be a drastic violation of the Council of Europe Statute and all international legal norms.

What does it mean for Serbia on the international stage that it has been elected for the third time to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)?

This is a significant diplomatic success for Serbia, considering that this is the third consecutive time we have been chosen as a member of the Executive Board at this broad assembly of all UNESCO member states. It is a great recognition of Serbia's past work, as Serbia held the chairmanship of the Executive Board in the previous term. Our mission chief, Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, chaired the board, and her work was evaluated by the Director-General and all member states as extremely successful. It is also a recognition of the foreign policy pursued by the state of Serbia, all state structures led by President Aleksandar Vucic, which strives to have a balanced approach to the numerous problems unfortunately present worldwide. We expected this result, but we are extremely satisfied because it is another confirmation of our good work and an indicator of how highly UNESCO member states value us.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3sctsajy

US imposes sanctions on two Serbian politicians (N1)

The US State and Treasury Departments imposed sanctions on two Serbian politicians closely associated with the Russian authorities.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Misa Vacic, leader of the Serbian Right party, and Nenad Popovic, a former cabinet minister, were designated in connection with “Russia’s malign influence in the region and the corruption that enables it”.

“The Department is designating Misa Vacic, a Serbian politician, for participating in Kremlin-organized illegitimate annexation referenda in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine in September 2022. The Department is also designating Nenad Popovic, a former Serbian government official, and his associated companies. Popovic maintains close ties to the Kremlin and uses his network for corrupt schemes to build personal wealth,” Miller said.

The State and Treasury Departments also imposed sanctions on 12 companies in the Western Balkans under an executive order which authorizes sanctions “with respect to specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation”.

A Treasury Department press release said that “Vacic stated that, at the invitation of Vladimir Putin, he was an “international observer” of Russia’s sham referenda in Russia-occupied regions of Ukraine in September 2022. VACIC advocated for the purported annexation of these regions by Russia”.

It said that Popovic, a founder of the Serbian People’s Party, “owns numerous companies and holdings in Serbia and Russia and uses senior connections in the Kremlin to enrich himself, secure business for his holdings, and facilitate embezzlement and corrupt tax schemes”. The 12 companies designated by the Treasury Department are all connected to Popovic.

Vucic: Open Balkan an affirmed peace platform (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the opening of the 2nd Wine Vision by Open Balkan fair in Belgrade on Thursday that achievements made in just a year were almost incredible and noted that the Open Balkan initiative was an affirmed peace platform.

"I am especially honoured that we are opening this wine event in Belgrade for a second time. What we have done in a year is almost incredible. I am grateful to (North Macedonian PM) Dimitar Kovacevski for that, and for the endless support provided to us by both North Macedonia and Albania," Vucic said at the opening ceremony.

He said a prosperous and stable Western Balkans was a market of 20 million consumers.

"Some people have come here to fight for this market, too, like we are fighting for their markets, too," Vucic said.

He noted that a recently signed FTA between Serbia and China would lend Serbian wine exporters a huge advantage over competitors in the region.

Blast shakes Mitrovica North (RTS, N1)

The Serbian state TV (RTS) reported an explosive device blast in Mitrovica North on the night of Wednesday-Thursday.

The RTS quoted local residents of the majority-Serb half of the divided city who said that they were woken by the blast which caused some damage to buildings but no injuries. The explosion happened near the vehicle registration center where local Serbs have been replacing their Serbia-issued license plates for Kosovo plates.

The explosion was confirmed by the Kosovo Police deputy commander for the Region North Veton Elshani. He said that a police patrol at the site believes a hand grenade was used.