UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, October 23, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets Wood, talk “Kosovo success and importance of cooperation” (media)
Bislimi calls for lifting of penalty measures against Kosovo (media)
Haradinaj: Association in return for guaranteed fast membership in NATO (media)
Hargreaves: Iber Bridge must be opened, question is when and how (media)
Nic: Germany should engage more seriously in the Balkans (RFE)
Haziri: We cannot implement a bad agreement (media)
Becirovic wants Bosnia and Herzegovina to lift visa regime for Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Number of migrants down by 80 pct compared to 2023 (media)
Fico: Serbia protected Hungary, Slovakia and entire EU from illegal migration (Tanjug)
N1 on Pristina media reports: “Milan Radoicic approved voting for election of Vjosa Osmani as Kosovo president”
Vucic on new EP Rapporteur: His views are problematic, not his nationality (N1)
Vucevic: Serbia ready to work on boosting relations with friendly Montenegro (media)
Djuric met Craxi, thanked her for Italian contribution to peace and stability (media)
Slovenian MFA on uncoordinated decision-making, punitive measures (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

Serbia’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth (The Washington Times)

International Media:

Kosovo youth inherit ‘burden of war’ from ‘secondhand memories’, report says (Balkan Insight)
Witness accuses Kosovo’s Thaci of naming his brother a Serbian collaborator (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani meets Wood, talk “Kosovo success and importance of cooperation” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, during her stay in the U.S., met on Tuesday with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood. “At the U.S. mission to the UN, we had a substantive and productive meeting with Ambassador Robert Wood, discussing Kosovo's successes and the importance of continued cooperation for peace and security in the region,” Osmani said in a post on X.

Bislimi calls for lifting of penalty measures against Kosovo (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi met on Tuesday with Italian Ambassador to Kosovo, Antonello De Riu, and discussed bilateral relations and possibilities for their deepening. A press release issued by the government notes “Kosovo’s European integration was also the focus of the conversation, where the deputy prime minister emphasized the country’s commitment within the Growth Plan, as well as the importance of moving forward in steps with Kosovo’s application for membership in the European Union. Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister underlined the need for the removal of the EU’s punitive measures against Kosovo, which continue to be unfair and remain in force even after the findings of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell in his report recommending that the measures should be lifted”.

Haradinaj: Association in return for guaranteed fast membership in NATO (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj, in an interview with the Voice of America on Tuesday said that Kosovo should ask from the U.S. and the European Union guarantees for fast membership in NATO in exchange for proceeding with the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

Haradinaj, who is visiting the U.S., said that if he were to lead Kosovo he would act “in bilateral contract with the U.S. and would act on all obligations of the dialogue in order to join NATO”.

Hargreaves: Iber Bridge must be opened, question is when and how (media)

UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, said in an interview with Klan Kosova on Tuesday, that the UK does not oppose the opening of the Iber Bridge in Mitrovica but that this should happen at the right time and the right conditions. He said technical planning is needed to ensure the safe functioning of the bridge and that it is important to think about the environmental challenges that Kosovo is facing especially with the use of vehicles. “The right time to open the bridge is when it is safe to do that, after full consultations with communities on both sides of the river, after it is clear that the opening can be done in a safe way and with broad acceptance from all,” he said.

Hargreaves said Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s decision not to open the bridge this summer was wise because opening it at that time would have brought great security threats.

Hargreaves argued that the process of normalization of relations with Serbia plays a great role in Kosovo’s path toward NATO. “We have worked together closely on many security aspects to make this path more possible. We are glad we have cooperated and coordinated with Kosovo on issues such as support for Ukraine and we speak realistically the path toward NATO depends a lot from the dialogue and this will not happen until NATO member states are ready and pleased with what Kosovo achieves,” he argued.

Nic: Germany should engage more seriously in the Balkans (RFE)

Milan Nic from the German Council on Foreign Relations said in an interview with the news website on Tuesday that the role of the United States in the Western Balkans will diminish regardless of who wins the presidential elections – Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. He argued that it is time for the European Union, especially Germany, to engage more seriously in resolving the pending conflicts in the Western Balkans.

Nic said the north of Kosovo is the most pressing unresolved issue. “There are only several steps from a serious escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo. So far it has not happened … but there are some small situations on the ground that can escalate,” he said.

Asked to comment if the warnings of some U.S. diplomats against Prime Minister Albin Kurti are serious, Nic said that Kurti has learned to do things unilaterally from Belgrade. “I think that the Kosovo government, under Albin Kurti, has learned from Belgrade to do things unilaterally and has decided to create some facts in the north. In this way it has focused on maintaining its popularity and power in Kosovo. So far it has managed to do this but also with the price of certain diplomatic isolation by some of its key partners,” he said.

Haziri: We cannot implement a bad agreement (media)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lutfi Haziri, said in an interview with TeVe1 on Tuesday, that the LDK will not agree to implement any detrimental agreement for Kosovo. He argued that the draft document of the Ohrid Agreement in this phase is a European document and that the moment it is decided in the government it becomes a Kosovo document and can no longer be called a European document. “We have been saying for several weeks now that we cannot implement a bad agreement. The basis of the agreement is February 27 in Brussels … We have told all our partners that this document cannot be processed as such, because the Kurti government has lost its legitimacy. The new government with a new mandate has a legitimate right to ask to have its say on the final document,” Haziri said.

Becirovic wants Bosnia and Herzegovina to lift visa regime for Kosovo (media)

Chairman of the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Becirovic, said on Tuesday in Sarajevo that he expects representatives of Republika Srpska in state institutions to help Bosnia lift its visa regime for Kosovo. Commenting on Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s decision to unilaterally lift the visa regime for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina starting on January 1 next year, Becirovic said: “after this decision by Kurti, I expect that within Bosnia and Herzegovina, when it comes to the representatives of the Republika Srpska entity in state institutions, they will help us make the necessary steps to fully implement the agreements signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Berlin Process”.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Number of migrants down by 80 pct compared to 2023 (media)

Serbia will continue to cooperate with Slovakia and Hungary and work together with them on curbing illegal migration, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Komarno, Slovakia, after a trilateral meeting with Slovak and Hungarian Prime Ministers Robert Fico and Viktor Orban.

"We have achieved results by working together. It has not been simple, but this year, the number of migrants is 80 pct down compared to last year. We will continue to work together, and I believe the results will be good. There are just 477 migrants at reception centres in the Republic of Serbia at this time. We will, of course, continue to do our job in the interest of Europe and our friends, our brothers in Hungary and Slovakia", Vucic said at a press conference with Fico and Orban.

He said the meeting with Fico and Orban had also addressed all other important affairs. "I look forward to our bilateral meetings that will be held in Belgrade soon, and I am always ready and I consider this format of trilateral meetings of our three countries as very important and very good", Vucic said. He also thanked Slovakia and Hungary for backing Serbia on its EU accession path.

Fico: Serbia protected Hungary, Slovakia and entire EU from illegal migration (Tanjug)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Tuesday steps taken by Serbia had protected Hungary, Slovakia and the entire EU from illegal migration, and expressed full support for Serbia's EU accession ambitions, Tanjug news agency reported.

Speaking to reporters after a trilateral meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Komarno, Slovakia, Fico thanked Vucic for Serbia's fight against illegal migration.

"Those are the anti-measures that have, to a great extent, enabled the EU to contain migration flows because what Serbia was undertaking was not for the benefit of Serbia - those were steps that protected Slovakia, Hungary and the entire EU", he said. "The entire EU should be grateful to you for the enthusiasm and the energy you have devoted to illegal migration", Fico told Vucic. Fico expressed support for Serbia's ambition to join the EU as soon as possible and noted that he could not imagine Serbia being overtaken by anyone on the EU accession path.

N1 on Pristina media reports: “Milan Radoicic approved voting for election of Vjosa Osmani as Kosovo president”

Serbian List MPs, Adem Hodza from Gorani community and Fadil Gashi from Roma community, admitted that they were asked to vote for appointment of Vjosa Osmani as Kosovo President, and they did so upon receiving approval from the-then vice president of Serbian List, Milan Radoicic, N1 reports citing Pristina-based portal Reporteri.net.

As N1 further reported, Hodza and Gashi confirmed they had a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, before the session on which voting for election of Vjosa Osmani should take place.

According to media reports Hodza also claims he has in his phone a call from Kurti and that conversation was brief, because he clearly said he was ready to support the work of Kosovo institutions, but has to consult with Radoicic.

“Gorani community had never been for blockade of institutions, and we have always supported functioning of those institutions, and have demonstrated that on several occasions and agreed to meet tomorrow, but I told him I first have to consult with Serbian List, concretely with Serbian List vice president Milan (Radoicic)”, he explained.

Fadil Gashi said the decision to support Osmani came to Radoicic, but that he did not speak with him directly, as it was done by MP colleague Adem Hodza.

Earlier Kosovo MP, Begjxhet Pacoli told Teve1 that he spoke with former vice president of Serbian List, Milan Radoicic in the presence of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani, only a day before Osmani was elected to the post, since one vote was needed for her election, N1 recalled citing KoSSev portal. Vjosa Osmani became Kosovo President on April 4, 2021 after receiving green light from Kosovo Assembly.

Vucic on new EP Rapporteur: His views are problematic, not his nationality (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he “clearly understood the message” sent by the European Parliament (EP) with its appointment of Tonino Picula as the new rapporteur for Serbia, adding that he intends to cooperate with him, N1 reported.

Speaking to Serbian reporters in Komarno, Slovakia, Vucic was asked whether the appointment of Croatian MEP Picula as the EP Rapporteur for Serbia could have negative repercussions for Belgrade. He dismissed such concerns, saying he would not rush to comment and that he plans to cooperate with Picula.

“As you know, Kaja Kallas heads the European Union’s foreign and security policy. The key figure is Matti Maasikas, also from Estonia. I hear an Estonian will again be the EP rapporteur for so-called Kosovo. The head of the EU High Commission’s office in Kosovo is an Estonian. Another Estonian, very strange. And they have given us a Croat. Thanks a lot! The issue is not that he is Croatian – it’s about his views”, Vucic said.

Serbian Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic also commented on the appointment of Picula on X social network. She said that Serbia “loud and clear” understood the message sent by the European Union. “Well done EU! We got your message loud and clear,” Brnabic wrote in a post on the X social media platform.

Vucevic: Serbia ready to work on boosting relations with friendly Montenegro (media)

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic met with Montenegrin Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandic in Belgrade on Tuesday, noting that Serbia is ready to work on the advancement of relations with brotherly and friendly Montenegro. Historically, no other country has been closer to Montenegro than Serbia has, Vucevic said.

Years of artificially created divisions are now behind us, while the days of a new chapter in bilateral relations are ahead of us, a government statement quoted Vucevic as saying. He said the census in Montenegro was the country's internal affair but it was important to note that Serbs in Montenegro had preserved their national identity.

He noted that Serbia would always insist on respect for the rights of the Serbs in line with European standards, just like it did in communication with other states as well. Vucevic also said he hoped he would soon see a Montenegrin ambassador in Belgrade, which he said would boost bilateral relations and cooperation. Mandic said having the best possible relations and cooperation with Serbia was of great interest to Montenegro.

Djuric met Craxi, thanked her for Italian contribution to peace and stability (media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric met with the Chairwoman of the foreign affairs and defence committee of the Italian Senate Stefania Craxi in Belgrade on Tuesday, noting that cooperation with Italy was greatly contributing to Serbia's economic development and EU approximation. Djuric noted that Serbia and Italy marked an important anniversary this year - 145 years since the establishment of their diplomatic relations, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

Djuric thanked Italy for its contribution to peace and stability in the region through the engagement of Italian KFOR troops and, in particular, for the protection provided to the Serbian Orthodox Church Monastery of Visoki Decani and for the preservation of other Serbian religious and cultural heritage in Kosovo.

Craxi also held a separate meeting with Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic. They discussed regional security, relations with KFOR and defence cooperation.

Slovenian MFA on uncoordinated decision-making, punitive measures (Kosovo Online)

Slovenian Foreign Ministry said that uncoordinated and unilateral decision-making by Kosovo Government does not contribute to achieving a unanimous position within the EU on lifting the measures against Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reported citing Pristina-based Gazeta Express.

The Ministry led by Tanja Fajon told Gazeta Express that Slovenia, the EU, and international partners consistently insist on constructive cooperation within the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue as the only valid path for both Kosovo and Serbia.