The front page editorial of this paper criticizes the Democratic Party of Kosovo for constantly bragging about being the most consolidated, powerful and successful party in governing Kosovo, while the results continuously show the opposite. “In fact, this party resembles more and more the Working Party of communist Albania, in which the leader was god and others could not even breathe without his permission. The announcement of the election of Veseli as leader of this party clearly illustrates lack of democracy in the party.”

 Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, said after the meeting of the Assembly Presidency that the next Assembly session will be held on Thursday. He added that the next sessions will concern visa liberalization. “We will hold e session on 10 March to discuss ten issues of the agenda. We will hold an additional session after 10 March. The European Union is priority. Fulfillment of the criteria for visa liberalization are the conditions that we have to work on, therefore we will hold two sessions soon,” Veseli said.

All media report that several opposition MPs were escorted by security outside the Kosovo Assembly building. Media quote Assembly President Kadri Veseli saying that 18 opposition MPs were suspended from Friday’s session after incidents involving teargas canisters. Vetevendosje leader Visar Ymeri later told reporters that MPs were forcefully escorted outside the building without a document or decision by the Assembly to support this action. “Someone made this arbitrary call. This government has lost its legitimacy,” Ymeri was quoted saying.

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said today that the President of Kosovo will be elected in a couple of days, not wanting to give a specific date if this will be done before or after the protest of 17 February. Veseli said the entire process will be carried out in accordance with the law and the Constitution of Kosovo.

In meetings with several ambassadors, Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli said that the election of the President will be a constitutional, transparent, democratic, and inclusive process. With regards to the political deadlock, Veseli said he was hopeful that the spirit of dialogue and communication would prevail over destructive, political tendencies. In an effort to find a solution to the crisis, Veseli met separately today with US Ambassador Greg Delawie, the British Ambassador Ruairi O’Connell and the Norwegian Ambassador Jan Braathu.

Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli hailed the meeting today between President Atifete Jahjaga and political leaders as a positive step stressing that dialogue is the only way for overcoming the current situation. Veseli commended Jahjaga on her initiative to gather the leaders and encouraged her to continue facilitating the dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties. “Institutional dialogue is the only way our country can move forward,” he said.

Pristina-based Lajmi news site reports that Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli decided not to attend the meeting of political leaders called by President Atifete Jahjaga because he did not want the meeting to fail. Unnamed sources told the news site that it was Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), who said that Veseli should not attend the meeting.

Kosovo’s President of the Assembly, Kadri Veseli, appealed to the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, to call the parties in order to find a solution for the political crisis. “Jahjaga will not be in a bad position after the end of her mandate, she will gain many benefits. It is necessary to find a political solution to overcome these challenges and to orient the country towards economic development.

KTV editor-in-chief Adriatik Kelmendi argues in an opinion piece that “Kosovo today is hostage of a mysterious agreement between two friends, [PDK leader] Hashim Thaci and [PDK deputy leader] Kadri Veseli, “who are willing to risk many things, including the position of the PDK, to fulfill each other’s ambitions. The question is why?” Kelmendi writes that if Thaci is elected President, it is almost certain that Veseli will be elected leader of the PDK but, according to Kelmendi, Veseli won’t be able to fill the gap that Thaci will leave behind.

President of the Kosovo Assembly Kadri Veseli said today that the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaci will be elected president of Kosovo and that “this process is not becoming complicated.” Referring to President Atifete Jahjaga’s remarks that Kosovo doesn’t need international intervention to resolve the political situation, Veseli said Kosovo needs international support, particularly that of the US. Veseli did not say when the next Assembly session will take place but that they will step up talks with the opposition before announcing the date.