Moscow says that in the investigation into the cases of kidnapping people for illegal organ trafficking in Kosovo has yielded no results. Sputnik is reporting this on Thursday.

Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Maria Zakharova reminded at a regular briefing for journalists that "in 2017, a special court (Specialist Chambers) were set up under the auspices of the European Union to investigate the crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) including, among others, the abduction of people for the subsequent sale of their organs in the black market."

"The most recent addition to the regional power game is China; and the EU suspects that it may exploit its economic heft for political gains." This is stated in a report published ahead of this year's Munich Security Conference, dubbed, "The Great Puzzle: Who will pick up the pieces?"

The segment of the report dedicated to this region is entitled, "Western Balkans: With friends like these...," and it states that EU leaders "recognize the strategic importance of this missing piece in the 'jigsaw of Europe'."

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian Federation Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Chepurin, who handed over to him a letter from the Russian President Vladimir Putin, sent on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day, Danas daily reports.

In a letter, the Russian President said that “Russia highly values strategic partnership and relations with Serbia,” and “with satisfaction emphasizes that cooperation between the two countries evolves dynamically in the most diverse areas.”

Commenting on a statement of British Ambassador to UN, Karen Pierce, who at the latest UNSC session on Kosovo said that “Pristina has a right to have an army,” Russian Embassy in London reacted assessing that the Great Britain and other Western states ignore the threat that forming of the so-called Kosovo army could represent to the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija.

Whether or not Serbia will free itself in 2019 of the shackles of the Kosovo problem - the alpha and omega of its foreign and domestic policies - depends largely on the diplomatic capabilities of its president.

The unresolved conflict with Kosovo’s Albanians places Serbia on a cross between East and West, while on the domestic front the fact that the country is a candidate for EU membership is used as an excuse: how can a country reform while its national sovereignty and integrity are endangered?

Russia has tried to meddle and influence whether Balkan countries join NATO, the organization's Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has told Euronews.

He was speaking on the day the newly-named Republic of North Macedonia signed a pact that will pave the way for the country to join NATO, Euronews said in its report, cited by Tanjug on Thursday.

A research carried out by the National Democratic Institute from Washington has found that most Serbian citizens have positive opinion about Russia and China, while the most negative opinion is about US and NATO, Vecernje Novosti reported.

The research “Western Balkans between East and West” was carried out in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and focused on stances of the citizens and media reporting on foreign states and organizations.

A journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Belgrade-based daily Politika, Ljljana Smajlovic told RTS the US already got involved in Kosovo and Metohija issue, adding the letter President Vucic sent to his counterpart Trump is a logical move.

She opined Albanians would rather lose the north of Kosovo than to have Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and some “sort of Republic of Srpska” within their territory, that would have powers to decide on certain matters.

The latest report by the US National Intelligence Agency, already discussed in the US Senate, mentions that there might be conflicts this year in the Balkans. According to Sputnik, the Balkans has not been mentioned during the Senate debate, but it is in the report itself.

Analyst Janusz Bugajski from Washington Center for European Policy Analysis does not exclude a possibility that Kosovo issue is resolved by changing the borders, Tanjug news agency reports.

“Let’s see if both sides are serious, and the way I understood it, in line with such agreement, Serbia should recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Serbia should change its Constitution even before correction of borders is made,” Bugajski said.