RTK quotes reports from the U.S. military’s news outlet Stars and Stripes that the U.S. will deploy to Kosovo 500 new troops from Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, California and New York and that the move comes in face of the possibility of rising tensions. The new troops will be deployed on 19 July and will remain for nine months as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission, KFOR.
Kosovo’s Ministry of Interior has begun work on drafting a new strategy against terrorism that will cover the period from 2017 to 2022. The work will be led by Deputy Minister Valdet Hoxha who also exercises the post of National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator. Hoxha thanked all relevant local and international institutions for their contribution in implementation of the last anti-terrorism strategy and urged the members of the new working group to prepare a practical, effective and efficient document.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo in cooperation with the German government, launched today the second project on strengthening capacities of Kosovo institutions in fighting serious corruption “Development of capacities of Kosovo agencies and Special Prosecution in fighting corruption of the high level.”
The European Parliament Vice-President and Rapporteur for Kosovo, Urlike Lunacek, said that implementation of the reached agreements should be priority of the new phase of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, in order to reach complete normalization of the relations. “We should still wait and see the results of the renewed dialogue. Complete implementation should be priority, being that both parties already gave their consent for the agreements such as energy and freedom of movement.
The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci requested from the entire political specter in Kosovo to leave aside political and party divisions, in order to support discussions between Kosovo and Serbia on normalization of relations.
In an interview given to RTK from Brussels, Thaci said that Kosovo’s only way for integration is that of dialogue and integration, and within this segment, he said, there should not be political divergences.
The Office of Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, issued a press release which informs about this morning's informal meeting with the Presidents Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo, held in Brussels.
The Ambassador of the United States of America said during his speech at the celebration of the fourth of July that there is no doubt that Kosovo has come a long way over these 21 years.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, has met today with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Later, she also received the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic.
The meetings were held prior to the joint Mogherini- Thaci- Vucic meeting, where the parties were expected to exchange opinions on the continuation of the dialog, and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as overall developments in the Western Balkans.
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, announced that the U.S.’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has allocated USD 50 million that will go towards economic growth in Kosovo. According to Thaci, the funds given to the Kosovo Threshold Program are the biggest than for any other country and this, he said, shows the U.S. unwavering support for Kosovo.
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, announced 22 October as the local elections date. Thaci took the decision after consultations with political parties and instructed the Central Election Commission to undertake all necessary actions to organise the electoral process.