The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) parliamentary group chief, Ismet Beqiri, said yesterday that the recent agreements with Serbia might be annulled only through votes in the Assembly. He also said that without international friends, Kosovo cannot be integrated. “The Assembly is the place where decisions are made, where changes are made and where signatures could be withdrawn.  Without international friends, Kosovo cannot be integrated in the international arena,” Beqiri said.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said last night’s detention of Vetevendosje’s former leader and MP Albin Kurti is in conflict to the principles of democracy and the Constitution of Kosovo which stipulates that MPs cannot be detained or arrested for their activity in the Assembly. “The scandal with Albin Kurti was premeditated, calculated and aimed at escalating the situation in order to blame the opposition for violent actions,” a statement issued by AAK reads.

Deputy President of Kosovo Assembly Xhavit Haliti announced that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly “Rose-Roth” seminar will take place next year in Kosovo. He said a meeting of such a level is in the interest of Kosovo and that it is in the responsibility of Kosovo institutions and its people to continue efforts to fight terrorism, organised crime, and corruption.

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said today at the high-level EU conference “Eastern Mediterranean – Western Balkans Route” in Luxembourg that Kosovo was a place of origin of migrants but is no longer so as a result of a series of measures undertaken by Kosovo institutions. Thac noted that although the current Middle East influx of refugees is not going through Kosovo, Kosovo has nevertheless expressed readiness to receive up to 500 refugees.

The Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group chief, Glauk Konjufca, said that throwing the teargas in today’s session of the Assembly was a democratic act and that all actions by the opposition were aimed at stopping the adoption of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. “We want to block the work of the Kosovo Assembly … I think this [the teargas] did well to the LDK MPs … This is a democratic act.

The head of the Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK) parliamentary group, Adem Grabovci, called on opposition MPs not to block the work of the Kosovo Assembly. “The current situation is regretful. This is an attempt to block the state of Kosovo. The opposition should ask itself where it wants to go with such actions. We stand behind our efforts to unblock the Assembly through dialogue. The opposition is not concerned with the content of the agreement because they understand that this is an international agreement. The opposition wants to take over the government.

In a meeting with Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteur Augustin Conde, Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa spoke of the progress in Kosovo and the commitment of his government to economic development. Mustafa also highlighted Kosovo’s efforts in advancing European Union integration and requested Council of Europe’s assistance in this direction.

In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and one of Serbian List leaders, Branimir Stojanovic, said an important step in the formation of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities is the approval of its statute. This, according to Stojanovic, will have to be agreed at a high political level. “The Association/Community and its competencies will not undermine Albanians and their lives,” said Stojanovic. He added that once the Association/Community is up and running, Kosovo Serbs will become more self-assured and cooperate more with the others.

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, met in Brussels with the new EU Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey, from the EU’s Foreign Service, Angelina Eichhrost, successor of Fernando Gentilini.

The intention of the meeting was assessment of the floe and results of the Brussels dialogue during the last period. They both agreed that significant achievements have been made, and that EU gave a major contribution by mediating the discussions between Pristina and Belgrade.

The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, was received today at the Congress of the United States of America in Washington. She met at the Capitol Hill senior members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress, headed by Congressman Ed Royce and the senior member of the Committee, Congressman Eliot Engel.