Serb members of the Kosovo Assembly abstained from voting for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) candidate for Assembly President Arsim Bajrami. Serbian List leader Aleksandar Jablanovic said the Serb vote today would not have determined anything. “The List will continue to be constructive in the upcoming sessions. We want the crisis to be resolved and to proceed with the formation of the government … We know that we will not go with Vetevendosje and the revision of negotiations.

British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ian Cliff, said today after the session of Assembly that Kosovo should not go to extraordinary elections. Cliff told reporters that the international community will not interfere to resolve the crisis because the solution rests in the hands of political parties. Cliff also said that President Atifete Jahjaga needs to take hold of the situation and break the political deadlock.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator Edita Tahiri travelled to Brussels today where she will attend meetings focused on the implementation of the agreement for collecting customs income at Kosovo’s two northern border crossing points. Tahiri will meet European Union representatives to discuss energy and telecom issues which have entered the phase of approval of action plans, paving way to the implementation of agreements in these areas.

A working group in Pristina that organized a petition seeking international justice for women raped during the war in Kosovo is waiting for a reply from the United Nations headquarters in New York, before they can submit the petition. Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, who leads the working group, said the UN needs to prepare a report on what happened with the raping of women during the Kosovo conflict and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Isa Mustafa, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said today that the opposition bloc does not intend to dismiss Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga. “The Democratic League of Kosovo and partners of the coalition respect the mandate of the President. Evidence of this is the agreement between the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Initiative for Kosovo, and the confirmation of cooperation with the Vetevendosje Movement.

President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga stated that institutions of Kosovo should establish as soon as possible, based on Kosovo’s Constitution and the Laws.

At the Kosovo level, there is still high refusal from the receiving community to agree to the return of displaced persons mainly of Roma and Serb communities. The return records in municipalities show that the majority of cases where returns were not possible to be implemented are due to the refusal of Albanian community to receive former neighbours.

Acting Minister of Returns and Communities, Dalibor Jevtic, stressed that rule of law should be a priority and that the right to return to one’s property is guaranteed through Kosovo laws and its Constitution.

Xhavit Haliti, member of the leadership of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said for Radio Kosova that the agreement between Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) and Vetevendosje, is a free decision of the leaders of these political parties. However, according to him, the problem stands on the constitutional interpretation of this after election coalition.

A group of youth, members of the Kosovo Democratic Youth met in Pristina head of Islamic Community, Mufti Naim Ternava.

The meeting focused on current developments in Kosovo and also on the act of burning the ISIS flag in Pristina. The youths explained that their act yesterday was not intended to insult religious feelings of Kosovo Muslims. The aim of the act, the youths said, was to oppose terrorist actions of the ISIS group and their criminal acts directed at children and women  which are in conflict to Islam.

While the coalition bloc between the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Alliance for Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) is making efforts to gather as many votes as possible for the 12 September Assembly session, the Serb List has already come out in support of Isa Mustafa’s nomination to the speaker’s post.