The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) deputy leader, Ali Berisha, told a press conference on Wednesday that his party will not participate in the next session of the Kosovo Assembly scheduled for tomorrow.  Berisha said the AAK has decided to boycott the Assembly until the issue of border-demarcation with Montenegro will be addressed in the Assembly.

While preparations are underway by the government of Kosovo to put up for ratification at the Assembly the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, opposition parties claim they will continue efforts to prevent such a scenario from unfolding. According to them, the border demarcation issue requires the setting up of a new, special commission comprised of local experts and representatives of opposition parties.  Vetëvendosje spokesperson, Frashër Krasniqi said that the government should first annul the border demarcation agreement of 26 August and then set up a new commission.

Vetëvendosje activists sprayed paint today at the car of Murat Meha, head of Kosovo government’s commission for border demarcation with Montenegro. In a statement, Vetëvendosje said that Meha is one of the people most responsible for, as it said, giving away land to Montenegro through the border demarcation agreement.  “Vetëvendosje Movement will continue its symbolic and direct actions until the agreement is recalled. Kosovo has no land to give away”, the statement reads.

The upcoming session of the Kosovo Assembly has been scheduled for 9 June but the anticipated border demarcation agreement with Montenegro will not be discussed at this time. Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said they are still in the process of discussing the issue adding that it will however be put to vote “soon”. “The moment we are convinced that the interests of citizens are not undermined, we will vote on this agreement”, he said after the meeting of the Assembly presidency.

Officials from the three opposition parties – Vetëvendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) – have not ruled out the possibility of joining their forces to oppose the ratification of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The agreement is expected to be put to vote at the Kosovo Assembly within two months. Vetëvendosje spokesperson Frashër Krasniqi said the future protest could be called in cooperation with other opposition parties.

German politician and former Member of the European Parliament, Doris Pack, in a Twitter post today wrote that she does not agree with the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro as a condition for visa liberalisation for Kosovo. According to her, the criteria for visa liberalisation should be the same for all places.

The Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) senior member, Bilall Sherifi, said on Monday the government must declare the agreement on border-demarcation with Montenegro as null and void, in order to pave the way for a new process and new agreement. He also said the ratification of this agreement will cause security crisis in Kosovo. “The ratification of this agreement would deepen the political crisis and would send Kosovo into security crisis,” Sherifi said. According to him, there is no reason to link visa liberalisation with border-demarcation issue.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has proposed the issue of the border demarcation with Montenegro be renegotiated in Brussels. In a press release, the AAK said the statements by certain Kosovo government officials that the border demarcation should be first ratified by the Assembly and then corrected are “dangerous” and “malicious”. “Demarcation with Montenegro has been done badly and to the detriment of Kosovo. Those who put Kosovo into this serious trouble should be held accountable before the people and before the law.

Kosovo’s President, Hashim Thaçi, said today that he will travel to Montenegro on Saturday to participate in the ceremony of the 10th anniversary of Montenegro’s independence. He said that he will not discuss other matters with Montenegro leaders. According to him, the issue of border-demarcation with Montenegro is finalized and signed by both countries.

Kosovo’s President, Hashim Thaçi, will travel to Montenegro on Saturday to meet with Montenegrin President, Filip Vujanović and Prime Minister, Milo Đukanović. President Thaçi is expected to discuss the issue of border-demarcation with Montenegro leaders. “I will have a meeting with the Prime Minister and President of Montenegro to discuss the border-demarcation issue. I believe that this issue will be discussed in the Kosovo Assembly in the near future, and it should not be politicized but must be viewed as a matter of national interest,” Thaçi said.