A political storm in Vienna caused by the Austrian vice-chancellor's statement that Kosovo is a part of Serbia is not dying down, Tanjug is reporting.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's session of his cabinet, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Austria was "a friend that supports the Western Balkans and is trying to contribute to the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations."
European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic today did not want to comment the statement by Austrian Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strahe regarding the status of Kosovo, stressing that the issue of recognition concerns only the member states, reports TV Most.
Kosovo is without a doubt a part of Serbia, says Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.
In an interview for Belgrade-based daily Politika ahead of his visit to Serbia, Strache said it would be desirable if northern Kosovo had the right to "self-determination or autonomy" - and that it would be wrong to pressure Belgrade to recognize Kosovo.
"I think that recognition of Kosovo a matter for Serbia alone. To pressure on the country because of that would be wrong," he said.
More than three weeks have passed since the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, leader of Civic Initiative, Freedom, Democracy, Justice, and apart from political statements, there are still no details as to who and with what motives shot at him on January 16, TV N1 writes today on its website.
Kosovo Justice Ministry claims they exchange information with the Serbian authorities, while the Serbian Ministry of Justice said they received no information at all.
Who is mediating in this exchange, did and where the communication fail? TV N1 wonders.
Conference “Kosovo: Zone of special passports,” organized in Mitrovica North yesterday focused on the issues holders of the Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Centre face in Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.
The Serbian Coordination Centre passports have been issued since August 2009 for the citizens of Serbia living in the territory of Kosovo, and these passports are not part of the Serbia’s visa liberalization process.
At a session dedicated to Kosovo, UN Security Council ambassadors called on Belgrade and Pristina to continue their talks.
Nevertheless, they presented opposing views on the situation in Kosovo ten years after the unilateral declaration of independence.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received on Wednesday in Belgrade EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.
During a joint news conference after the meeting, Vucic pointed out that chapter 35 in EU membership negotiations - that concerns Kosovo - "exists only for Serbia - it did not exist for any other country."
European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner, Johannes Hahn told Tanjug news agency it is still too early to speak how the legally binding agreement between Serbia and Kosovo would look like.
What matters is the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on how their future co-existence could be, Hahn said.
Belgrade received not a single information related to the Ivanovic murder probe, Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Director, Marko Djuric told Serbian media.
Commenting on the claims from the prosecution office in Mitrovica that they are ready to cooperate with Belgrade and they have sent information from the investigation to it, Djuric said he has contacted representative of all state bodies and they confirmed that they received nothing from Pristina, Tanjug news agency reported.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday EU's enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans "considers Serbia as a leader."
According to her remarks published by the Serbian Government, Brnabic also "noted that Serbia will continue to implement reforms faster, while regional cooperation will still be a priority."