Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić last day of the 17th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Venezuela had a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from member countries of the movement about the principled support to Belgrade regarding Kosovo.
Serbia will never accept Kosovo-Metohija's independence, and it meets the conditions for EU accession as long as recognition of Kosovo is not required, Serbian presidential adviser Stanislava Pak said in a comment on a statement by German Foreign Office official Michael Roth, who said that, before Serbia's EU accession, everything must be clear regarding Kosovo.
The concept of the Sunny Valley returnee settlement in Kosovo has been presented a UN special rapporteur.
Chaloka Beyani, in charge of human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) learned about the project from Dusan Kozarev, deputy director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo.
Kozarev also told his about "the obstacles to a greater sustainable return of IDPs," Tanjug reported on Monday.
Klan Kosova carries an opinion piece by Sandra Joireman originally published by The Washington Post.
Smoke, shouting, chaos and tear gas are the staples of a riot — or an assembly session in Kosovo. It has become common for opposition parties in this western Balkan state to delay votes through the use of tear gas and other obstructionist tactics. It happens so often that the government had to get more powerful metal detectors and augment the building’s ventilation system.
Vladimir Putin has said that the West negates the right of the people to self-determination in Crimea, while referring to it in the case of Kosovo. The Russian president spoke for Bloomberg when he said that "nothing can be done against the will of the people," but that "it seems that some of our partners fail to understand this." "Thinking of Crimea, they choose not to notice that the will of the Crimean people, 70 percent of which are ethnic Russians and the rest speak Russian as their native language, was to join Russia. They prefer to ignore this.
In an interview for Radio Free Europe in Albanian, Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj said that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade will continue in the same format as until now but that the government of Kosovo hopes doe a more creative approach to the process “to know what are the exact parametres of the dialogue and the final objectives”. Hoxhaj said there needs to be a clear timeframe of the dialogue process and should end in mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia. “A dialogue whose goal is not recognition is senseless and objectiveless to us,” said Hoxhaj.
The technical dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is expected to continue today with focus on cadasters and recognition of diplomas. It is reported that the main issues discussed yesterday among the technical teams were implementation of the agreement on freedom of movement and the issue of the use of license plates for Kosovo vehicles. Neither parties gave details about the meeting. In the last day of discussions, the delegations, mediated by the EU, will discuss the border between the northern and southern parts of Mitrovica.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama during an official visit to Slovenia criticized the EU for not relaxing visa procedures for the people of Kosovo and said he hoped the border demarcation with Montenegro would not affect the EU’s decision. Rama said it is shameful for the EU that the people of Kosovo are the only ones that cannot move freely like the rest in Europe. He stressed that the Albanian government strongly supports dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and that recognition of Kosovo would not only benefit Serbia but would also facilitate cooperation processes.
Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić on Tuesday received European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc, highlighting the significance of transport projects for the development of Serbia and noting a commitment to establishing cooperation aimed at connecting the entire Western Balkans through a transport network.
Vucic said a motorway connecting Niš, Merdare, Pristina, Tirana and Durres was a priority, as were other projects agreed as part of the Berlin Process, the Serbian government press office said in a statement.
As Dnevnik learns, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn will arrive in Belgrade on Friday. The source of Dnevnik says that one of the main themes of Serbian officials in talks with Hahn will be progress made in Chapter 35 regarding the normalization of relations with Pristina.