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☆ Girl wounded in Serbia school shooting is critical, doctor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] People pay tribute following a school mass shooting, after a boy opened fire on others, killing fellow students and staff in Belgrade, Serbia, May 4, 2023. "The girl who underwent an urgent surgery yesterday due to head injuries ... remains in critical condition and in intensive care," Sinisa Ducic, the acting director at the city's Tirsova hospital, told reporters. They are being treated in the Tirsova hospital and the city's University Hospital. Two wounded boys in the Tirsova hospital were in stable condition and were expected to be discharged in coming days, Ducic said. The suspected shooter used two pistols that belonged to his father, police said on Wednesday.

[1/6] People pay tribute following a school mass shooting, after a boy opened fire on others, killing fellow students and staff in Belgrade, Serbia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Antonio BronicBELGRADE, May 4 (Reuters) - Two pupils wounded in Serbia's first mass school shooting were in critical condition on Thursday, health officials said, as the country prepared for three days of national mourning. A teacher and six pupils were wounded. Milika Asanin, director of the University hospital, said that the condition of a severely wounded boy treated there had improved, but was still considered critical, the Tanjug news agency reported. The remaining children and the teacher treated in the two hospitals were in stable condition, both Ducic and Asanin said.

☆ Serbia takes steps to prevent school violence after shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BELGRADE, May 4 (Reuters) - The Serbian government said it had introduced a set of measures on Thursday to prevent potential violence in schools a day after a 13-year-old boy shot and killed eight students and a guard in a Belgrade elementary school. Because of his age the boy cannot be criminally prosecuted under Serbian law but he will be placed in a psychiatric institution, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. The government said in the statement that it had decided to halt issuing of licences to weapon holders. The justice ministry will prepare changes to the criminal law to prosecute those who enable access to weapons to children. The government will also change a legislation within one month to enable schools to test students for drugs and alcohol, the statement added.

☆ Bosnia Serb leader Dodik threatens to declare indepdendence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, April 14 (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Friday told his ally Serbia he was seriously considering declaring the autonomous Serb Republic independent from the rest of Bosnia unless a row over a property law is resolved. Dodik's hardline Serb nationalism and pro-Russian stance have raised concern that Bosnia might fracture again along ethnic lines, a generation after its devastating war. According to constitution, the national parliament must adopt a property law that would be valid across Bosnia, but Dodik, who is president of the Serb Republic, says that deprives the Serb region in Bosnia of the right to its land, rivers and forests. During his 25 years in power either as the region's president or premier, Dodik has acted to strengthen the autonomy of the Serb region. Last month, Dodik ordered that Serb officials should halt all contacts and communication with US and UK ambassadors in Bosnia, after they had criticised his inflammatory rhetoric.

The chart showed that Serbia declined to provide training to Ukrainian forces, but had committed to sending lethal aid or had supplied it already. It also said Serbia had the political will and military ability to provide weapons to Ukraine in the future. The Pentagon also did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the document's reference to Serbia and has previously declined to comment on any of the leaked documents. Vucic's government has professed neutrality in the Ukraine war, despite the country's deep historic, economic and cultural ties with Russia. "We didn't export any weapons or ammunition to Russia or Ukraine," he said during a March 5 visit to Qatar.

BELGRADE, April 7 (Reuters) - Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo will not participate in local elections due to be held later this month - a move likely to aggravate current disagreements over Pristina's rule. The elections for municipal bodies were postponed in December 2022 after Serbs blocked roads and border crossings. Representatives of Serbs from northern Kosovo, including the Belgrade-backed Serbian List party, want to see an association of Kosovo Serb municipalities set up before they take part in the vote. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has repeatedly called on Serbs to participate in the local vote. Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade and Fatos Bytyci in Kosovo; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Serbia wants to normalise ties with Kosovo but will not sign any agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, March 19 (Reuters) - Serbia wants normal relations with Kosovo but still won't sign any agreement with it, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday, a day after he verbally agreed to implement a Western-backed plan for the normalisation of ties. "Serbia wants to have normal relations with Kosovo. "I didn't want to sign the agreement on the implementing annex last night nor the EU-backed agreement (in Brussels last month)," Vucic told reporters. "I don't want to sign any international legally binding documents with Kosovo because Serbia does not recognise its independence." Under their verbal agreement, Kosovo committed to giving greater autonomy to Serb majority areas, while Serbia agreed not to block Kosovo's membership in international organisations.

☆ Kosovo, Serbia agree on "some kind of deal" to normalize ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks to the media, in Ohrid, North Macedonia March 18, 2023.REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiOHRID, North Macedonia, March 18 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Kosovo and Serbia have reached "some kind of a deal" on implementing a Western-backed deal to normalize ties on Saturday. This is not the final deal," Vucic told reporters in Ohrid. He said that despite disagreements on some issues, talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti were "decent". He said Serbia's path towards EU membership will be conditioned on implementing the deal. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kosovo, Serbia leaders arrive for EU-backed talks on deal to normalise ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I am optimistic," Kurti said ahead of the meetings, taking place in the lakeside town of Ohrid in North Macedonia. Kosovo and Serbia agreed in Brussels last month to a Western-backed deal to normalise relations, following nearly 10 years of EU-mediated dialogue during which little progress was made. "The eyes of the EU & the Western Balkans are on Ohrid today," Borrell tweeted. Belgrade and Pristina need to mend bilateral ties for both to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. "I want to caution that we may not have a final agreement," Gabriel Escobar, the senior U.S. diplomat for the Western Balkans who is also attending the Ohrid talks, told Pristina-based RTV21 station.

☆ Thousands in Belgrade protest against Western-backed Serbia-Kosovo deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Protesters shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration against a Western-backed deal on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in Belgrade March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Djordje KojadinovicBELGRADE, March 17 (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade to protest against a Western-backed deal to normalise ties between Kosovo and Serbia, which they view as recognition of Kosovo independence. Bilateral ties need to be mended for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. Protesters held Serbian flags and banners reading "Kosovo is not for sale," "Serbia, not European Union," and "No to capitulation." "This is just the start of the protest," said Milos Jovanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was one of the protest organisers.

☆ EU hopeful that Kosovo and Serbia will reach deal this month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, March 9 (Reuters) - The European Union expects former wartime foes Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final deal next week on normalising relations after both endorsed a peace plan, the bloc's envoy said on Thursday. The nations' leaders are due to meet on March 18 in North Macedonia to discuss implementation of an 11-point EU plan after agreeing last month that its contents needed no further talks. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising brought an end to repressive Serbian rule. The EU plan does not commit Serbia to acknowledging an independent Kosovo but it would recognise documents such as passports, diplomas and licence plates. He was to travel next to Serbia for talks with President Aleksandar Vucic.

☆ Serbian nationalists march in protest against Kosovo talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Many Serbs view Kosovo, home to the Serbian Orthodox faith's main churches and monasteries, as the heartland of the Serb nation. Serbian nationalists who also want closer ties with Russia, Serbia's longtime ally, criticise President Aleksandar Vucic for his role in talks over a Western-backed deal with Kosovo. "The people of Serbia which soiled this land with blood will not give away Serbian Kosovo, because Kosovo is sacred," said Zorica Mojsic from Belgrade as he walked with other marchers. The Serbian Orthodox Church organised its own prayers for Kosovo, set to last until Easter, but did not endorse the march and its clergy did not participate. On Friday, the Serbian Orthodox church's Patriarch Porfirije said in a sermon "no one should teach the church ... what is Kosovo... Liberating Kosovo with words is easy."

He also declared he will not sign anything that recognises Kosovo "formally or informally" and would never agree to its membership of the United Nations. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after war brought an end to Serbian rule. While Vucic says he will not even "informally" recognise Kosovo, such a definition is ultimately a matter of interpretation. A senior EU official said an overall deal would be final only "when we also know exactly how it will be implemented - within what timelines, by whom". The official said the two sides had made significant progress but "the last mile is always the most difficult".

☆ West gains advantage as it vies with Russia for influence in Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aleksandar Vasovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

T-shirts with the letter Z, a symbol of Russia's campaign, are sold as souvenirs while far-right groups openly tout support for Russia. Last month, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that while Serbia had made progress in EU accession negotiations, Brussels required more. A separate CRTA poll found 61% felt Belgrade should preserve good relations with Moscow even at the cost of EU ties. U.S. and EU sanctions mean Serbia can no longer send its fighter jets or helicopters, based on ex-Soviet technology, to Russia for overhauls, nor purchase new weapons from Russia. Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer and activist whose October Group publishes lists of prominent Serbs who are outspoken supporters of Russia, said Serbia was under Russia's "hybrid occupation".

☆ EU extends $647 mln grant for Serbia's fast railway line
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday extended a 610 million euro ($647.15 million) grant to Serbia for the construction of a fast railway line that will connect southern Serbia with central Europe. The 208-kilometre line should connect the Serbian capital Belgrade with the southern town of Nis. President Aleksandar Vucic said the EU grant was the largest ever given to Serbia, which has received a total of 420 million euros in EU grants so far. "The EU is now giving us 610 million euros as a gift," said Vucic, adding that the new railway line will enable travellers from Nis to get to Budapest in less than five hours. Vucic said Serbia would provide 525 million euros for the project and would take out loans of 1.1 billion euros and 550 million euros with the EIB and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development respectively.

Speaking after hosting talks in Brussels between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Borrell said the leaders agreed "no further discussions" are needed on the deal between the former wartime foes. But Serbia still regards Kosovo as a breakaway province and flare-ups between the Balkan neighbours have stoked fears of a return to conflict. Under the new deal, Serbia stops short of recognising Kosovo as an independent state but agrees to recognise official documents such as passports, diplomas and licence plates and not to block Kosovo's membership of any international organisation. Borrell said the annex was an "integral part" of the new deal but it had not yet been agreed. Vucic has insisted Kosovo establish an association of Serb-majority municipalities, as agreed by a previous Kosovo government.

☆ Serbia to buy loitering munitions from UAE, invest in military industry -president
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Within the next 48 hours, we will sign the contract (for the munitions)," President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday while visiting a defence exhibition in the UAE's Abu Dhabi. "These are suicide drones and they will be in Serbia, and we are hoping to have the first domestic suicide drones in the Serbian army within five or six months," he told reporters in remarks carried live by Serbian television. Vucic did not specify how many loitering munitions Belgrade would obtain from the UAE, their price, or the manufacturer. Vucic said on Monday Serbia wants to bolster its military and defence industry by investing an additional 700 million euros ($746.62 million) through 2023. Last year, Vucic said Serbia wanted to purchase Rafale multipurpose fighter jets from France.

[1/4] A person rides on a motorcycle with Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) flag attached to it on the day of celebrations of the 15th anniversary of Kosovo independence in Pristina, Kosovo, February 17, 2023. "Our independence was achieved through struggle and sacrifice, but our independence will only grow through work," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said ahead of the parade. Tensions with Serbia linger as Belgrade continues to support the refusal of 50,000 minority Serbs in north Kosovo to accept the country's independence, declared almost a decade after an uprising against repressive Serbian rule. Resolving their volatile stand-off is a major condition for Serbia and Kosovo to progress towards EU membership. The anniversary was ignored in the Serb-majority town of North Mitrovica in north Kosovo.

☆ Serb nationalists pledge riots if Belgrade tries to improve ties with Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Police block Serbian right-wing protesters who attempted to storm the New Palace, the seat of President of Serbia, during a protest against the Serbian authorities and French-German plan for the resolution of Kosovo in Belgrade, Serbia, February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Zorana JevticBELGRADE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Hundreds of hardline Serb nationalists and pro-Russia activists rallied in downtown Belgrade, threatening riots if Serbia accepts a Western-backed plan aimed at mending ties with Kosovo, its former mainly Albanian southern province. Pro-Russian sentiment is running high in Serbia which regards Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, as a main ally in its opposition to the 15-year-old independence of Kosovo. Protesters, carrying posters reading "Kosovo-No Surrender", cheered "Serbia-Russia" when ultranationalist Damjan Knezevic called for rioting if Belgrade seeks to improve ties with Kosovo. Knezevic admits ties with Russia's Wagner mercenary group which is fighting in Ukraine.

"International companies that were supposed to arrive for the first time in Kosovo told us that they were delaying opening shops due to the unstable situation," Fatmir Zymberi told Reuters. The main, longstanding fount of tensions is the refusal of 50,000 ethnic Serbs in north Kosovo to recognise the government in Pristina or Kosovo as a separate country. The area of north Kosovo where ethnic Serbs form a majority looks in some respects like an extension of Serbia. The Kremlin denied influencing Serbia to stir up conflict, saying Belgrade was just defending the rights of Kosovo Serbs. "I am more worried than I have been in many years about the risk of conflict in north Kosovo that could then spill into reprisal attacks on Serbs in south Kosovo.

☆ Kosovo says 'yes' to EU's peace deal with Serbia, with caveats - PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People are pictured through Kosovo flag as they take part in celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Kosovo's independence in Pristina, Kosovo February 17, 2018. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a guerrilla uprising against Belgrade's rule. Kosovo in 2013 pledged to give more autonomy to local Serbs, who refuse to recognise its 2008 independence, through such an association as part of a peace deal. However, Kosovo's highest court said some parts of the deal violated the constitution and should be changed before it takes effect. The proposed 11-point deal would not require Serbia to recognise the independence of its former province, but Belgrade would have to stop lobbying against Kosovo's membership in international bodies.

☆ Serbia asks Russia to end recruitment of its people for Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Russia should halt its efforts to recruit Serbs to fight alongside its Wagner paramilitary group in Ukraine, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. Vucic criticised Russia's websites and social media groups for publishing advertisements in the Serbian language in which the Wagner group calls volunteers to join its ranks. Serb volunteers took part in the fighting alongside pro-Russian forces in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic also warned Serbs against joining Russian ranks in the war against Ukraine. Serbia is entirely dependent on gas imports from Russia and its NIS oil retailer is owned by Russia's Gazprom.

☆ NATO declines Serbia's request to deploy its troops in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Serbia's former province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008 following the 1998-1999 war during which NATO bombed rump-Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo. Last month, for the first time since the end of the war, Serbia requested to deploy troops in Kosovo in response to clashes between Kosovo authorities and Serbs in the northern region where they constitute a majority. Kosovo authorities condemned the incident, which has inflamed tensions. Goran Rakic, the head of the Serb List, which is the main Serb party in Kosovo, accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to drive out Serbs. International organisations condemned the attacks, expected to deepen mistrust between majority ethnic Albanians and around 100,000 ethnic Serbs that live in Kosovo.

☆ Kremlin backs Serbia, denies Russia is stoking tensions in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday said it supported Serbia's attempts to protect ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo but denied Pristina's accusation that Russia was somehow stoking tensions in an attempt to sow chaos across the Balkans. Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the highest combat alert following weeks of escalating tensions. Serbia denies it is trying to destabilise its neighbour and says it just wants to protect its minority there. Around 50,000 Serbs live in the northern part of Kosovo and refuse to recognise the Pristina government or the state. "Having very close allied relations, historical and spiritual relations with Serbia, Russia is very closely monitoring what is happening, how the rights of Serbs are respected and ensured," Peskov said.

☆ Serbia's Vucic urges Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognise that and their licence plates are still being issued by Serbia. Serbs in north Kosovo have erected barricades and blocked roads for about three weeks following the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Vucic has called on Serbs in the north to remove barricades, Petkovic added. Vucic and Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Wednesday evening near the Kosovo border and announce if the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint by both sides in the standoff.

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