Latest Kosovo government News

Trial opens of Serb gunmen accused of attacking Kosovo police

Oct. 09, 2024 05:50 AM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A Kosovo court on Wednesday opened a trial of 45 people charged over a gunfight following an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen last year, as tensions remain tense between Serbia and its former breakaway province. The trial at the Pristina District Court...

Kosovo lifts ban on entry of products from Serbia at the border

Oct. 07, 2024 10:30 AM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s government said Monday it would lift a ban on the entry of products from Serbia at one border crossing, 16 months after it halted imports to prevent what it said could be hidden shipments of weapons for Serb separatists. The reopening is in line...

Kosovo's leader says Russia prevailing in Ukraine would threaten 25 years of peace in the Balkans

Oct. 03, 2024 15:31 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Kosovo's prime minister said Thursday that the Balkan region has enjoyed the greatest degree of peace, freedom and democracy over the past 25 years but that this could be reversed if Russia prevails in Ukraine and encourages Serbian expansion. Albin Kurti, who...

Kosovo's leader demands Serbia hand over gunmen who attacked police

Sep. 24, 2024 09:36 AM EDT

BANJSKA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Tuesday held Serbia accountable for trying to annex part of Kosovo following an incursion of Serb gunmen who killed a police officer in a shootout last year that raised tensions between the sides. Kurti called on the...

Serbia demands new elections in tense north Kosovo as well as return of Serb police and judiciary

Sep. 13, 2024 15:14 PM EDT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia on Friday demanded that an election be held and ethnic Serbs return to police and judiciary in a Serb-populated northern region of Kosovo where tensions have fueled fears of instability and new armed clashes. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic also...

Kosovo prosecutors charge 45 people over a deadly incursion by Serb gunmen

Sep. 11, 2024 08:49 AM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against 45 people over a gunfight following an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen last year, as tensions rise between Serbia and its former breakaway province. A Kosovo policeman and three Serb gunmen were...

EU envoy urges Kosovo and Serbia to resume efforts to normalize ties through talks

Sep. 06, 2024 09:56 AM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Union envoy for the Western Balkans on Friday urged Kosovo and Serbia to step up their efforts at normalization talks, saying these are decisive toward the two countries' membership in the bloc. Miroslav Lajcak was in Kosovo’s capital,...

Kosovo shuts down 5 Serbian governing structures in the north and US reacts with alarm

Aug. 30, 2024 19:36 PM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo authorities on Friday closed five parallel institutions working with the ethnic Serb minority, a move that was immediately criticized by the United States and could further raise tensions with neighboring Serbia. Elbert Krasniqi, Kosovo's minister of...

Kosovo's president sets parliament elections for Feb. 9 in a key test for the prime minister

Aug. 16, 2024 16:43 PM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s president on Friday set Feb. 9 as the date for the tiny Balkan country's new parliamentary elections, a vote that is expected to be a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti whose governing party won in a landslide in the 2021. In a decree...

Kosovo's premier calls for full reopening of key bridge in flashpoint city. But the West is wary

Aug. 14, 2024 13:55 PM EDT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister called on Wednesday for the full reopening of a bridge in the flashpoint city of Mitrovica, saying it would be another step toward free movement and not a threat to anyone. But Western powers are wary it could increase tensions. The...