Kosovo Albanians

The Kosovo Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution demanding a suspension of Pristina's negotiations with Belgrade.

According to the resolution, supported by 78 members of the assembly, and opposed by one, the negotiations should remain suspended "until Ramush Haradinaj has been set free."

Hashim Thaci says Kosovo does not have international support, "particularly of the US," to change legislation and give the KSF the competences of an army.

This has been reported by Koha Ditore, an Albanian language newspaper published in Pristina.

The transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army - an initiative launched by Hashim Thaci - "does not have international support."

Albanian language daily Koha Ditore is reporting this a day after Thaci, who serves as Kosovo president, and Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli presented a draft bill on transforming the KSF into "the Armed Forces of Kosovo."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has "serious concerns" regarding the proposal to form an army in Kosovo.

Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci have had a telephone conversation, the Serbian government has announced.

According to a statement posted on the government's website, the Serbian prime minister and the president of the interim institutions of self-government in Pristina spoke on Tuesday.

Kosovo's President is planning to establish a regular army for the country by amending the current Law on the Kosovo Security Force, KSF, extending its powers and responsibilities.

A change to the competencies of the existing KSF would circumvent the need to win Kosovo Serb MPs' approval for the formation of a regular army.

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini has urged Kosovo's political opposition to ratify a border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro, the last remaining hurdle before it can benefit from visa-free travel to Europe's Schengen zone, RFE/RL reports.

Mogherini on March 4 met with senior officials in Kosovo's capital, Pristina — the last stop on her tour of the Western Balkans.

Thousands of people rallied in Pristina in support of former Kosovo Liberation Army commander and ex-prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, who was arrested in France on a Serbian war crimes warrant.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced of Friday that Western meddling in Macedonia's affairs has taken on "extreme forms."

Moscow noted in its reaction to the political crisis in the Balkans that Kosovo's president, Hashim Thaci, "joined the outside forces in this."

"Serbia has sent additional evidence against former leader of the paramilitary formation KLA Ramush Haradinaj" to France, writes Blic.

The Belgrade-based daily reported this a day after a French court postponed for a second time its decision on Serbia's extradition request for Haradinaj, wanted on charges of war crimes committed in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999.