Serbs join new Kosovo government led by Haradinaj

Serbs join new Kosovo government led by Haradinaj

After the session, members of the Self-Determination and the coalition gathered around the LDK left the session and did not attend the taking of the oath of office of Haradinaj and the members of his government.

The cabinet has 21 ministries, while Haradinaj has five deputies. The first deputy is Behgjet Pacolli, followed by Enver Hoxhaj of the PDK, Fatmir Limaj of the Initiative for Kosovo, Dalibor Jeftic of the Serb List and Dardan Gashi of the Ibrahim Rugova Ticket, Beta is reporting.

The Serb List decided to join the Haradinaj cabinet, the party announced after a meeting in Belgrade with Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric, who told a news conference that Serbia's attitude toward Haradinaj would not change and that he remained someone "charged with war crimes," the agency said.

Jevtic told RTS that his priorities will include the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, the return of displaced persons and of usurped Serb property in Kosovo and other affairs of importance to local Serbs.

Tanjug is reporting that Serbs have three ministers, one deputy PM, and six state secretaries in the new government, and that its fate will "largely depend" on the Serb List.

It remains a question for both Belgrade and Pristina how this government will function - considering that Serbia continues to seek Haradinaj's arrest on war crimes charges, but also because the new prime minister is not giving up on plans that are unacceptable to Serbia.

According to Marko Djuric, the Serb List has "clearly undertaken the obligation" to fight against the formation of an army in Kosovo. He is convinced there will be no compromises on this issue.

In a statement for Vecernje Novosti, Djuric remarked that Haradinaj was "not mentioning the transformation of the KSF into an army at this moment."

The Serb List has entered the new Kosovo government "precisely to secure some concessions - and it is no coincidence that the formation of the army and the issue of the ownership of Trepca (mining complex in northern Kosovo) has been removed from the program goals of Haradinaj's cabinet."