PRISTINA: Kosovo said on Friday that the first of several dozen third-country migrants has arrived from the United States under an agreement reached earlier this year with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Kosovo agreed in June to temporarily host up to 50 migrants who are slated for deportation from the US under new, harsher US immigration rules, and with an aim of facilitating their safe return to their home country,
“One individual has arrived in the Republic of Kosovo and has been granted temporary protection, in accordance with the applicable legislation,” Kosovo’s Interior Ministry told The Associated Press in an email.
The ministry added that “responsible institutions ... have undertaken all necessary measures to ensure that the individual in question fully enjoys the rights and obligations” they are entitled to.
The statement did not specify the migrant’s nationality nor the arrival date. Authorities, the ministry said, are “continuously monitoring” the integration process and access to all available services during the stay in Kosovo.
It was not immediately clear when other migrants could arrive or where they would be staying in Kosovo.
Kosovo’s government in June praised the United States as a “steadfast ally” and hailed the two countries’ decades-long partnership and “shared values.”
A US-led 78-day NATO air campaign ended the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo and ended Serbia’s rule in its former province. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Belgrade still does not recognize and has been a source of tension in the Balkans since the 1990s.
Kosovo receives first deported migrant from US under agreement with Trump administration
https://arab.news/p6j64
Kosovo receives first deported migrant from US under agreement with Trump administration
- Kosovo agreed in June to temporarily host up to 50 migrants who are slated for deportation from the US
- “One individual has arrived in the Republic of Kosovo and has been granted temporary protection,” Kosovo’s Interior Ministry told AP
Lula spoke to Maduro as risks rise of Venezuela-US conflict
- Lula had not spoken to fellow leftist Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election
- A source said the two leaders had a brief conversation last week about “peace in South America and the Caribbean“
BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke by phone with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro about “peace” in South America, the Brazilian presidency said Friday, as fears grow of conflict between Washington and Caracas.
President Donald Trump’s administration accuses Maduro of leading a drug trafficking cartel, and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats, seized an oil tanker and slapped sanctions on his relatives.
Lula, one of Latin America’s most influential leaders, had not spoken to fellow leftist Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the results of which Brazil — along with much of the international community — did not recognize.
A source in the Brazilian presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders had a brief conversation last week about “peace in South America and the Caribbean.”
However, the source said there was no intention on Lula’s part to “be a mediator” in the crisis between Washington and Caracas.
Fears are growing of open conflict between the US and Venezuela, after months of a US build-up of warships in the Caribbean and warnings from Trump that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered closed.
Trump told Politico on Monday that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and declined to rule out a US ground invasion of Venezuela.
Maduro says the United States is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
He is seeking to boost military recruitments, and the Venezuelan army swore in 5,600 soldiers on Saturday.
Lula, 80, has succeeded in mending his own country’s fraught relations with Washington in recent months, making direct contact with Trump after a long dry spell.
In their latest phone call, Lula said he told Trump: “We do not want war in Latin America.”
According to the Brazilian president’s account, Trump replied: “But I have more weapons, more ships, more bombs.”
