REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 PAJTIC: SOME MINISTERS OBSTRUCTING STATUTE ADOPTION PROCESS

KOSOVO – METOHIJA / KOSOVO SECURITY FORCES

JEREMIC: KSF ILLEGAL AND A PARAMILITARY FORMATION

PRISTINA, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - With the lowering of the Kosovo Protection Corps flag and the raising of the flag of the Kosovo Security Forces in Pristina, the functioning of this new armed formation in Kosovo - whose forming has been condemned in the strongest terms by representatives of state organs of the Republic of Serbia and Kosovo Serbs - formally began at midnight on Tuesday. The Kosovo Security Forces, formed less than a year since the unilateral proclamation of independence of this sourthern Serbian province, will comprise 2,500 active members and 800 reservists, armed with light weapons. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that Sebria considers the Kosovo Security Forces illegal and a paramilitary formation that poses a direct threat to national security and the peace and stability of the entire region. This act is a gross violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, Jeremic said, announcing that Serbia will invest every possible diplomatic effort to secure a reversal of that decision. The Head of State will lodge a strong protest with the secretary-generals of the UN and NATO, Jeremic said. Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanovic pointed out that Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are against the forming of any security forces, in particular monoethnic or uninational ones. "At this point, it is unnecessary to form new armed forces, when Kosovo is becoming a powder keg and when there are between 350,000 and 400,000 long barrels in Kosovo," Bogdanovic said.

DEFENCE: DISATISFACTION BY NATO DECISION IN FORMING KSF

ROME, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - State Secretary in the Serbian Defence Ministry Dusan Spasojevic said in Rome that Serbia is disatisfied by the decision of NATO that Kfor should be involved in the formation of the so-called Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) since, as he said, this represents a potentially serious threat to regional peace and stability. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 130 years of Serbian - Italian diplomatic relations, Spasojevic said that such a decision has jeopardized NATO’s neutral status on Kosovo. According to him, that decision has also threatened the quality of relations between the Serbian Army and Kfor and between Serbia and NATO. Underscoring that the preservation of Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in Kosovo and Metohija is the country’s main foreign policy priority, Spasojevic said that Serbia would never recognize the unilaterally declared independence of its southern province. Noting that Serbia has demonstrated its constructivity during the deployment of the EUlex mission in Kosovo and Metohija, Spasojevic stated that the engagement of that mission should be in keeping with UN Security Council decisions, while its activities must be status neutral. Spasojevic underscored the professionalism of the Italian contigent within Kfor, pointing out that the Serbian public has specially noted the efforts of the Italian troops in guarding the medeval monastery of Visoki Decani, the Serbian Defence Ministry said in a statement. Speaking about the political - security situation in the region, Spasojevic said that the destabilization of the security situation in the region could the caused by the separatist aspirations of the radically-oriented ethnic Albanian political parties operating in the territory of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, as well as by attempts to revise the Dayton peace accords, as that would be contrary to the interests of the constitutive nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). "Serbia continues to face significant risks and threats to its security, especially following the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija. The attempt to change the borders of Serbia could result in lasting instability and threaten the security and stability of the countries of the region," the statement said.

IVANOVIC: KFOR AND NATO MUST HAVE FULL CONTROL OF KSF

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - State Secretary of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic told that KFOR and NATO must have full control over the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). Ivanovic said that the decision to make the KSF operational is experienced, in some sense, as a shock and that filtering of the members of the Kosovo Protection Corps, which mainly included members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, will not make the Kosovo Serbs easy, on the contrary. "Serbs will experience the KSF, which will include mainly Albanians, as a threat. At present, KFOR and NATO have an important role and they must have full control over the movement and conduct of people dressed in uniforms," said Ivanovic. He underscored that the KSF members must not be anywhere near Serb communities, because Serbs experience them as a threat. "I believe that this might introduce additional tension between Serbs and Albanians, and I believe that no one will profit from the tension. On the contrary, both sides will be at a loss," evaluated Ivanovic. The only thing left for us at the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija and Foreign Ministry, as well as in other ministries, is to point out to the disastrous character of the decision to set up the KSF through contacts with NATO representatives," said Ivanovic.

TACI: KSF WILL BE MULTIETHNIC

PRISTINA, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci on Tuesday stated that the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will be multiethnic, serving all citizens of Kosovo and will be fully supported by the international community. "The KSF will be a multiethnic force, serving all citizens of Kosovo and will enjoy full support of the international community. It will act in compliance with the Constitution of Kosovo and NATO standards," Taci said after his meeting with Ambassador William Walker, the first head of the OSCE Mission to Kosovo. According to official announcements, the KSF will start its activities tomorrow, and after its setting up is complete it will have 2,500 regular and 800 reserve members. They will carry light arms and they will act in emergency situations, such as natural disasters or incidents.

NATO SPOKESMAN: KOSOVO SECURITY FORCE NOT ARMY

LONDON, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - NATO Principal Spokesman in Brussels James Appathurai has said that the Kosovo Security Force is not an army and that Kosovo needs security forces irrespective of the question of its status, specifying that the forces will be under civilian control and politically neutral. NATO does not have a stand on the status of Kosovo, he said. The essence of its position on this question is that Kosovo needs security forces regardless of the question of its status. That is why NATO believes such forces should be under civilian control, multiethnic, politically neutral, and professional, Appathurai said for the BBC. It is very important to say that the KSF is not an army - the forces will be engaged on tasks such as mine sweeping, putting out fires, and similar crisis situations, the NATO spokesman said. Appathurai was asked to comment on the fact that Serbia is against the forming of the new forces and that President Tadic said he would demand their disbanding. NATO believes it is in the general interest that everything should be done in a democratic and professional manner, and that is why NATO is taking part in the training and the forming of the new forces. It is therefore in the interest of Belgrade as well, the spokesman said. It was necessary to dissolve the Kosovo Protection Corps and to form new security forces, Appathurai said, and this fundamental change took place due to several reasons. Primarily, the new forces will be multiethnic, with a Serb as the probable deputy commander. There will be two official languages in use in their work - Albanian and Serbian, they will be politically neutral and under civilian control. NATO is helping with the setting up of a civilian ministry that will be in charge of the KSF, Appathurai told.

SERBIA – USA / NEW ADMINISTRATION

BORKO STEFANOVIC: HISTORIC OCCASION FOR GOOD RELATIONS

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - Foreign Ministry Political Director and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic’s Chief of Staff Borko Stefanovic said that Serbia has a historic opportunity for a fresh start in relations with the USA, with the arrival of the new US Administration. "It is of great interest for Serbia to have the best possible relations with the USA, and we are entering with great optimism the period ahead, during which we will attempt, wherever possible, to build bridges toward that country," Stefanovic said. "Many things link" Serbia and the US, he said, but the issue of Kosovo and Metohija divides them. Stressing that Serbia will not change its policy, Stefanovic said, speaking for TV B92, that the USA will not change the elementary principles of its policy toward Kosovo and Metohija, either. It can be expected that the US Administration, led by Barack Obama, will enter the global arena with more multilateralism, talks, and diplomacy, and more understanding than the previous one, Stefanovic said.

BRUSH: OPPORTUNITY FOR EVEN BETTER RELATIONS

BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - Minister-Counsellor in the US embassy in Belgrade, Jennifer Brush, said that she expects that the arrival of the new US administration of Barack Obama will represent an opportunity for developping even better relations with Serbia. I do not believe there will be major changes in the US stands towards Serbia, including Kosovo, but I think that this is a chance for establishing even better relations, Brush told. She underscored that there are many issues on which Serbia and the US agree, adding that the US would back Serbia in its european integrations and efforts to establish stability in the Balkans. Brush said she is certain that the Obama administration would be able to see how much Serbia has changed, and that the US embassy would contribute to this. If we in the embassy do our job well, then Washington will be able to see to what extent Serbia has changed, Brush pointed out. She set out that pro-European forces have won three times at the last elections in Serbia. We expect much from the current Serbian government at all levels and we are here to help, and the people of Serbia are clearly ready for EU, she concluded.

SERBIA – ECONOMY

DINKIC: FIAT INVESTMENT SLOWED, BUT ZASTAVA WILL WORK

VIENNA, Jan 20 (Beta) - The implementation of the deal with Fiat will slow down due to the global financial crisis, but the car factory in Kragujevac will be working, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said. "It is certain that the investment will be realized, people will have work in Kragujevac and naturally things will proceed more slowly than we and Fiat would want, but neither we nor they had any influence on that, the global financial crisis did," Dinkic said at a Euromoney economic conference on Central and East Europe. Dinkic announced that a business plan for this year would be drafted over the next weeks, defining the rate of payments and realization of Fiat and Zastava’s investment. According to Dinkic, automobiles will be produced in Kragujevac, but the rate and volume of production are uncertain due to the drop in demand on the automobile market. "It will depend on market demand, because Fiat’s interest is to produce for the market, not for stores," he said. Dinkic said the Kragujevac plant would be fully reconstructed over the next 12 months and ready to produce a new Fiat model. "And we will start Punto production immediately, because that is not connected with the project of launching the new automobile model," he stated. Fiat Serbia should take over the assets and workers of the Zastava factory by April 15 and produce Fiat vehicles.

DINKIC: SERBIA IN BETTER POSITION THAN OTHER COUNTRIES OF REGION

VIENNA, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - In the difficult times of the global financial crisis, Serbia is in a better position than the other countries of the region, Deputy Premier and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said, addressing the Euromoney Economic Forum of central and eastern Europe. As opposed to other countries, Serbia had no need to intervene in the banking sector. As the entire region, however, Serbia will also face a significant deceleration of economic growth. Serbia projected its economic growth rate for 2009 at 3.5 percent, Dinkic said, and it was heard at this meeting that the World Bank has estimated its growth rate at a mere one percent. What Serbia can do is primarily to promote the liquidity of its economy, as a smaller inflow of credits is expected this year, which must be compensated for with funds from the budget, the deputy premier said. Serbia will also take out bigger loans, since it currently has a very low loan rating, and the public debt accounts for only 25 percent of the domestic product, Dinkic said, pointing out that Serbia will take out loans for all major projects. The bulk of the investments are intended for the construction of Corridor 10, Dinkic also said in Vienna.

DJELIC: JOBS SHOULD BE PRESERVED

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister Bozidat Djelic said that 40 billion dinars (1 euro=94 dinars) of budget guarantees would be given to the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) to support other banks in granting loans, and added that the allocating of funds into realistic economy would help the people preserve their jobs. According to Djelic, in order to ensure a regular payment of salaries and pensions, the functioning of the health care system, the building of road infrastructure, Serbia, which will never again print money (without the gold to back it up), has to have realistic sources of money and a realistic budget. It would be bad if this year, in case of reduction in revenue, we tried to make up for that by increasing taxes, Djelic said in an interview with the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), assessing that at the moment, it would not be good to raise the price of energy sources.

JELASIC: SERBIA WILL HAVE TO RELY ON ITS WORK MORE

VIENNA, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - National Bank of Serbia Governor Radovan Jelasic said at economic forum of Central and Eastern Europe Euromoney in Vienna that difficult times are ahead due to the global economic crisis, during which Serbia will have to rely more on its own work. "The most important thing for us is to express at this meeting to what extent Serbia is different from other countries in the region. We are the only country that has signed a precaution program with the International Monetary Fund consciously," underscored Jelasic. He also said that Serbia is the only country in the region that had signed an arrangement enabling transparent monetary, fiscal and macroeconomic policies to be pursued. When asked which consequences of the world economic crisis he expects in Serbia, Jelasic underlined that he first expects influx of capital to get reduced. "Foreign investments will get reduced and we will have to work more in order to attract new ones. Also, credits for our region will become more expensive. In any case, we will have to rely more on our own work on overcoming the crisis," underscored Jelasic, expressing his confidence that Serbia will find the right answers to all those challenges.

GAS HAD ALREADY CROSSED THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE BORDER

BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - Russia’s gas is expected to reach Serbia tonight, State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Dusan Mrakic told, adding that gas had already crossed the Russia-Ukraine border. "We expect it to arrive in Serbia in the evening hours, and we expect that industrial consumers and heating plants will be fully supplied with gas tomorrow," said Mrakic. Underscoring that our energy system is ready to receive gas from Russia, Mrakic said that gas supplies in Serbia are expected to get fully stabilized tomorrow.

10 MILLION CUBIC METERS OF RUSSIAN GAS ARRIVING

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - The contracted quantities of Russian gas of 10 million cubic meters for household consumers started arriving in Serbia at 0800 hrs Wednesday, Srbijagas Director Bajatovic said. The gas supply will be normalized for all consumers today, including the industry, Bajatovic said. Serbia is getting the gas at regular market conditions, he specified. The Russian gas supply through Ukraine started reaching European consumers again following the end of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that left certain European countries without that energy source over the past two weeks. Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia & Slovenia have confirmed that the Russian gas shipments have resumed.

SERBIA – EU

DJELIC: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION NUMBER ONE TOPIC

BELGRADE, Jan 21 ( Tanjug ) - Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic stated, before his trip to the Czech Republic, that the first and most important topic of the discussions with Czech officials will be the development of our country’s European integration. Pointing out that on Jan 1, 2009, the Czech Republic ovetook the rotating EU presidency, Djelic said in an interview with the Radio Television of Serbia that it would be very important for us to try to "be very present in that body, so that the issue of Serbia and the West Balkans would remain topical."Djelic announced that he would meet with the Czech prime minister, foreign ministers and ministers of education and science, as well as the representatives of one large Czech energy company. He reminded that Czech supports Serbia’s European integration, however it cannot alter the Netherlands’ attitude on its own. It is up to Serbia to exert "extra pressure," to round up its cooperation with The Hague and to inform in detail all countries, especially the one presiding the EU, about everything it has been doing concerning that cooperation, so that the implementation of the SAA could begin. Djelic announced that he will present Serbia’s action plan on visa liberalization regime for the first three months of this year, stating that European experts on the issue will soon be coming to Belgrade. According to him, three European Commission missions, which will analyze the implemented reforms in the domain of visa liberalization, will come to Serbia sometime between February and April, and it can be expected that the body will assume an initial stand on the viza liberalization issue in May.

LJAJIC: MLADIC’S SUPPORT NETWORK GETTING SMALLER

BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The support network of Hague fugitive Ratko Mladic is getting smaller and weaker as Serbian investigators close in on a man who has alienated andbullied his protectors, the president of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, Rasim Ljajic, said. "Belgrade knows more about Mladic’s whereaboutstoday than six months ago," Ljajic told, noting that "the most recent action for locating Mladic was carried out in Belgrade only three - four days ago." "Mladic trusts only a small number of people. He is awarethat more people in his support network would only make the jobfor our services easier," Ljajic said. ZBOGAR: SLOVENIA SUPPORTS SERBIA’S APPROACHING EU LJUBLJANA, Jan 21 ( Tanjug ) - Slovenia fully supports Serbia’s joining the EU, said Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar after meeting his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic. Zbogar also pointed out that after signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement in 2008, the time has come to find ways for defreezing and futher implementation of that agreement. As the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reports, the two ministers discussed the approaching of West Balkan countries to the EU, as well as bilateral relations of Serbia and Slovenia. The Serbian foreign minister, who is on a bilateral visit to Slovenia, will today also meet with Slovenian President Danilo Tirk and Prime Minister Borut Pahor.

MEROLLA: ITALY IS GREAT SUPPORTER OF SERBIA’S EUROPEAN PATH

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - Today, Italy is maybe the greatest supporter of Serbia’s European path and it will persist in being that till the very end, that is until Serbia become part of the European Union, Italian Ambassador to Belgrade Alessandro Merolla has said in a text which was published in the Wednesday issue of the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. Italy is one of the first countries that had taken the side of a democratic Serbia, which knew how to get rid of (Slobodan) Milosevic’s repression, the Italian ambassador said. From 2000 till today, the Italian Directorate General for Development Cooperation has assisted Serbia with more than 200 million euros, and the investments of the Italian economy are bigger than those of any other country, not only in terms of scope, but also of quality, he pointed out. Banks, insurance companies, big enterprises, small and medium companies - Italian businessmen are present everywhere in Serbia, very much so, Ambassador Merolla stressed. We also find as very touching the warm welcome which the Italian language and culture have met in Serbia, and the Italian Palace, a complex in which the Italian Culture Institute and other important institutions of this country are located, is the most evident proof of this, he added. Because of all this, it is not by accident that today Italy is maybe the biggest supporter of Serbia’s European pathway and that it will persist in being that till the very end - until Serbia becomes part of the Union, Merolla underlined.

GUIDE THROUGH SERBIA’S ASSOCIATION WITH EU UNVEILED

BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Beta) - Czech Ambassador to Belgrade Hana Hubackova said that her country, which has been presiding over the EU as of Jan. 1, felt morally responsible to help Serbia on its road to EuroAtlantic integrations. "We feel morally responsible to provide Serbia with all support on its path to the EU and to give it all the help we can to meet the criteria for EU membership," Hubackova said at the promotion of the "Guide Through Serbia’s Association with the EU." Hubackova reiterated that the priorities of the Czech tenure of the rotating presidency were "three Es economy, energy and the EU," adding that the acceleration of European integration of SouthEast European countries was also one of the very important tasks of the sixmonth presidency. "The Guide Through Serbia’s Association with the EU" was published by the International and Security Affairs Center, and editor Milan Pajevic said that such publications were very important as they served to "extensively and properly inform the wider public" on the process of EuroAtlantic integrations. "The contents of that process have not been explained explicitly enough to our public, which, as soon as one goes into detail, does not know what the process really looks like," Pajevic said, adding that copies of the guide will be handed out for free. The guide explains how the EU functions within, the process of Western Balkan countries’ association and how far Serbia has gone in the association process and what obligations and criteria it must meet in order to become a full member. The publication of the latest issue of the guide was, among others, backed by the Czech Embassy in Belgrade, with the foreword written by Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Aleksandar Vondra.

SERBIA

JEREMIC DISMISSES CLAIMS BY ZAGREB WEEKLY NACIONAL

LJUBLJANA, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic dismissed the claims of the Zagreb weekly Nacional that he had supposedly stated that Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanvic had been involved in the assassination of the owner and editor-in-chief of this weekly, Ivo Pukanic."This is a notorious untruth," Jeremic told a press conference in Ljubljana, where he arrived on a business visit. In its latest issue, Nacional reports that in private talks at the end of December, Jeremic had allegedly told one of the officials, over a dinner which was organized in Sarajevo, that he was quite certain that Djukanovic had known that Pukanic would be murdered, and that he even believed that the Montenegrin prime minister had, in some way or another, taken part in the assassination. "This is a notorious untruth, and I simply do not have any knowledge about that event and I have never said anything like that at any place whatsoever. I want to use to opportunity to dismiss most severely the writing of Zagreb’s Nacional," the Serbian minister said.

DEFENCE: SUCCESSFUL BILATERAL MILITARY COOPERATION

BELGRADE, ROME, Jan 20 (Tanjug) - State Secretary in the Serbian Defence Ministry Dusan Spasojevic said in Rome that good bilateral military cooperation between Serbia and Italy both stimulates the two countries’ overall bilateral relations and significantly contributes to regional stability. Speaking at a ceremony marking 130 years of Serbian - Italian diplomatic relations, the Serbian Defence Ministry and the Serbian Army are participating in all major regional initiatives within which they have exceptional cooperation with the Italian Defence Ministry and Armed Forces. Recalling that diplomatic relations between Italy and Serbia started with the opening of an office of the Kingdom of Serbia in Rome in January 1879, Spasojevic said that during the especially politically, diplomatically and militarily turbulent 130 years, there were ups and downs in relations between the two countries, but that today we can undoubtadly speak about the friendship between the two nations, which is also demonstrated in the exceptional military cooperation. Italian Defence Under Secretary Giuseppe Cosiga expressed satisfaction with the fact that bilateral military cooperation has attained high levels, underscoring that it is not often that military cooperation is the main stimulus of bilateral coopration, as is the case in the defence sphere between Italy and Serbia. Italy fully supports Serbia on its path of euroepan integrations, Cosiga pointed out, expressing belief that current obstacles on that road would shorly be lifted. Speaking at the ceremony held in the Center of High Defence Studies, the chairman of the Defence Committee of the Italian parliament’s lower house, Edmundo Chireli, underscored the importance of cooperation between the two countries for the preservation of regional stability and pointed out that he personally believes that the recognition of Kosovo and Metohija was a hasty move and a product of political conditioning.

PAJTIC: SOME MINISTERS OBSTRUCTING STATUTE ADOPTION PROCESS

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Tanjug) - Vojvodina Executive Council President Bojan Pajtic has accused certain ministers of the Serbian government, who have "a different perception of decentralization and regionalization," that they are obstructing the process of the adoption of the draft Vojvodina Statute and the parallel law on jurisdiction, documents that have been waiting for two months to be included in the agenda of a Serbian parliament session. Speaking for Vecernje novosti, Pajtic said "the ministers from Vojvodina Oliver Dulic, Sasa Dragin and Svetozar Ciplic, have demonstrated absolute understanding for this law and the Statute" - when he was asked by the Belgrade daily to say which ministers are obstructing the adoption of the draft law on jurisdiction and the draft Statute. The final stage in the coordinating of the law on jurisdiction of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is under way between the authorized provincial secretariats and the republican ministries, Pajtic said. Pajtic expressed confidence that both the draft Statute and the draft law will very soon be presented before the republican MPs. He pointed out a statement by President Tadic, who said that the draft Vojvodina Statute and the relevant law will be among the priority legal acts for adoption in the National Assembly following the passing of the 2009 budget and the fiscal laws.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia