REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 KUDINOV: COMMODITIES FROM SERBIA WILL BE TAX FREE

SERBIA

CVETKOVIC: LAWSUIT SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN

BELGRADE, March 19 (Tanjug) - Serbia will call on Croatia to drop the genocide lawsuit against Serbia, in which case our country will withdraw the counter lawsuit, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has stated. Ahead of his first meeting with his Croatian counterpart Ivo Sanader in Belgrade on Friday, Cvetkovic said in a statement published by the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti on Thursday that there are some open issues still burdening the Serbian-Croatian relations and obstructing the full promotion of the important regional partnership. Croatia and Serbia are significant West Balkan countries whose cooperation determines to a large extent the pace of the region’s accession in the EU which is a strategic goal of both countries, Cvetkovic said, adding that better understanding and cooperation between Belgrade and Zagreb are preconditions for development of economic and political relations among the region states and a guarantee for the victory of the European perspective over the past. He underscored that the return and treatment of Serbian refugees expelled from Croatia is another open issue that is very important. "According to the information of relevant international organizations, a little more than 100,000 Serb refugees systematically expelled from their homes during the Operation Storm in 1995, have returned to Croatia. Serbia is very much interested in the return of all refugees, their property returned or rightfully compensated for, and in enabling them to live decently and sharing the same job opportunities with other citizens of Croatia, Prime Minister Cvetkovic underscored.

DACIC: GREECE TO CONTINUE TO BACK DEFENCE OF OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS

ATHENS, March 18 (Tanjug) - Deputy Premier and Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dacic, said in Athens on Wednesday that Greece would continue to back in a principled manner Serbia’s stands regarding the protection of its national and state interests. "For us, it is very important that the Kosovo-Mtohija issue be transferred from the political onto the legal field, that is that The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) gives its legal opinion as soon as possible and determines whether the unilateral decision on proclamation of (Kosovo) independence can be given international legitimacy and legality," Dacic told Tanjug. He underlined that the position Greece had on that issue was very important. Dacic said that Greece would back Serbia’s European path, and pointed out that during the bilateral talks in Athens, a need had been expressed for stronger and better cooperation in the field of politics, security and economy, as well as that Greece would vote for Serbia’s inclusion in the white Schengen list. "During the talks, we expressed the need, first of all, for a further intensification and improvement of cooperation in the political, security and economic field. In this sense, the support Greece is giving us on our European pathway is very important," Dacic said. During his two-day visit to Greece, which he will end today, Dacic met with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and his counterpart, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

JEREMIC CONFERS WITH GREEK DEPUTY FM

BELGRADE, Mar 18 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic conferred with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the first day of his three-day visit to Serbia. The meeting focused on bilateral relations, developments in the Balkans, Serbia’s progress toward joining the EU and the situation in Kosovo, prior to a visit to Belgrade by the head of EULEX Yves de Kermabon scheduled for Thursday. During discussion on the global economic crisis and its repercussions, Varvitsiotis expressed concern about the problems faced by Greek businesses in Serbia and Jeremic promised Belgrade’s support and assistance in resolving any problems that might arise. Varvitsiotis later met individual heads of Greek businesses based in the area, promising Athens’ assistance in overcoming their problems, Greek agency Ana reports. Varvitsiotis is later scheduled to meet Serb Economy and Regional Development Minister Mladjan Dinkic, the Greek embassy in Belgrade said.

JEREMIC ANNOUNCE THREE-DAY VISIT TO TURKEY AND ALGERIA

BELGRADE, March 19 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Jeremic will pay a three-day visit to Turkey and Algeria, where he will talk to both countries’ officials on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija and economic cooperation. Jeremic told that Turkey is an extremely important partner of Serbia, even though their stands on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija utterly differ, and announced discussions with his Turkish hosts on bilateral relations, but also on the possibility of strategic partnership on the Balkans. Turkey is Serbia’s significant partner and it is of crucial importance to overcome, that is to find a way to isolate the problems that separate us and to eventually connect our countries, Jeremic pointed out. Announcing his visit to the African country of Algeria, Jeremic said that he will meet his Algerian counterpart and many other officials. "Algeria is one of the Arab countries with firm and resolute attitude against Kosovo’s unilateral proclamation of independence. We have closely cooperated so far when it comes to Kosovo-Metohija and we expect Algeria to state their legal opinion before the International Court of Justice, Jeremic underscored.

KOSOVO – METOHIJA / SERBIAN ASSISTANT MINISTER WAS RETURNED

KPS PREVENTS ASSISTANT MINISTER FROM CROSSING IBAR

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) this morning prevented Assistant Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Bojan Andjelkovic to cross the main bridge across the Ibar River and made it impossible for him to continue his journey towards Pec, where he intended to visit the villages to which Serbs had returned. KPS regional spokesman Besim Hoti, Andjelkovic was returned because the service had followed orders of the Kosovo government, since the visit had not been reported in advance. Three days ago, KPS members did not allow members of the parliament Committee for Kosovo and Metohija to enter Serbia’s southern province, where they were scheduled to hold a meeting.

ANDJELKOVIC APPEALS TO SERBS TO RETURN

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - Assistant Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Bojan Andjelkovic on Thursday called on all Serbs wishing to return to Kosovo and Metohija to stand firm in their intention to return to the province despite the obstructions by the provisional Kosovo authorities. Representatives of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) this morning prevented Andjelkovic from crossing the Ibar River and heading towards Pec, where he intended to visit the villages to which Serbs had returned. Andjelkovic told reporters that his visits to Istok and Ljig in Metohija had been reported properly 72 hours ahead, but that, unfortunately, the KPS had stopped them. "After some twenty minutes, we were informed that something is wrong and that we may not continue our journey," said Andjelkovic, adding that instead of receiving an explanation they were suggested to return to where they came from.

BAN KI-MOON STILL WORKING ON HIS KOSOVO REPORT

NEW YORK, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has not completed his report on Kosovo yet, his spokesman Brandon Warma stated on Wednesday. In his statement with Tanjug, Warma confirmed that Ban is scheduled to meet with UNMIK Chief Lambert Zannier on Thursday to discuss the situation in Kosovo, and that the meeting will be of internal nature. Warma also said that a UN Security Council session had been called for March 23, when a report on Kosovo will be presented.

FEITH: DECENTRALIZATION IS SOLUTION FOR SERBS

PRISTINA, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - By accepting decentralization of power, the Serbs would receive certain autonomy and a better standard of living, EU Civilian Envoy to Kosovo Pieter Feith has stated. After a meeting with the international decentralization group, Feith, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Tina Kaidanow, Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci and ministers called on all communities to take part in decentralization, as this process, they said, would create equal opportunities for all in Kosovo. On behalf of the International Civilian Office, which monitors the process of decentralization of the local government, Feith evaluated that Serbs need to participate as it would offer them many opportunities to improve their lives, Radio Free Europe reported. "Now is the time for the Kosovo Serbs to move forward. This process will offer them greater autonomy and better living conditions in Kosovo," said Feith, adding that all communities would benefit from decentralization.

LINDALE: EULEX WILL NOT SUBMIT REPORTS TO UN DIRECTLY

PRISTINA, March 18 (Tanjug) - EULEX spokesperson Karin Lindale has said that the report on the first three months of the European Union’s mission in Kosovo has been presented to the Union, which will forward it to the United Nations. It depends on the UN whether that report will be part of the report the body’s secretary general will put forward at a session of the UN SC scheduled for March 23, Lindale said in an interview broadcasted by the BBC Albanian service, adding that EULEX representatives would not take part in that session. In addressing the Security Council, (UNMIK Chief Lamberto) Zanier is expected to focus on the efforts that should be made to enable a dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on the six-item plan of the UN secretary general. Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hiseni announced that at the SC session, he would demand a termination of UNMIK’s mandate, which Belgrade opposes since it finds the body to be the only legitimate representative of the UN in Kosovo. Belgrade insists on a full implementation of the six-item plan issued by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The six points define the status of Serbs living in those parts of Kosovo where they represent a majority, and they refer to the issue of police, judiciary, customs tax collection, traffic, infrastructure and protection of the Serbian cultural heritage.

MALDIVIAN PARLIAMENT LAUNCHES KOSOVO BRIBE INVESTIGATION

MALDIVES, March 18 (Tanjug) - The National Security Committee of the Maldivian parliament has launched an investigation into allegations of a bribe taken by the country’s government officials to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. According to the Minivan News website, the Committee, which will try to dermine whether an act of corruption was committed in this case, comprises parliament speaker Mohamed Shihab and several other members of that body. During the investigation, the employees of the Maldivian Foeign Ministry will be questioned and official documentation examined. According to the writing of the media in that island country situated in the Indian Ocean, which is inhabited by Muslims, the government officials allegedly received a two million dollar bribe from controversial businessman Behgjet Pacolli, leader of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), to recognize Kosovo independence, which made the Maldivian president launch the investigation.

SERBIA – EU / VISA LIBERALIZATION / ICTY

ADOPTED REMAINING LAWS NECESSARY FOR WHITE SCHENGEN

BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - The Serbian parliament adopted several bills on order to fulfill remaining conditions for putting Serbia on the White Schengen list. The MPs adopted bills on International Legal Aid in Criminal Matters, on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, on Registry Books, as well as several international conventions. The parliament also adopted the amendments to the Expropriation Law and Tax Procedure and Tax Administration Law, elected the members of the Health Council, the Anti-Corruption Agency Committee, the National Education Council, decided on termination of certain judicial offices and the election of members of the State Audit Institution Council.

DJELIC EXPECTS POSITIVE EU ASSESMENT ON VISAS

BELGRADE, Mar 18 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for Integration in Europe Bozidar Djelic said Wednesday that Serbia might get by the end of this year a positive assesment of the European Union Council of Ministers and European Parliament regarding visa liberalization. The technical preparations have been completed and the European Commission is now deafting a report for submission to the EU CM and EP in April, he told the press on the sidelines of the Seventh Business Roundtable with the Government of Serbia. Experts have said that Serbia has made considerable progress in all sectors in the past year, Djelic said. A total of 330,000 biometric passports have been issued in Serbia so far, and the number is expected to rise to one million by the end of the year, he said. Head of the European Commission Delegation to Serbia Josep Lloveras has confirmed that the EC might in a few months recommend visa liberalization for Serbia.

PROSECUTOR VUKCEVIC: SERBIA COMMITTED TO ARREST ICTY FUGITIVES

BRUSSELS, Mar 18 (Tanjug) - War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said that Serbia is committed to find, arrest and extradite the two remaining indictees to the ICTY. In his address to the European Parliament at a meeting on Serbia and War Crimes - Justice for Reconciliation, Vukcevic said that future generations should not suffer the consequences of acts they have not committed. This commitment must be completed, he said. Although public opinion is growing in favor of cooperation with ICTY, Vukcevic said his office is still being attacked, through the media and in the parliament, by politicians who do not want to admit that any crime committed by Serbs that remains unpunished, is a crime against Serbia. He added that in this important and dangerous task, his office needs the support of state policy, pro-European politicians, non-governmental organizations and the public, in order to take war criminals to justice regardless of their ethnicity or religion. SERBIAN PROSECUTION CASES ENCOMPASS 2,216 VISTIMS BRUSSELS, March 18 (Tanjug) - War Crimes Prosecutor Vukcevic stated in Brussels on Wednesday that the Serbian prosecution is currently working on cases concerning 2,216 war crimes victims, and that 91 people were charged so far. Speaking before the European Parliament, Vukcevic said that in its five years of work, the War Crimes Prosecution has processed 276 people, 151 of whom are under investigation, with great likelyhood of being indicted. At the conference entitled Serbia and War Crimes - Justice and Reconciliation, Vukcevic said that so far six valid verdicts have been reached, among which the ones on Sjeverin crime where 17 Muslims were murdered in October 1992, and on Podujevo crime for the murder of Albanian civilians in 1999. By these verdicts the defendants were sentenced to a total of 168 years in prison, Vukcevic pointed out. The Serbian Prosecutor underscored that up to now, the defendants were sentenced to 229 years in prison and that appeal procedures are underway. Vukcevic added that 11 court procedures are currently in the phase of main hearings in the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court.

CIPLIC: LAW TO IMPROVE SERBIA’S IMAGE IN EU

BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Minister of Human and Minority Rights Svetozar Ciplic assessed that with its discrimination prohibition law which, among other things, will protect the most vulnerable part of the population, Serbia would become part of those European countries that offered systematic and comprehensible legal protection to all of their citizens. "By offering such protection to its people, to the elderly, children, women, ethnic minorities, disabled persons, trade union officials and others, the law will improve the image of Serbia both in the eyes of its own people and Europe as such, Ciplic said in the National Assembly. Elaborating on the bill in the name of the government, which has caused major polemics in the public and a disapproval of church communities and traditional churches, he said that one of the main reasons why that law had to be adopted was that Serbia had the obligation of observing international standards and the contracts it had ratified, and that it also had to fulfill the standards required for its stabilisation and association with the EU and to harmonize its legislature with that of the EU. Ciplic also reminded of the many documents our country had signed with the UN and the SC, which required the adoption of such a document.

VELJANOSKI: THROUGH REGIONAL COOPERATION TO EU

NOVI SAD, March 18 (Tanjug) - Macedonian parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski said that regional cooperation is the speediest route to the EU. Only regional projects can be financed from European funds and that is where our biug chance lie. Macedonia is territorially in Europe, but it wishes also to be an essential part of the EU, just as the case is wuith Serbia as well, Veljanoski said, addressing a press conference following a meeting with Vojvodina parliament Speaker Sandor Egeresi. Spekaing along these lines, Veljanoski said he recently visited Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and that he is now in Vojvodina in Serbia to promote his striving to secure coopeation among the regional states. Egeresi propposed to his guest that the Macedonian and the Serbian parliaments reach a framework agreement on parliamentary cooperation, which would include Vojvodina through a special annex.

SOLANA: EU OPEN FOR NEW MEMBERS

BRUSSELS, March 19 (Tanjug) - The EU is open for acceptance of new members and remains faithful to that principle, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana stated during the talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev on West Balkans EU membership perspective. Stanishev said that the absence of confirmation of the Balkans’ European perspective would be sending a wrong message, the Bulgarian News Agency BTA reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated on Monday that the EU needs a consolidation phase before it accepts new members.

SERBIA – IMF / ECONOMY

CVETKOVIC: IMF INTERESTED IN COMPANIES’ DEBTS TO FOREIGN BANKS

BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said on Wednesday that one of the three pillars of the negotiations with the Internationl Monetary Fund (IMF) is the debt of Serbian companies to foreign banks. A solution is being sought for stopping the purchase of foreign currency on the domestic market and spending them on repayment of foreign credits, Cvetkovic told reporters at the Hyatt Hotel where a round table with the Serbian government on maintaining security in times of recession is taking place. Consultations with major banks that have daughter banks in Serbia have resulted in assurances that there will be neither an increase nor a decrease in the cross boarding credits that foreign banks approve for domestic companies, he said, which in fact means that they will remain at the current level. The level of granting cross-border loans by these banks will remain as stable as so far, Cvetkovic said. A step further will be taken in the negotiations, the prime minister said, so that the possibility will be considered of signing an agreement on understanding with these banks, with IMF support including refinancing of these debts.

DJELIC: WE CAN FIND INVESTORS EVEN IN TIMES OF CRISIS

SVILAJNAC, March 18 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister od Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic stated that even in difficult circumstances of economic crisis such as this one, Serbia can attract quality investors. This is proven by today’s signing of the agreement between Svilajnac municipality and the Dutch-Swiss company Tri-stan fresh produce on the construction of collective-distribution center, and the fruit and vegetables processing plant with the greenhouse complex in Veliko polje industry zone in Svilajnac, Djelic said. The investor is the leading company in the area of vegetables processing, Koeleman Foods, whose products are distributed across the world, Djelic pointed out, adding that the investment is worth several million euros.

DJELIC: SERBIA WILL NEED 1.4 BILL EUR FOR BUDGET DEFICIT & DEBT

BELGRADE, Mar 18 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government and the International Monetary Fund delegation have agreed that this year’s budget deficit should be about three percent, Deputy Prime Minister Djelic said. Serbia will need 1.4 bill euros this year to cover its budget deficit and repay debts, one billion for the deficit and 400 mill for the debt, he told the press on the sidelines of the Seventh Business Roundtable with the Government of Serbia.

DRAGUTINOVIC: REVENUES NOMINALLY SAME, EXPENDITURES BIGGER

BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic stated that since the beginning of 2009 the government revenues are nominally the same as in 2008, whereas the expenditures are considerably bigger. Dragutinovic told the press that the 2009 government revenues were expected to be 5% bigger than in 2008, but that they remained nominally the same, while the expenditures increased by RSD 100 billion compared to last year. When it comes to negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Belgrade, Dragutinovic said that during this negotiation phase the Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Serbia are giving their forecasts of revenues and expenditures and comparing them to the ones of the IMF. "We are trying to harmonize our prognoses and not until we harmonize all the numbers can a real working program begin," the Minister said at a roundtable on maintaining security in times of recession which is underway in Hyatt hotel, Belgrade.

MILOSAVLJEVIC: GREEK BANKS CONTINUE TO OPERATE REGULARLY

BELGRADE, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - Minister of Trade Slobodan Milosavljevic stated after meeting with Deputy FM of Greece Miltiades Varvitsiotis that Greek banks operating in Serbia will continue to work regularly and that there is no crisis. He said that it was underscored during the meeting that the banks have an important potential, which had been prepared to provide financial support to Serbian and Greek companies operating in Serbia. Milosavljevic underscored that the announced funds from the Hellenic Plan for the Balkans, which should help complete the south section of Corridor 10, should be ready in the coming months.

KUDINOV: COMMODITIES FROM SERBIA WILL BE TAX FREE

BELGRADE, Mar 19 (Tanjug) - Head of the Trade Representative Office of the Russian Federation in Serbia Yevgeny Koudinov on Thursday stated that a protocol on free trade, which will provide for tax liberalization for the commodities coming from Serbia, should soon be signed, adding that Russia is interested in investing in food industry and agriculture. Koudinov said that he expects representatives of the Serbian government and Russia’s officials to meet soon and that the Protocol on Free Trade should be signed then. According to him, Serbia’s oil producer NIS, economic cooperation and other issues will be discussed.

For further information:

Minister for Foregin Affairs of Serbia