REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS - DAILY SURVEY

 IVANOVIC ON FRIED’S VISIT TO KOSOVO

SERBIA – EULEX

ARTINANO: DATE OF SC SESSION NOT SET AS YET

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Representative of Costa Rica, the country which in November assumed the rotating presidency over the UN Security Council, Mauricio Artinano has told that the date of the UN Security Council session at which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should present a regular report on Kosovo has not still been set. The session has not yet been called, said Artinano, Minister Counselor of the Costa Rica Mission to the United Nations, refusing to speculate on the possible date. The session, which was scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed upon the demand of two SC member countries, following Pristina’s refusal to accept the agreement which Serbia and the UN had reached in respect to the international civil presence in Kosovo and Metohija. Artinano said that the UN SC session had been postponed for an indefinite period of time because the UN secretary general had not presented the report on UNMIK’s work in Kosovo, and added that the Security Council would meet once the report had been presented. The UN Security Council was supposed to review the report of the UN secretary general on Kosovo, which, as announced, should have comprised recommendations for the reconfiguration of UNMIK and deployment of EULEX, issues which have already been agreed upon with Belgrade.

SEJDIU & THACI: PROPOSAL UNACCEPTABLE TO KOSOVO INSTITUTIONS

PRISTINA, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Premier Hashim Thaci reiterated Friday that the fundamental elements of the six-point plan for the reorganization of the international presence remain unacceptable to the Kosovo institutions. Sejdiu and Thaci told the press in Pristina that certain parts of that plan are contrary to the independence of Kosovo, its Constitution and Ahtisaari’s plan and that as such they cannot be accepted. Sejdiu and Thaci denied that they are being pressured to accept the plan, saying that certain points of the proposal are being discussed with their "international friends" in order to reach some kind of solution for the deployment of the EUlex mission. Sejdiu stated that the declaration of the independence of Kosovo was a project aided and coordinated with the international community. "Our wish is for EUlex to be deployed throughout the entire territory of Kosovo," he pointed out. Thaci said that their position was very clear and based on state documents adopted in coordination with the international community. "We are for the deployment of Eulex, but in keeping with our country’s state documents," Thaci set out.

CHEVALLIER: EU WITHOUT FORMAL STAND ON UN - SERBIA AGREEMENT

PARIS, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - The European Union has not taken a formal stand on the six-point agreement between the UN and Serbia and continues preparations for the deployment of its mission EULEX throughout Kosovo, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said Friday in Paris. No formal decision was taken at the regular EU foreign ministers’ meeting last Monday in Brussels, he said. The Pristina authorities have said they want EULEX deployment, but rejected the six-point plan agreed by the UN and Serbia, he said answering a question by Tanjug’s correspondent. By definition, the agreement should be acceptable to all involved parties, he said. The plan drafted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has not yet been presented, and the UN Security Council is due to debate this issue soon, he added. The agreement between the UN and Serbia concerns police, customs, border control in northern Kosovo, traffic, infrastructure and protection of religious and cultural heritage in the province. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner hopes EULEX will be deployed soon, Chevallier said. Dialogue between European officials and involved parties and the UN process are still underway, he noted. No deadline has been set for finding a solution, he said on his return from Kosovo where he and UK, US, German and Italian officials discussed EULEX with Pristina authorities.

ROMANIA CONDITIONS ITS PARTICIPATION IN EULEX

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Romanian Ambassador to Serbia Jon Makovei has stated that Romania will not take part in the European Union mission in Kosovo and Metohija (EULEX) if the mission intends to implement the plan drawn up by former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari. In an interview with International Radio of Serbia, Ambassador Makovei said that Romania supports Serbia’s stands on neutral status of EULEX. Romania believes that EULEX should assume the obligations that the UN mission in Kosovo has had so far, the Romanian diplomat said.

SERBIA – EU

JEREMIC: SERBIA EXPECTS PROGRESS TOWARDS EU FROM CZECH PRESIDENCY

PRAGUE, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in Prague on Friday that he was convinced that the Czech presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2009 would bring great progress in the advance of Serbia and the West Balkans towards EU membership. Jeremic met with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwartzenberg in Prague and the Czech foreign minister said that Serbia’s accession to the European Union would last for some time and that Belgrade would have to make greater efforts to achieve this step. "We both know that we must intensively work on this and that (the process) will last for some time," Schwartzenberg said. Jeremic, the first Serbian foreign minister to visit the Czech Republic, said that he had not arrived to Prague to refer to the recent past, when Milan Topolanek’s government decision to recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija cast a shadow on relations between the two states. "I am here because of the time ahead of us in which the Czech Republic will play a special role," Jeremic said. "I am convinced that the first half of 2009 would bring greate progress (in the access to the European Union of West Balkan countries)," Jeremic said. The Czech Republic said previously that one of its foreign policy priorities during the six-month EU presidency would be the advance of West Balkan countries to the EU membership, which Jeremic believed to be very important for the stability of the region, the CTK news agency reported.

MILITARY SECURITY AGENCY: NO EVIDENCE THAT ARMY HIDES ICTY INDICTEES

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Director of the Military Security Agency (VBA) Svetko Kovac has stated that the VBA had not acquired any information that any of the indictees of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had been hiding in the army facilities or that Army and Defense Ministry members were in any way included in their hiding. "We have checked all the information and indications and were unable to confirm any of them," Kovac said in an interview published by military magazine Odbrana in its latest issue, recalling that controls had been carried out continuously since April 2003. "I would particularly like to underscore that so far we have not come across any information that ICTY indictees or their security have any links with the killing of two guardsmen at the Belgrade barracks in 2004," said Kovac. "The action team set up by the Serbian government coordinates all activities. The VBA has clear orders in that respect and is carrying them with responsibility," the VBA director said. He pointed out that "the cooperation with The Hague tribunal is not only an obligation of the security services," underscoring that "every officer in the army’s chain of command is responsible for possible hiding of indictees in the facilities that they are responsible for."

LJAIC: BRAMMERTZ’S REPORT NOT DECISIVE

BELGRADE, Nov 17 (Tanjug) - President of the National Council for Cooperation with The Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajic has said that the report of ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on Serbia’s cooperation with the Tribunal would not have a decisive effect on the unfreezing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), because the Netherlands will not give up on its demand for Ratko Mladic’s handover to The Hague.Ljajic said that Brammertz’s report would not be positive, since Mladic was not in The Hague, but added that it would not be completely negative either, because in the past six months, a regular period for presenting the reports, Serbia had handed over Radovan Karadzic."It is most probable that Brammertz will not present a positive report. His visit will not bring anything new because Ratko Mladic is not in The Hague, and we know that this will not happen today, tomorrow or in the next few days, since we do not have any clue that could lead to him," Ljajic said in a late-Sunday broadcast by TV B92.He said that there was not a single person that could say for sure that Mladic was in Serbia or that he was not in Serbia.On the basis of his talks with Serbian officials, Brammertz will prepare a regular six-month report on Serbia’s cooperation with the ICTY, which he will hand over to the UN Security Council at the end of November and present it at the body’s session scheduled for mid December.

BRAMMERTZ CONFIDENT IN RESOLVE TO BRING FUGITIVES TO JUSTIC

BELGRADE, Nov 16 (Tanjug) - Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said on Sunday that he is confident in the determination of people in Belgrade and the ICTY to bring to justice the remaining fugitives and that he cannot accept the possibility that Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic could be allowed to evade justice. Assessing the efforts of the War Crimes Prosecution in persecuting war crime indictees he voiced appreciation for the job performed by Chief Persecutor Vladimir Vukcevic and his team. They have achieved very important results, Brammertz said in said in an interview with Justice in Transition magazine, which is published by the Belgrade Center for Transitional Processes and the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution. More long term investments are needed not only in his (Vukcevic’s) service, but also in the entire judiciary in order to strengthen it, Brammertz said and added that all countries in the region are facing the similar challenge. Brammertz said that the long-term stability of the region can be achieved only through the of the rule of law, adding that this will happen if the remaining fugitives be brought before the justice and if the war crime prosecutors from the region receive the support needed for instituting war crimes proceedings once the Tribunal ends its mandate.

BRAMMERTZ HOLDS MEETING WITH VUKCEVIC

BELGRADE, Nov 17 (Tanjug) - ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz began his two-day visit to Belgrade on Monday with talks with Chairman of the National Council for the ICTY Cooperation Rasim Ljajic, and after that he visited the Serbian government’s office for cooperation with the ICTY, while his meeting with Serbia’s War Crime Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic is underway. Talks with members of the Action Team for Cooperation with the ICTY are in the focus of Brammertz’s activities, but the agenda of his visit or his media address have not been officially announced. Later on Monday, Brammertz is expected to meet with Chief of the Security Intelligence Service (BIA) Sasa Vukadinovic. On Tuesday, the second day of the visit, the ICTY chief prosecutor will hold separate meetings with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. On the basis of his talks with Serbian officials, Brammertz will prepare a regular six-month report on Serbia’s cooperation with the ICTY, which he will submit to the UN Security Council at the end of November. Brammertz’s assessment of Serbia’s cooperation with the Tribunal is believed to be crucial for the implementation of the Interim Agreement and the ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and Serbia.

MORTENSEN: SERBIA’S AGRICULTURE MOVES CLOSER TO EU

BELGRADE, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Director of the EU Pre-accession Assistance to Agriculture and Rural Development Kai Mortensen has been in Belgrade on a three-day visit to the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waterways, during which promotion of agriculture and rural development in the Republic of Serbia were discussed, the Ministry said in a statement. European Commission representatives, headed by Mortensen, have met with representatives of the Finance Ministry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waterways and Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic’s cabinet. Mortensen informed the Serbian side about the needs to develop the necessary infrastructure in order to use the EU pre-accession funds. The Serbian side presented its activities on preparations for a decentralized administration of the EU funds. The representatives also met with associates of Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, who fully supported the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture to upgrade rural development and to improve the living and working conditions of the rural population.

KOJA: KOSOVO RECOGNITION NOT CONDITION TO SERB

BELGRADE, Nov 16 (Tanjug) - Austrian Ambassador in Belgrade Clemens Koja has said that Serbia will never be requested to recognize Kosovo’s independence, and that the European Union will never set such a condition to Serbia in exchange for the membership, adding that Austria will always back Serbia’s European integrations. With the arrest of (ICTY indictee) Radovan Karadzic the new government clearly showed that it takes its international obligations seriously, Ambassador Koja said in an interview with the daily Vecernje Novosti, adding that for this reason his country supports speedy unfreezing of the Interim Trade Agreement between the EU and Serbia. He pointed out that at the same time he expects Serbia to continue fulfilling its international obligations and realize full cooperation with the ICTY on its further path towards the EU.

SERBIA

DJUKIC – DEJANOVIC: AGREEMENT WITHIN GOVT RESULT OF COMPROMISE

BELGRADE, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic - Dejanovic said Friday that the agreement within the government to freeze salaries and pensions is "the result of a compromise which should ensure the social security of the citizens and the backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and this is why it is good." Speaking to Indeks Radio, Djukic - Dejanovic said that the economic reality is such that the restrictions will affect the public sector and that there can be no increase of salaries. She pointed out that there was no "lynching" of Deputy Premier and PUPS leader Jovan Krkobabic with regards his demand for an increase of pensions and that the government had the difficult and delicate task to realize a higher quality of life for the pensioners and, at the same time, to bear in mind the economic crisis and the demands of the IMF. Djukic - Dejanovic retierated that the initiative of a group of opposition MPs for opening a debate on a vote of confidence to the government would top the agenda of the next parliament session, but added that the current session would most probably last for some time since about 500 amendments have been tabled to the submitted draft bills.

TADIC: FIRST STEP UP TO MONTENEGRO AND MACEDONIA

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Beta) - Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that Serbia wants the best of relations with Macedonia and Montenegro, but that it is up to the two countries’ governments to make the first step. "It is not Serbia’s turn now to reinstate the Montenegrin and Macedonian ambassadors, but for these countries to come up with a proposal on their new ambassadors to Serbia. Only then will Serbia appraise the situation and make an adequate decision which will protect its citizens’ interests," Tadic told BETA, in answering the question about relations with Macedonia and Montenegro after these two countries recognized Kosovo. Since the two countries had recognized the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, Serbia denied hospitality to their ambassadors. Tadic said that Serbia did not lower the level of its diplomatic ties with Macedonia and Montenegro, which "in a diplomatic and technical sense, leaves potential for them to be renewed." As for the current relations with Croatia, which have lately received negative marks from officials in both countries, Tadic described them as "key to the stability in the Balkans," adding that, "therefore, it serves nobody’s interest to maintain bad relations and to reduce the level of bilateral cooperation." Tadic also said that the international community has enough instruments to persuade Pristina authorities to accept the agreement on the deployment of the EULEX mission in Kosovo and Metohija, which was agreed on by Serbia and the U.N. Boris Tadic said that the search for the Hague fugitives and others who committed criminal acts is "permanent," adding that "we respect international obligations and the process will be finished." According to him, the process of Serbia’s association with the EU was slower due to the Serbian parliament blockade, which caused a lack of dynamics in the adoption of laws necessary for visa relief. Regarding the report on Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague, which should be submitted to the U.N. Security Council by the court’s Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz, Tadic expressed hope that Serbia might get "not only a positive report, but, more importantly, a positive stand of all the 27 EU members on the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement which we have signed."

ROCEN SUPPORTS RENEWAL OF RELATIONS WITH SERBIA

PODGORICA, Nov 15 (Beta) - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen said on Nov. 15 that Montenegro’s relations with Serbia will normalize "in accordance with the Vienna convention." Reacting to the comment of Serbian President Boris Tadic that Montenegro and Macedonia should propose new ambassadors to Serbia, Rocen said, according to Podgorica media, that Montenegro "will make moves in accordance with its policies, which distinguish it as a factor in the peace and stability of the region." Regarding Tadic’s statement, who told BETA that Serbia "wants the best relations with Montenegro and Macedonia," Rocen said that he is "on the line of the strategic orientation of Montenegro to build the best relations with all its neighbors." Rocen said that the Montenegrin Ambassador Anka Vojvodic, who was banished from Serbia after Podgorica recognized Kosovo independence, "did her job well" while in Belgrade. Vojvodic, Rocen said, helped to build relations with Serbia in accordance with historical ties between Montenegro and Serbia and their joint European goals.Montenegro did not fire back with a reciprocal measure, cancelling the Serbian Ambassador Zoran Lutovac’s welcome in Podgorica, and that has, according to Rocen, helped Serbia to "question" its earlier decision to banish Anja Vojvodic. "The normalization of relations with Serbia is now a straightforward diplomatic procedure," he added.

KALAMPEROVIC: TALKS WITH SERBIA DID NOT FAIL

PODGORICA, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Minister of the Interior and Public Administration Jusuf Kalamperovic has denied that the talks with Serbia on dual citizenship had failed, the Podgorica daily Republika wrote on Saturday. "The talks have not failed. Important progress had been made and I hope that we will soon resume the talks. I am optimistic that we will sign an agreement on dual citizenship with Serbia," said Kalamperovic. The talks on dual citizenship between Montenegro and Serbia started in Belgrade on October 1 with a meeting between Kalemperovic and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic. So far, three rounds of talks have been held, but no visible results had been made, the daily recalled. Kalemperovic said that he would propose to Dacic to resume talks, adding that "conditions for signing of an agreement that will be acceptable to both sides should be created soon." The daily also recalled that Democratic Party of Socialists Whip at the Montenegrin parliament Miodrag Vukovic on Friday said that he is a pessimist in regards to a resumption of the talks on dual citizenship between Serbia and Montenegro.

MILOSOSKI-CRVENKOVSKI CONFLICT OVER APPT OF NEW AMBASSADOR

SKOPJE, Nov 17 (Tanjug) - Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski has expressed surprise at the statement of Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, who criticized Crvenkovski for his prompt reaction to a statement by Serbian President Boris Tadic and who said that the Skopje government expects something more than a verbal statement in order to appoint a new ambassador to Serbia. The Macedonian government in that way underestimates possibilities for the normalization of relations with Serbia, Crvenkovski said, as announced by his Office, and carried by media today. "With his statement, the minister is giving the impression that the Republic of Macedonia wants disrupted relations, following the recognition of Kosovo, more than Serbia itself," said the statement which was released yesterday evening after Milososki made the controversial statement. The Macedonian foreign minister criticized President Crvenkovski for his prompt reaction to Tadic’s statement, while he did not comment on the expulsion of Macedonian Ambassador Aleksandar Vasilevski from Belgrade in October, after Skopje decided to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Tadic recently said that Belgrade is willing to improve the cooperation with Macedonia, but that the Skopje governmen should make the next move and appoint a new ambassador.

SERBIA – ECONOMY

CVETKOVIC: GOVERNMENT TRIES TO ALLEVIATE CRISIS EFFECTS

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on Saturday stated that the government is investing maximum efforts to alleviate the effects of the global financial crisis in Serbia and underlined that the 2009 budget will not be as restrictive as to call for a drastic self-sacrifice of citizens. "That will certainly not be a crisis similar to that of the 1990s in Serbia, but it will be a temporary slow down of the economic growth," Cvetkovic said in an interview with Tanjug. He specified that the 2009 budget will be aimed at stabilization and development, because the Serbian government does not want to give up its development strategy, and it is estimated that Serbia is not in such a position that it cannot achieve that. Saving, however, is necessary on all levels, said the prime minister, clarifying that saving is planned in the segment of the budget where expenditure is the highest, and in the part of the expenditure that has no macroeconomic impact but could be used as an "example model." "For example, representation allowances will be cut," as well as reduction of wages in administrative and supervision committees of companies founded by the state, said Cvetkovic. In regards to pensions, a decree on their special increase of 10 percent will be in force next year, which, together with a regular increase of five percent is a total increase of 15 percent. The wages of the public sector employees will be increased according to the increase of living expenses but not more than eight percent, which is the projected inflation rate for the next year, said Cvetkovic. In regards to subsidies and other expenditure, the Serbian government will try to include all subsidized public companies with measures of saving, said Cvetkovic, giving Serbia’s railway company Zeleznice Srbije, whose monthly subsidies from the budget have been enormous for years, as an example. Such public companies have to get reformed soon and to start earning money, underscored Cvetkovic.

CVETKOVIC: IMF ARRANGEMENT AS RESPONSE TO GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on Saturday stated that Serbia did not sign an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because it desperately needed financial support. In an interview with news agency Tanjug, Cvetkovic underscored that he would not like an impression to be created among the public that the arrangement with the IMF was signed because the country needed those funds. Cvetkovic also said that the government believes that the presence of the IMF is necessary because of its perception of the global economic crisis and the moves the government makes in regards to measures for alleviation of the impact of the crisis on Serbia’s economy. "The IMF is not conditioning us, but in view of the financial crisis, we are obliged to have an appropriate response to the crisis, and that response includes a series of measures we are taking, including, among others, budget savings," said Cvetkovic. "Our idea is to follow up the developments relating to the global crisis and to take certain measures depending on that. That is why the IMF is very important to us - to tell us whether we are doing the right thing, to tell us ’we stand behind that and we support it,’ clarified Cvetkovic. He said that the arrangement with the IMF, worth USD 520 million, may be used only to cover foreign exchange reserves. "Those funds can be used strictly to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves, but I hope they will not be used," said Cvetkovic.

CVETKOVIC: SERBIA’S TALKS WITH GAZPROM TO BEGIN

BELGRADE, Nov 16 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic announced on Sunday that talks on an energy deal with Russian Gazprom will begin in Belgrade on Monday, Nov. 17, and voiced hope that the contract will be finalized by December 20 at the latest, which was Serbia’s proposal.All calculations are showing that the Gazprom arrangement is good for Serbia if it is implemented as a whole, Cvetkovic underscored in an interview with Tanjug.The stand of the Serbian government is that the deal has to be made as a whole, Cvetkovic pointed out, recalling that the Serbian parliament ratified the gas and oil arrangement with the Russian Federation, which includes the sale of the capital of NIS, modernization of the company, the building of gas pipeline on the Serbian territory, and expanding capacities of underground gas storage in Banatski Dvor."It is my impression that the NIS talks have gone farther than negotiations on the two other parts of the agreement," Cvetkovic said. The Belgrade meetings will be held at the expert teams’ level, and not at the top level, Cvetkovic said and added that Serbia’s negotiating team has some 15 members, including those from Cvetkovic’s cabinet, relevant ministries, NIS, Srbijagas and a legal office, and that the team is led by State Secretary with the Ministry of Economy Nebojsa Ciric. Cvetkovic also said that since the Russians are insisting on realizing entire agreement before Dec. 20, the Serbian government is ready to close the deal ahead of the deadline, if the negotiating plan is implemented faster and under condition that all three parts of the arrangement are agreed upon and not its individual parts.

CVETKOVIC: AGREED DISSOLUTION OF CONTRACT ON HIGHWAY - BEST OPTION

BELGRADE, Nov16 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said on Sunday that the best option would be an agreed dissolution of the contract with the consortium Alpina-Poor for the construction of the Horgos-Pozega highway that would be acceptable for both sides, so that Serbia could begin building the highway by itself. The Serbian prime minister said in an interview with Tanjug that it is important to avoid an international arbitrage, particularly because the court process could take month. Cvetkovic recalled that according to the contract, Alpina-Poor concessionary is obliged to by December 31 fulfill necessary conditions - close financial construction, so that it would be able to begin works as of January 2009. Since there are signs that the concessionary will not be able to fulfill the terms of the contract, particularly at the time of the world financial crisis, Serbia is considering possibilities for an agreed dissolution of the agreement in the interest of the both sides involved, Cvetkovic said. The both parties involved would benefit from it, the bank guarantee of EUR 10 million would be paid back to the concessionary, and the state of Serbia would take over project documentation which has been already prepared and expropriated land with compensation, and this would shorten the period for the construction of the highway, which is for the most part completed in its Horgos-Belgrade section, as part of Corridor 10.

SIMONICHEV: GAZPROMNYEFT READY FOR COOPERATION

BELGRADE, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - Talks between the Serbian government and Gazpromnyeft on the privatization of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) are currently underway and, if successfully completed, NIS could in the future become a leader in the Balkans in that sphere, the Russian company’s representative Oleg Simonichev said on Friday. Simonichev said that the Gazpromnyeft management is prepared, together with the representatives of NIS, its trade unions and the state of Serbia, to work on the promotion of NIS so that the future company could be a regional leader in its sphere. Gazpromnyeft is a socially responsible company which understands the situation in NIS and the political situation in Serbia, Simonichev told a round table on the privatization of NIS, adding that the future relations between the company and its employees would depend on the outcome of the current talks. Simonichev reiterated that the Russian company is coming to Serbia with the intention of developping NIS and that it is ready, together with it, to become a leader in this part of Europe. Representatives of the NIS trade union demanded that the social program and the collective agreement are an integral part of the NIS sales contract, noting that they would not give up their demands.

MALYSHEV: RUSSIAN-SERB OIL, GAS CONTRACTS MIGHT BE SIGNED NOV

MOSCOW, Nov 15 (Tanjug) - Dmitry Malyshev, adviser to the chairman of the Managing Board of Gazpromneft, has stated that the concluding of three contracts, stemming from the Russian-Serb inter-governmental oil and gas agreement might take place in Moscow on November 24-25. Malyshev told Russia’s news agency Itar-Tass on Saturday that the signing of the agreement is expected to take place at a regular meeting of the inter-governmental committee for trade and economic cooperation. Mlyshev is leading a Gazprom delegation at the talks in Belgrade on the financial and technical parameters of the oil and gas deal. "An active stage of the Belgrade talks will begin on Monday and, we hope, will end on November 20. In that case, the signing of the contracts may take place at the meeting of the inter-governmental committee," Itar-Tass quoted Malyshev as saying.Itar-Tass recalled that Malyshev arrived in Belgrade on November 13 to discuss the Russia-Serbia energy agreement, and was received by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.The energy agreement, signed in Moscow on January 25, 2008, includes the sale to Gazpromneft of the controlling block of shares of the state-owned Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), modernization of NIS, the setting up of Russian-Serb joint companies, which will build a 400-kilometre-long section of the South Stream gas pipeline on the Serb territory and an underground gas storage in Banatski Dvor.

KOSOVO – METOHIJA

VATICAN DOES NOT INTEND TO RECOGNIZE KOSOVO

VATICAN, Nov 14 (Tanjug) - The State of the Vatican City does not intend to recognize independence of Kosovo and will not even discuss the issue, Tanjug was told at the State Secretariat of the Holy See. "We believe that the issue is still open, it is being discussed in the United Nations. New proposals and plans that should be implemented are still in focus," it was said at the State Secretariat. It was also specified that the fact that a large number of countries had not recognized independence of Kosovo and that the number of countries that are against independence is not small should not be forgotten. At the same time, the Catholic Church wishes to maintain good relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and to continue the ecumenical dialogue, which is making progress, it was stated at the State Secretariat. The stance of the Holy See on the issue of Kosovo’s independence is well-known, and that stand will not be changed, the State Secretariat also said. Newspapers in Pristina on Friday reported that a Vatican representative at the United Nations had informed Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hiseni that the Holy See will seriously discuss a possibility of recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

IVANOVIC ON FRIED’S VISIT TO KOSOVO

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Nov 17 (Tanjug) - State Secretary at the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said on Monday he was not sure that the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried to Pristina would be aimed at persuading the Kosovo leadership to accept the UN plan on UNMIK reconfiguration. In an interview with Tanjug, Ivanovic pointed out that the Kosovo Albanians had chosen to resist the plan of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on UNMIK’s reconfiguration. "I think that some big powers are also not happy about the possibility that UNMIK’s role be intensified with the affirmation of the six-item plan. The reconfiguration of UNMIK implies at the same time a reduction of personnel, but also a strengthening of influence," he stressed. Ivanovic pointed out that UNMIK would continue to be present in Kosovo, which was something that had slipped the minds of those that had decided to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo. The refusal of official Pristina to accept the six-item plan proposed by the UN secretary general clearly shows that the authorities in Pristina do not accept the reality, he assessed. "I think that the Kosovo Albanians do not care whether the situation will be normalized, and itseems as though they are refusing to accept the fact that, according to Ban Ki-moon’s letter, Serbia has been given a task from New York to work on certain issues together with the UN Mission," Ivanovic said.

For further information:

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia