Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia: daily survey of 25 December 2008

REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 INFLATION RATE OF 8 PCT. IS 2009 GOAL

SERBIA – RUSSIA – ENERGY AGREEMENT

RUSSIAN-SERBIAN ARRANGEMENT BASIS FOR ENERGETIC STABILITY

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - The presidents of Serbia and Russia, Boris Tadic and Dmirty Medvedev respectively, assessed in Moscow on Wednesday, ahead of the signing of an agreement on energy cooperation, that the arrangement would represent a basis for the two countries’ energetic stability. Tadic and his Kremlin host, the head of the Russian state, met ahead of the signing of the energy deal. Medvedev assessed that agreements on economic cooperation were very important for both countries and that they provided grounds for the future cooperation between Russia and Serbia. At the same time, the two countries’ energy cooperation represents a basis for the ensuring of energetic stability in Serbia, as well as in the region as a whole, the Russian president underlined. President Medvedev assessed that the relations between Belgrade and Moscow were developing successfully and expressed hope that the economic cooperation between the two countries would become even more intensive. The Serbian president pointed out that the energy arrangement would represent a strong economic bond between Russia and Serbia and that it would contribute to the economic and energetic stability in the two countries. Tadic said that Serbia wanted to become a member of the European Union, but also to have friendly relations with Russia. Tadic and Medvedev, together with their associates, continued their closed-door talks on the energy issue.

ENERGY AGREEMENT AND PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT SIGNED

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Representatives of Serbia and Russia signed in Moscow today a package of agreements on cooperation in the area of energy, while presidents of the two states Boris Tadic and Dmitry Medvedev signed a presidential statement, guaranteeing implementation of the above documents on the state level. Serbian Minister of Energy Petar Skundric and CEO of JSC Gazpromneft Alexander Dyukov signed a contract for the sale of a 51% stake in Serbia’s oil industry NIS to Gazprom Neft. Srbijagas General Director Dusan Bajatovic and Director-General of Gazprom Export Alexander Medvedev signed a Memorandum of Understanding, and with Gazprom OAO Chairman Aleksei Miller he signed a protocol of cooperation. The two documents refer to the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline and gas storage in Banatski Dvor.

TADIC: CONCRETE ACTIONS RESULT OF INTENSIVE MEETINGS

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said in Moscow on Wednesday that the policies of Serbia and Russia have so far been characterized by ideas of good intentions, but that today there are also concrete results which stem from increasingly intensive high-level meetings. "I am pleased to say that the number of high-level talks is gaining in intensity. This is our third or fourth meeting in this year alone. We will also meet in the future and all our future meetings will be backed by concrete actions. I am certain that we can achieve much in the sphere of the culture, international relations, as well as the economy, which is the basis of the entire world," Tadic said after meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. He also thanked Russia for its support "in all principled issues of international politics in which Serbia has participated over the past years." "For Serbia it is very important that Russia continues backing its principled protection of its integrity," Tadic stated. He invited the Russian president to visit Belgrade.

MEDVEDEV: SIGNING OF AGREEMENT IS A MOMENTOUS EVENT

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday described as "momentous" the signing of the Russian - Serb energy agreement, and the visit by Serbian President Boris Tadic to Moscow as "proof of a stable and progressive development of relations and the friendly character of ties between Russia and Serbia." Speaking to the press following the signing of the three energy contracts and the presidential statement with Tadic, Medvedev said that relations between Russia and Serbia are "relations of strategic partnership." He also urged that these relations should "obtain new forms and new impulses." The signing of the energy package aims for this as it links Russia and Serbia, Medvedev underscored, adding that such bilateral agreements "are in the function of the resolution of major goals."

MEDVEDEV: RUSSIA’S POSITION ON KOSOVO UNCHANGED MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated on Wednesday after his meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic that Russia’s position on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija is unchanged. "The Russian Federation’s stand on the issue of resolving the Kosovo problem under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 remains unchanged. We proceed from the assumption that Kosovo’s unilateral recognition affected negatively regional and international security and our stand on the issue remains unchanged," underscored Medvedev. He said that the Kosovo precedent, the events in the Caucasus and those measures, which were taken to protect citizens of the Russian Federation and young entities of international law make topical the problem of concluding a new agreement on European security, he said. President Medvedev also underscored that with this initiative Russia does not intend to destroy the existing security system in Europe. Kremlin announced earlier today that one of the topics to be discussed by the two leaders will be Kosovo and Russia’s initiative to draw up an agreement on European security.

JEREMIC: WESTERN PARNERS ARE NOT DISSATISFIED

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has told the media in Russia that Serbia’s western partners are not dissatisfied with the fact that our country has signed an energy deal with Russia, pointing out that the agreement suited the European Union in a geostrategic sense. No major dissatisfaction has been expressed over the agreement, and their reaction looks more like some unofficial grumbling, Jeremic told the Russian-based daily Russkaya Gazeta. Anyway, what reason should there be for dissatisfaction when we are speaking of a gas pipeline that will enter Serbia from one EU member country and then continue to run through another EU member state, the Serbian foreign minister wondered. He added that Serbia’s energy ties with Russia had been close in the past as well. In the EU, there are many countries that have even closer ties with Russia as far as energy is concerned, Jeremic said, pointing out that he did not think that our plans to join the EU and to boost, at the same time, our relations with Russia were two different things that excluded each other.

MILLER: HUGE PROSPECTS FOR STRATEGIC COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller said Wednesday that Serbia is one of the oldest partners of this Russian energy concern and that today’s signing of energy a cooperation document has "opened up new horizons and great prospects for the development of a complex strategic cooperation." Miller said that Gazprom has all the necessary resources to modernize Serbia’s energy system and to secure its efficient operation in the long run, Gazprom announced. "The participation of Gazpromnyeft in the founding capital of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) will enable the Serbian oil-producing industry to both preserve its position and to become a leader in the Balkans, Miller stated. According to him the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline through Serbian territory and an underground depot facility will create additional conditions for transforming Serbia into a major european center for the tranzit and storage of natural gas and a country which will fundamentally contribute to securing the stability of gas supplies to the entire Europe.

DINKIC: SERBIA MADE BAD DEAL WITH RUSSIA

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Economy and leader of G 17 Plus Mladjan Dinkic has evaluated that in regards to the sale of NIS Serbia has signed an extremely bad deal with Russia. In an interview published by the Vreme weekly in its latest issue, Dinkic said that there are no conflicts within the government but that there is a difference of opinion, and that G17 Plus would step out of the cabinet or provide a minority backing if serious program and strategic differences occur. Clarifying his criticism of the gas agreement with Russia, Dinkic said that the state oil industry is being sold without a public tender, without a contract on construction of the South Stream gas pipeline and legal and financial guarantees that it will be constructed. That is why, he said, minister from G17 Plus voted against the sale of NIS and abstained in regards to other documents on the gas pipeline and gas storage, which are not binding. "The contract on the sale of NIS has a series of unacceptable elements which are to Serbia’s disadvantage. Investment funds are being secured by getting a loan and the loan with which NIS will be modernized will formally be acquired Gazprom. However, NIS will be paying the loan back under unfavorable interest rates. Essentially, NIS is taking a loan," said Dinkic, adding that there are no guarantees that the company will be modernized.

FINAL INVESTMENT DECISION TO BE MADE BY JULY 1, 2009

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - A memorandum of understanding for the construction of the Banatski Dvor underground storage facility, which was signed in Moscow on Wednesday, envisages that the Russian and Serbian sides should both make the final investment decision on the participation in the project by July 1, 2009. The memorandum, which Tanjug could see and which the Serbian government will most likely post at its website on Thursday, "has the indicative character, which will not be binding for any of the sides in the realisation of the project," by the time when both sides make the final investment decision, i.e. by July 1, 2009 at the latest, when they should sign the binding documents. After the signing of the memorandum, Srbijagas will give Gazprom the exclusive right for participation in the project and will commit not to hold negotiations on the participation in the project with the other companies. This right will apply throughout the validity of the memorandum and both sides have committed to take all necessary efforts to get the necessary licences for the realisation of the project. Under the memorandum, Srbijagas and Gazpromexport are interested in the joint realisation of the project of construction of the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage facility and further exploitation of this facility. If both sides decide to take part in the project, they will form a joint stock company for the construction and exploitation of the facility, in which Gazpromexport will have 51 percent and Srbijagas 49 percent. All investments in the project, accompanying costs of both sides and working capacity of the project will be distributed and realised proportional to their shares in the joint stock company and "these capacities will be mostly used for the Serbian market in the first years of exploitation." The Banatski Dvor facility will be connected with the gas pipeline of the Srbijagas company. The memorandum was signed by Srbijagas Director Dusan Bajatovic and Gazpromexport Director Alexander Medvedev.

KONUZIN: AGREEMENT ON ABOLISHING VISAS EARLY IN 2009

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Russian ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin said Wednesday that the agreement on abolishing visas between Serbia and Russia would be signed early in 2009. Konuzin explained that this agreement has already been coordinated and that the technical details are now being agreed. The procedure is being conducted simultaneously in Serbia and Russia, Konuzin told reporters in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, expressing belief that in the coming period this agreement would be ready for signing.

SERBIA

TADIC: DIFFERENCE OF OPINION DOES NOT LEAD TO INSTABILITY

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has evaluated that the difference of opinion between Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Chief of General Staff Gen. Zdravko Ponos may not lead to instability in the defense system. "I have been following carefully the developments in all sectors, including the defense sector. Under the Constitution, I also have a command function when it comes to our army and I assure you that the whole process in the army is stable," Tadic said in an interview with the weekly Standard. "There is always a possibility of having certain state functions have different opinions, but I assure you that this may not be a source of instability of any system, particularly not the defense system," said Tadic responding to a question on press reports about a conflict of concept between Sutanovac and Ponos.

CVETKOVIC - COUNTRY’S SECURITY IS NOT THREATENED

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said on Wednesday that he did not wish to comment on disagreements between Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Chief of the Serbian Army General Staff General Zdravko Ponos and that citizens should not worry because the country’s security was not threatened. "I wish to say that citizens need not worry, that security is not threatened, everything is working well. And the things that exist will be solved as we go," Cvetkovic told the B92 television. Cvetkovic said that he did not wish to comment on the conflict between the people from the Army and Defence Ministry, but that the assessment of General Ponos that the country did not have a defence policy was not true. Ponos told the Wednesday issue of the Belgrade daily Politika that the country’s defence policy was non-existent and that his "conflict" with Sutanovac was "not a conflict between two persons, but a clash of conceptions of where Serbia, as a secure country, will be in 2015 or 2020."

CVETKOVIC: STILL NO AGREEMENT WITH PARLIAMENT GROUPS

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on Wednesday stated that an agreement on a debate on the Bill on the 2009 budget has yet to be reached with the Serbian parliament groups, but his expressed his confidence that the budget will be adopted by the end of the year. After his consultations with party whips, Cvetkovic told reporters at the parliament that parliamentary groups will hold separate talks on specific amendments with Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic. Except the SRS, which is distrustful in regards to a possible realization, other parties said that they intend to discuss a solution to the issue," said Cvetkovic. He said that parliament members had different views on how the debate course and that he had given some practical proposals. According to him, he proposed to the MPs to have each parliamentary group present their amendments within the equally distributed time. "Another alternative would be to discuss the amendments outside the parliament hall and to see whether some of them could be accepted," said Cvetkovic.

CVETKOVIC SENDS CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic on Wednesday sent a message of Christmas greetings to all believers in Serbia who celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar. "I send out best greetings to all Christian believers in Serbia who celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar," Cvetkovic said in his greeting note. "Let the holiday be filled with love, family warmth, joy and prosperity," said the Prime Minister.

ROCEN: WE SHOULD NOT MAKE HASTE

BELGRADE, Dec 25 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen has assessed that the relations between Montenegro and Serbia, after Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo and the initial stage of "freezing," are better than it may sometimes seem on the political surface, on the basis of the statements by some politicians or the writing of certain media. "Serbian President Boris Tadic recently made a statement which was welcomed in Montenegro," Rocen said in an interview for the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti published on Thursday adding that "with all due respect to the fact that such a position was expressed by the top Serbian official," Montenegro could not launch the procedure for the appointment of a new ambassador to Serbia just on the basis of that statement. I think that there is no need for either country to make haste, Rocen said, pointing out that "the most important thing is that there is no deterioration in our relations." Asked when Montenegro would establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo, Rocen answered that that would happen "soon."

D.MILIBAND: SERBIA BELONGS TO EU, BUT...

BEOGRAD, Dec.25 ( Tanjug ) - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband claims that this year has indeed been crucial for Serbia and the region, and that Belgrade could become a candidate for EU membership in 2009 if it fulfils the obligations towards The Hague Tribunal and plays a constructive role in the Balkans, above all in Kosovo. The parliamentary elections held in May indicate how many voters actually share the vision of a successful Serbia within the EU, underlined Miliband in a text published by the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. You chose a government which is ready to make courageous decisions in order to lead you to Europe, a government which has chosen to introduce European standards and which has significantly improved the cooperation with The Hague-based International War Crimes Tribunal, he added. I know that we will continue disagreeing upon the basic matters concerning Kosovo, and that your government will relentlessly defend Serbia’s positions, the British foreign secretary said. However, I also hope that we will move the focus from what we disagree on to the attainment of a common goal, which is to make it possible for all the communities in Kosovo to enjoy peace, safety and complete honoring of their rights, he said, voicing belief that the EU mission in Kosovo - EULEX will ensure greater legal protection for all the people in Kosovo.

INFLATION RATE OF 8 PCT. IS 2009 GOAL

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Tanjug) - The aim of the monetary policy in 2009 is to reduce the inflation rate from the beginning of the year, which will range from 8% to 12%, with a central value of 10%, down to between 6% and 10% by the end of the year, with a central value of eight percent, the National bank of Serbia (NBS) said in its Monetary Policy Program for 2009. According to the Program, the inflation rate will be calculate in 2009 as the annual percentage change of consumer’s price indices, instead based on retail prices, as has been the case so far. Under the agreement between the NBS and the Serbian government on target inflation rate, as a framework for obtaining price stability in mid-year period, which the government adopted on December 19, the NBS will start implementing the target inflation rate regime as of 2009. The 2009 monetary policy will be based on the NBS memorandum on monetary strategy and on establishing the target inflation rate for the 2009-2011 period, which are based on the agreement with the government.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia