Belgrade, 05. 02. 2008.

SECOND ROUND OF SERBIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

• DINKIC: TADIC'S VICTORY BRINGS SECURITY
• SOLANA: TADIC VICTORY A SIGN MAJORITY OF SERBS WANT IN EU
• US STATE DEPARTMENT CONGRATULATES SERBIA'S PRESIDENT
• EP PRESIDENT FELICITATES TADIC ON ELECTION VICTORY
• VULCHANOV: ELECTION IN KEEPING WITH OSCE STANDARDS
• TADIC RECEIVES LETTERS OF CONGRATULATIONS FROM MACEDONIA
• DODIK: TADIC'S VICTORY MEANS CONTINUING JOURNEY TO EU
• FIC: DEMOCRATIC VICTORY WILL LEAD TO NEW INVESTMENT

• KOSTUNICA REQUESTS PARLIAMENT SESSION ON EU DECISION
• DJELIC EXPECTS AGREEMENT WITH EU ON FEB 7
• SERBIA RECEIVES TEXT OF POLITICAL AGREEMENT WITH EU
• INTERIM AGREEMENT ON INTENSIFYING COOPERATION BETWEEN SERBIA & EU
• ILIC: NO POLITICAL AGREEMENT
• ILIC: FEB. 7 IS A CRUCIAL DAY FOR GOVERNMENT
• SVILANOVIC: THIS GOVERNMENT WILL NEVER SIGN SAA

• EU ADOPTS DOCUMENT ON SENDING MISSION BY URGENT PROCEDURE
• LONCAR: EU DECISION - NAKED FORM OF BLACKMAIL
• BASESCU ANNOUNCES ROMANIA'S PARTICIPATION IN EU MISSION
• KOSACHEV: DOCUMENT ON EU MISSION CONTRARY TO RESOLUTION 1244

• RUPEL: KOSOVO "UNIQUE CASE"
• RUSSIA TO CONTINUE COOPERATING CLOSELY WITH SERBIA
• TITOV: KOSOVO PROCESS MUST REMAIN UNDER UN SC CONTROL
• RAHR: WEST HAS NO PLAN B FOR NEGATIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE
• ROMANIA WILL NOT RECOGNIZE KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• KOSOVO LEADERS: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN FEBRUARY
• OSADICHIY: RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO ABSOLUTELY ILLEGITIMATE

• BILATERAL MILITARY COOPERATION PLAN SIGNED

Serbian Economy and Regional Development Minister Mladjan Dinkic said on Feb. 4 that Boris Tadic's victory in the presidential election had brought security to the financial market of the country."The dinar was stronger today, while a 6.3 percent rise of the Belgrade Stock Exchange index was recorded," Dinkic told.He also stressed that investors had been phoning the ministry since early in the day asking for meetings, which proved that optimism regarding Serbia's future economic growth had returned.The minister further said Serbia should attempt to enter the European Union shoulder to shoulder with Croatia. "It would be realistic to have that happen by the end of 2011," Dinkic said."The citizens of Serbia had their say with a massive turnout at the elections and support to Boris Tadic. They want a journey to Europe and it is clear that there can be no compromise in the ruling coalition about that,".

EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana stated on Feb.4 that Democratic Party candidate Boris Tadic's victory in the Serbian presidential election is "a sign that the majority of Serbian citizens want to continue down the road to Europe." "Europe is very happy because of this and we will continue to work together with Serbia, and we wish that Serbia as much as possible and as quickly as possible continues down the European road, which is also the wish of half the nation," Solana told journalists, adding that this means that Serbia will be granted candidate status for membership in the EU. Asked what message he had for Kosovo's Albanians after the election in Serbia, Solana said that "he cannot give a message to anyone" and that the "solution for Kosovo must be found" without delay, "but with the goal of stability in the Balkans." Solana emphasized that in the EU it is believed that the first step in Serbia's joining the EU will be the Stabilization and Association Agreement, and then candidacy for membership.

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The US State Department congratulated Boris Tadic on his re-election as Serbia's president and announced continuation of cooperation with Belgrade to help Serbia on its way to integration in European structures. 'We look forward to continuing our efforts to build a productive relationship with Serbia on matters of common interest,' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a press conference. Noting that Tadic promised Serbia's future in Europe to the voters, he said "We will work with President Tadic and Serbia to see that promise fulfilled and Serbia firmly on the path to European integration." He did not wish to answer how the outcome of the election in Serbia will be reflected on Kosovo, except to say that the US policy on Kosovo has not changed.

BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The president of the European Parliament, Hans Gert Petering, on Monday felicitated Boris Tadic on his re-election at the Feb 3 presidential election run-off, saying that the people of Serbia have opted for the European path. In the atmosphere of a large turnout, Tadic has both been re-elected and his pro-European policy has been backed. The Serbian voters have shown that they consider themselves a part of the european family. This is in keeping with Serbia's european prospects and shows that this country plays a significant role in the Western Balkans, Petering stated. He wished much success to Tadic in his second term, especially in the implementation of the reforms which would enable Serbia to advance in the stabilization and association process. Tadic also received felicitations from the two largest deputy groups in the European Parliament - the socialists and the European People's Party (EPP).

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observer mission head Nikolai Vulchanov said in a statement for Tanjug on Monday that the second round of the presidential election in Serbia passed in keeping with the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), stressing that the massive turnout of voters testifies to the citizens' interest in the future of Serbia. These elections were good, and that says it all, said Vulchanov in a statement for the national news agency. The elections had all the necessary elements - competition among the candidates, different political perspectives, he specified. The Republic Election Commission did its task well, as in the first round, Vulchanov said, with the exception of the controversy over the credentials for certain observers that was resolved by the time of the runoff. The media also fulfilled their legal obligation and secured an balanced coverage of the campaign, with some media giving advantage to the broadcasting of paid reports, and others to the active following of the candidates and their teams, he said. The campaign was lively and contained both positive and negative elements, he said. It is inevitable that the campaign should also have negative elements. That cannot be banned because it would be in contradiction with the freedom of speech, Vulchanov pointed out.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski on Feb. 4 congratulated Boris Tadic on his election victory and expressed Macedonia's readiness to further develop bilateral ties."Cooperation between Macedonia and Serbia is based on mutual respect, trust and understanding. All this obliges us to continue, intensify and enhance that cooperation in all domains of mutual interest," Crvenkovski said in his letter to Tadic.Macedonian government spokesman Ivica Bocevski said "Macedonia will continue to cooperate with any legitimately elected president and government in Serbia. Elections in Serbia are a matter for Serbian citizens and for the country. What we can acclaim is the fact that the vote was democratic, peaceful and European," Bocevski said. The government's letter also said that "the years when there was different news about the elections in the Balkans are finally over."

Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik said on Feb. 4 that Serbia could continue its journey toward European integration now that Democratic Party candidate Boris Tadic has won the country's presidential election. Dodik told a news conference that Tadic's victory meant Serbia "could resolve in a meaningful way all the issues that have piled up." He voiced satisfaction at the fact that Serbian Radical Party candidate Tomislav Nikolic had acted appropriately, congratulating Tadic on his victory and calling for peace. Dodik stressed this behavior was "proof of Serbia's full democratic maturity," which he described as "very important from the standpoint of regional stability."

The Foreign Investors Council positively assessed the presidential election result in Serbia, stating that it will bring an influx of new investments and strengthen existing investors. "We hope that this election will set a clear direction that Serbia wants to go in the future, thereby creating a climate of certainty and maturity for the business environment in the country," reads a statement sent to BETA. The Foreign Investors Council welcomed the outcome of the presidential election as a major victory of the democratic process in Serbia. The Foreign Investors Council was established in 2002 and currently consists of 110 companies, whose joint investments exceed EUR5 million. The president of the council is the general director of Telenor in Serbia, SteinErik Vellan.

BELGRADE, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Tuesday requested an urgent session of the Serbian parliament in order to endorse necessary decisions on the EU mission and the agreement offered by the EU before Kosovo declares independence unilaterally. The EU decision to illegally send a mission to Kosovo and Metohija in order to implement the rejected Ahtisaari's plan on independent Kosovo is a certain indication that Albanian separatists will very soon declare the province's independence unilaterally, evaluated Prime Minister Kostunica in a statement forwarded to Tanjug. Kostunica believes that with this decision the EU had directly threatened the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of Serbia. "The decision to illegally send a mission means that together with Albanian separatists the EU creates, contrary to all international law principles, a false Albanian stated in the territory of Serbia," underscored Premier Kostunica. "That is why the EU's proposal to sign a political agreement with Serbia while sending a mission to disintegrate our state is a deception aimed at getting Serbia's signature on the agreement with the EU, which, in fact, would mean that it agrees with Kosovo's independence and it would make it a first state to directly recognized independent Kosovo," warned the Premier. That is why he believes that the National Assembly should convene immediately, before unilateral independence of Kosovo is declared, and that it should adopt, in keeping with the Constitution and adopted resolutions, the necessary decisions on the EU mission and the agreement offered by the EU.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic has expressed his conviction that the government will authorize him to sign the political agreement with the European Union on February 7 in Brussels. He told a press conference he believes that the government will approve the agreement at its next regular session Thursday, or by telephone earlier. After the citizens reaffirmed their commitment to Europe as if in a referendum, no politician can prevent the exercise of their will, he said. Consultations on the agreement offered by the EU have not yet been held by the ruling coalition, Djelic said. Given the will of the voters and the rejection by President Boris Tadic in his campaign of any pre-conditions to Serbia's future in Europe, any opposition to signing the agreement would be contrary to the will of the people, he said. The proposed agreement is also fully in keeping with the last Serbian parliament resolution on Kosovo-Metohija, he noted. As regards the problem of postponement of signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Djelic said Serbia will sign it as soon as it completes cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugslavia, which is the sole pre-condition to that effect.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Serbia's mission at the European Union on Monday received the text of the Political Agreement offered to Belgrade by the EU foreign ministers, Assistant Foreign Minister Milica Delevic has told Tanjug. According to Delevic, the document is an operationalization of the conclusions of last week's EU ministerial meeting and reflects exactly what was said in the conclusions from that meeting. "What the ministers agreed last week is what the 27 are currently agreed on to offer Serbia," Delevic stated. She said that the agreement mentions trade relations, the intensification of the political dialogue, the setting up of a working group that will monitor Serbia's progress on the path towards the EU and give recommendations, the intensification of contacts for university students and the youth and the liberalization of the visa regime. "In question is a kind of political framework for relations with the EU which contains what we already have and what we will aquire through the process of stabilization and association. This agreement is important for Serbia because it mentions the strengthening of political cooperation and takes into consideration the fact that Serbia aims for EU membership," Delevic set out.

BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The European Union (EU) and Serbia will intensify political cooperation with the objective of stepping up Serbia's progress toward the EU, including granting to Serbia candidate status, said the first article of the interim political agreement that the EU offered to Serbia for signing on Feb 7. The draft agreement text, which was made available to Tanjug, said: "In view of the importance of facilitating travel for the people of Serbia in the European Union, the European Commission will starty a dialogue with Serbia on visa liberalisation." "The European Union will continue to foster contacts between its peoples and the people of Serbia, including in particular contacts between students," the document said. "The European Union will take rapid steps toward increasing the number of Serbian students who study in the Union, both through the ERASMUS Mundus programme and bilateral initiatives. In this context the European Union will urgently examine ways of increasing the funding available," the agreement said. "The European Union and Serbia will sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement as soon as the necessary steps have been finalised," the draft said. Along these lines, the EU is committed to "supporting the efforts of Serbia to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, contributing to political, economic and institutional stability in Serbia, providing a framework for political dialogue between the European Union and Serbia, thereby allowing for the development of close political relations." "Supporting the efforts of Serbia to develop its economic and international cooperation, inter alia through helping Serbia prepare its laws for eventual membership of the European Union, including integratioin into the EU's single market," the document said. Brussels is ready to support "Serbia's efforts to complete its transition into a functioning market economy, developing a free-trade area between the European Community and Serbia, fostering regional cooperation," the agreement said. "With a view to achieving the above-mentioned objectives, the European Union will establish a Task Force to examine ways of achieving rapid progress. The work of the Task Force will start immediately with a view to formulating recommendations to Serbia and the Council of the European Union as quickly as possible," said the draft text, concluding that "the EU and Serbia will stay in close contact with a view to furthering this process." In formulating the articles of the agreement, the EU proceeded from the fact that "Serbia has a crucial role to play in the Western Balkans, both for ensuring stability and for the economic development and prosperity of the region." The introductory part of the agreement stressed the wish "to deepen the relationship between the European Union and Serbia, which draws on a rich and diverse range of cultural, historic and economic links and ties between their peoples." The interim agreement pointed out that "the people of Serbia are part of the European family and that a deepening relationship between the European Union and Serbia leading to membership, will bring concrete benefits to the people of Serbia, in particular through stimulating economic progress, commercial relations by developing a free trade area." The document reaffirmed "that the Stabilisation and Association process remains the right vehicle to develop this relationship" and said the EU was "convinced of the benefits that a Stabilisation and Association Agreement will bring to both the European Union and Serbia and of the positive effects this will have for the Western Balkans region as well." The official title of the document is "Interim Political Agreement on Co-operation between the European Union and its Member States and the Republic of Serbia."

BELGRADE, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Minister for Capital Investments Velimir Ilic has stated that he insists on a speedy parliament session and that "no political agreement offered by the European Union will be signed without a previous decision of the Serbian National Assembly. On the occasion of the EU adoption of the Joint Action, a document on legal and financial basis for an EU mission in Kosovo and Metohija, Ilic told Tanjug that signing of such a political agreement would mean "putting a signature on independence of Kosovo and Metohija." "Should Serbia be the first to put that signature down? The DSS-NS coalition has been warning during the campaign of something that happens now," said Ilic, adding that it is shame that Serbia celebrates together with Pristina, which is getting prepared for independence of Kosovo and Metohija. He also evaluated as improper that the Eumakes such a decision on the first day after the Serbian presidential election.

In an interview with the Feb. 5 issue of the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti, Infrastructure Minister Velimir Ilic said Feb. 7 will be a crucial day for the survival of the Serbian government. "I am not a prophet and cannot say whether the government will survive," Ilic told the daily, commenting on relations in the ruling coalition after the presidential vote. "Everything depends on the political agreement with the EU. If the Democratic Party insists on signing the agreement, then anything is possible," Ilic said. He added that the Democratic Party of Serbia and his own party cannot accept that the government is authorizing Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic to sign the document. "That agreement is a prelude to the deployment of an EU mission to Kosovo and that is the beginning of Kosovo's independence. We cannot tolerate that," Ilic explained. According to him, the fall of the government could be prevented through consensus, agreement and concessions, but it all must be in line with the Constitution. "I do not know what new parliamentary elections would bring, except problems," Ilic said as quoted by Novosti.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Former foreign minister of Serbia and Montenegro Goran Svilanovic on Monday evaluated that there is no chance the present government of Serbia will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. "Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said that a signature on the agreement is a signature on Kosovo's independence and after such a statement I am confident that he will not allow the government to sign the agreement, regardless of the government majority, that is should someone sign the agreement against his will he would immediately dissolve the government," Svilanovic said in a statement with Tanjug. According to him, the moment for signing the SAA on January 20 now belongs to the past, and the current government may only be expected to sign the so-called political agreement with the EU.

BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The European Union adopted on Monday, in an urgent procedure in writing, a document dubbed "Joint Action" on the legal and financial bases for sending a EU mission to Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug has learned from sources within the EU in Brussels. The text of the document was first coordinated in the EU Policy and Security Committee and discussed at the level of the EU ambassadors. Last Friday it was sent to the EU member-states for approval, with the deadline for responses expiring today at noon, after which the document is considered to be adopted. The content of the document should be revealed on Friday in the EU Official Gazette. Only a single formal step remains until the EU mission is sent to Kosovo, and this is a decision by the Council of Ministers on the adoption of the "Operative Plan" which gives the green light for sending the mission, Tanjug's sources said. The mission would practically be dispatched only a day after the "Operative Plan" is adopted. The plan could be adopted at any one of the Council of Ministers meetings, and one of the most frequently-mentioned dates is Feb 18 when the EU foreign ministers are due to meet. On Dec 14, the EU heads of state and government met at a summit in Brussels and passed a political decision on the intention to send a mission to Kosovo. Serbia is strongly opposed to the sending of the EU mission without an adequate UN Security Council decision, because it considers this as an introduction into the implementation of Ahtisaari's plan.

BELGRADE, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Education Zoran Loncar on Monday evaluated the decision of the European Union to adopt a Join Action, a document on legal and financial basis for an EU mission in Kosovo and Metohija, as a naked form of blackmail. "The EU decision to send to Serbia simultaneously a political agreement and a mission to Kosovo and Metohija, aimed at disintegrating Serbia, only a day after the presidential election is a naked form of blackmail," Loncar told Tanjug. He also said that should Serbia sign the agreement with the EU after its decision to send a mission to create independent Kosovo, it would be the first country to recognize the province's independence. Serbia has always rejected blackmail regardless of its origin, underscored Loncar, who is also a high-rankig official of the DSS, adding that he is confident that this blackmail will also be rejected. The European Union on Monday adopted in urgent procedure a Joint Action on legal and financial basis for a European Union mission in Kosovo and Metohija.

BUCHAREST, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Romania's Parliament has discussed a document in which President Traian Basescu announced participation of 60 Romanian policemen and 115 gandarmerie members in the future EU mission in Kosovo. Romania's participation in the mission will be based on the UN Security Council resolution and acceptance of a joint EU stand on the future status of the province of Kosovo, and it will have an exceptionally favorable impact on strengthening of our country's stand, compared to other EU member states," Basescu said in a letter discussed by the parliament late on Monday. Basescu also announced that the parliament will be informed with the contents of his other letter regarding the participation of Romania's soldiers in missions abroad. The document will refer to the deployment of 3,283 Romanian troops to missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa and elsewhere, under the auspices of the U.N., OSCE and the EU.

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - The document on the legal and financial basis for a mission of the European Union in Kosovo and Metohija is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Konstantin Kosachev stated on Tuesday. I believe that such a decision is illegal and Russia, as well as other states that respect the U.N. Charter, cannot accept it, underscored Kosachev. Kosachev described the Monday decision of the EU as yet another, rather sad phase on the way to recognizing independence of Kosovo and Metohija, Itar-Tass quoted him as saying. Actually, that process began at the beginning of this decade, when the Kosovo leadership was told that independence would be recognized sooner or later, said Kosachev, adding that he may only express his regrets in regards to the EU decision, because it is contrary to UNSC Resolution 1244. Under the resolution, said Kosachev, only a decision of the UN Security Council may be the basis for a change of the province's status.

MOSCOW, Feb (Tanjug) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in Tibilisi on Tuesday that Kosovo and Metohija is a one-off example and that it solidly not be viewed as a precedent for resolving conflicts elsewhere in the world. "The European Union has repeatedly pointed out that Kosovo is a unique example and that it should not be token as a precedent, Rupel said in the capital city of Georgia, from which have seceded Abhazia and South Ossetia. According to the Slovenian minister, the EU has "resolved the issue" of sending its mission to Kosovo, "which means that we will lend a helping hand to resolve the problem."

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Russia and Serbia will not diminish their joint endeavors for finding a solution for Kosovo on the basis of generally accepted norms and principles for resolving conflicts, Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said Monday in Moscow. Russia and Serbia will pursue their endeavors for keeping the Kosovo process within the legal framework of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, he said commenting the outcome of the presidential election in Serbia. The two countries will continue to foster their cooperation on the basis of strategic agreements concluded recently in the negotiations beweeen Russian and Serbian leaders in Moscow, he said. Cooperation on the international level will also be pursued, he said, noting that the stands of Moscow and Belgrade are very close and that this applies also fully to the resolving of the Kosovo issue.

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo process must remain under the control of the UN Security Council and all decisions on resolving this issue must be taken by that body, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said Monday. Attempts to bypass the UN SC and disregard the generally accepted norms for resolving crises, including the decision to send a European Union mission to Kosovo, will not make legitimate the EU aspirations to play a greater role in Kosovo affairs, he said. Meeting Italian Ambassador to Moscow Vittorio Claudio Surdo, Titov emphasized that the Kosovo issue must be returned to the legal framework of the UN SC Resolution 1244 and that a solution to Kosovo status must be sought through negotiations, the Foreign Ministry said.

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The West has no Plan B in case the granting of independence to Kosovo and Metohija negatively reflects stability in Europe, German Foreign Affairs Council expert Alexander Rahr said on Monday, describing this as sad. In a text for the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily, Rarh expressed doubt that the Americans would agree with the purely virtual sovereignty of Kosovo if the province were to remain under the protectorate of the European Union. The breaking away of the predominanatly Serb-minority-populated northern Kosovo is also not being considered, Rahr stated, adding that Serbia has found itself in the role simlar to that of Israel, where the creation of a Palestinian state has no historic alternative. An insulted Serbia and an angry Moscow - this is only a part of the possible problem, the German expert said, warning that the precedent with Kosovo could cause dramatic changes. The Abhasis will leave Georgia, the Pridnestrovyes Moldova, Corsica will break away form France, the Basques will leave Spain, the Flemish Belgium, the Irish Great Britain, the Tyrolians Italy, the Bosniaks and Serbs Bosnia and Herzegovina and the peoples of the Northern Caucasus will leave Russia, he concluded.

BUCHAREST, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Romania will be an extremely loyal partner of the European Union's decisions, however it will not recognize unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo province, Romania's President Traian Basescu said on Monday at the end of the meeting with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president said in turn that the independence of Kosovo is unavoidable, but it has to be done under the best circumstances, and Europe has to remain united, Romanian agency Rompress reports. Sarkozy and Basescu signed a declaration on strategic partnership, the first such document France has signed with an East European country.

PRISTINA, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The heads of Kosovo's provisional institutions - President Fatmir Sejdiu, Premier Hashim Thaci and parliament speaker Jakup Krasnici have said that the independence of Kosovo would be declared "in February." They met in Pristina with Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha, who arrived on a sudden visit to Kosovo to convey messages of US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Krasnici said that the Kosovo parliament would proclaim independence in February, but did give the exact date when this would happen. He said that the parliament would declare the independence of Kosovo in cooperation and coordination with the EU member-states, the international administration in Kosovo and the United States.

VIENNA, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The Russian ambassador to Austria, Stanislav Osadichiy, warned about the danger of the possible unilateral declaration of the intedependence of Kosovo and Metohija, noting that Russia will view the recognition of independence, in the lack of a solution for the status via negotiations, as absolutely illegitimate. In any case, Russia will not recognize Kosovo, Osadichiy said. Russia is ready to closely cooperate with partners and Moscow's concrete proposals for a solution for Kosovo, including the initiative for developping a time-frame plan, remain on the table, the Russian ambassador set out. Speaking about the issue of sending a EU mission to Kosovo, Osadichiy stated that this mission can be established solely with the agreement of Belgrade and Pristina and on the basis of a new UN Security Council decision. The ambassador reiterated his government's position that the Kfor peacekeepers can act only within UN SC Resolution 1244 and the mandate approved by the UN. The peacekeeping troops cannot force the sides to violate Resolution 1244, as would be the case if the independence of Kosovo were to recieve support. If there is action against the Serbs in Kosovo, Russia will rise the issue of the violation of the NATO mandate in the UN SC and in the Russia - NATO Cooperation Council, Osadichiy pointed out. He added that the international presence in Kosovo is expected to act in such a manner to annul Pristina's separatist decision. Speaking about northern Kosovo, which has a predominantly Serb population, the Russian ambassador said that, if Mitrovica were to break away, the Kosovo Albanians would be entirely to blame for the actual division of Kosovo.

BELGRADE, Feb 1 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Austria sign on Tuesday bilateral military cooperation plan for 2008, which envisages over 40 activities, including joint training of the two armies, the Serbian Defence Ministry said. Bilateral military cooperation is dominated by activities relating to different forms of training of the two armies and the learning of the Serbian and German languages, the statement said. Serbian Defence Ministry department for international military cooperation head Milorad Peric and Austria defence envoy to Serbia Colonel Jozef Holzl signed the plan, the Serbian Defence Ministry said on its web site.