Belgrade, 05. 05. 2008.

SAA SIGNING - REACTIONS

• TADIC: AGREEMENT WITH EU NO FALSIFICATION
• KOSTUNICA SENDS REPLY TO "NEUTRAL" SOLANA
• KOSTUNICA: SERBIA SHOULD HAVE LONG AGO SIGNED SAA
• NEW GOVERNMENT WILL ANNUL SIGNATURE ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• VERHAGEN: I WAS INFORMED KOSTUNICA IS HINDERING COOPERATION
• COMANESCU: SIGNING OF SAA WITH SERBIA IMPORTANT EVENT
• DJELIC: SERBIA TO JOIN EU IN FOUR YEARS
• SERBIAN DEPUTY PM EXPECTS FREE VISAS SOON
• JEREMIC: RUSSIA SUPPORTS STRUGGLE FOR KOSOVO, EU MEMBERSHIP
• SERBIAN FM WELCOMES RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S SUPPORT
• DJELIC: SAA IMPLEMENTATION DEPENDS ON COOPERATION WITH ICTY
• GALLACH: SAA NOT BLOCKED BY ICTY, BUT CHANCE FOR SERBIA

• TADIC AT CENTRAL EUROPEAN SUMMIT OF HEADS OF STATE
• RIGHT TO INTEGRITY, EUROPEAN FUTURE
• CRVENKOVSKI, TADIC DISCUSS BORDER DEMARCATION
• EU MEMBERSHIP CANDIDATE STATUS FOR SERBIA BY END OF YEAR
• RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SUPPORTS SERBIA'S POLICY ON KOSOVO
• KOSTUNICA: PUTIN'S SUPPORT - SUPPORT TO SERBIA
• SPASOJEVIC SAYS CZECH SUPPORTS SERBIA'S EU INTEGRATION

• MEMORANDUM ON SERBIA'S COOPERATION WITH FIAT SIGNED
• IT IS VERY GOOD FIAT IS BACK TO SERBIA
• AGREEMENT WITH FIAT IS AMONG MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS
• TADIC: I WILL INITIATE RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA
• MARCHIONE: WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN SERBIA

• NATO STARTS PREPARATIONS FOR NEW KOSOVO ARMY TRAINING
• FUNCTIONAL SEPARATION OF SERBS IN KOSOVO IS INNEVITABLE
• U.S. STATE SECRETARY AGAINST PARTITION OF KOSOVO
• LAVROV URGES TO STICK TO UN RESOLUTIONS ON KOSOVO
• THERE MUST BE NO VIOLENCE IN KOSOVO - UN OFFICIAL

BELGRADE, May 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian president and leader of the Democratic Party (DS), Boris Tadic, rejected late on Sunday the claims that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union represented a falsification, and underlined that the signing of that document did not mean a recognition of Kosovo and Metohija.

Political opponents are making such accusations because of the election campaign, so that "they could score some more points," he said. Not only is it not allowed to deceive the citizens in a way, but it is also very dangerous to do that, Tadic assessed in a live broadcast by TV B92. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said earlier in the day that the Agreement with the EU had been falsified, and that at least 10 provisions of that document insisted that Serbia established good neighborly relations with the false state of Kosovo.

"A number of provisions of the Agreement with the EU were completely modified at that moment when 18 EU member countries recognized the existence of a false state on Serbia's territory," Kostunica said, and added that that act "made the entire Agreement a falsification."

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica rejected on Wednesday the claim by European Union High Representative Javier Solana that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) was status neutral in respect of Kosovo, and told Solana that it was not proper for him to speculate on who loved Serbia better. "From Javier Solana's statement, one could conclude that he is on Serbia's side and that he is advocating that Kosovo remains within Serbia, and that I am against this. And Solana's main argument is that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement is status neutral in respect of Kosovo," the prime minister said in a statement. "If what Solana is saying is true, then what was he doing as an EU official in Pristina when he congratulated the people for whom Serbia issued warrants on their new state? Is the EU's decision to send the EULEX Mission for the implementation of the (Martti) Ahtisaari plan a violation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and does this make the agreement status neutral? Does the Kosovo recognition by 18 EU member states represent a violation of the SAA and has the SAA remained status neutral after this unlawful act? Will the countries that recognized Kosovo independence annul their decision on Kosovo recognition and return it back to neutral status when they ratify the SAA in their parliaments, or will they ratify an agreement which applies for a divided Serbia without Kosovo?," Kostunica wondered and pointed out that "one knows what the answer to these questions is, unless he is engaged in frauds." "If Solana does not know, every citizen of Serbia does. Just like each Serb knows that Solana's decision to bomb Serbia was not neutral, but rather completely insane. Just like every Serb knows that the decision to build Bondsteel (base) is not status neutral, but rather represents the setting up of the capital city of the first NATO state which Solana began creating by bombing Serbia," Kostunica is convinced. According to him, "we also know very well that the Ahtisaari plan which the EULEX Mission is applying is not status neutral, but rather indicates that NATO is the ultimate body of authority in Kosovo." "Solana should bear in mind that his endowments, ruins across Serbia, are still visible, and, if not because of anything else, this makes it improper for him to compare himself with me and speculate on who loves Serbia more," Kostunica concluded.

BELGRADE, May 1 (Tanjug) - Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) President Vojislav Kostunica on Thursday stated that Serbia should have signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU) long before the 18 EU member states had recognized the unlawful independence of Kosovo. At a news conference held at the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, where the economic program of the DSS-NS coalition was presented, Kostunica said that the question Brussels should be asked is why the SAA had not been signed earlier, before the referendum held in Montenegro, which is when the negotiations with the EU were stopped by a "unilateral and unfair decision of Brussels." He also said that the SAA has to be included in the Serbian parliament agenda, because the parliament adopted the Resolution last December which explicitly reads that every international agreement Serbia signs, the SAA in particular, has to be in function of preservation of the state's integrity and territorial sovereignty. Kostunica evaluated that "such an agreement is not in the function of Serbia's territorial integrity."

BELGRADE, May 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Friday evaluated that no responsible European state or statesman would do what Serbian President Boris Tadic and Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic did by signing the Stabilization and Accession Agreement (SAA) with the EU.

"That agreement is aimed at one thing only and that is to interpret the Tadic-Djelic signature as Serbia's signature on independence of Kosovo. That deception is not going to be successful, because the government and parliament would annul the Tadic-Djelic signature after the elections," Kostunica said in an interview with Tanjug. He underscored that 18 EU member states had recognized the sham state of Kosovo and that those countries had most seriously violated the SAA, which is why negotiations should have been held with the EU before the signing in order to protect the state and national interests of Serbia. Kostunica believes that it is nonsense to say that Serbia would be faced with political and economic isolation in case the Agreement is annulled.

According to him, the statement by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn that the Agreement is status neutral in regards to Kosovo is an ordinary deception. He is confident that there has to be a fair solution for Kosovo and that is why Serbia has to remain persistent and a consistent state-building policy. "Serbia is a very important country in the region to have its interests permanently underestimated. The United States now pursues a fait a compli policy towards Serbia, but that policy is not producing the desired results. The only way to establish long-term stability in the region is to reestablish validity of international law in the Balkans. That will open doors to a fair solution." In regards to the policy pursued by Brussels in solving the Kosovo issue, Kostunica said the biggest criticism of the EU is that it had submitted to the policy of force of the United States of America and NATO with resignation.

LUXEMBOURG, April 30 (Tanjug) - Dutch Foreign Minister Maxim Verhagen said in Luxembourg late on Tuesday that Serbia admitted it was not fully cooperating with The Hague Tribunal and that he possessed information that Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostinica was blocking that cooperation. The EU Council decided yesterday that the signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the adjoining Interim Agreement could not be ratified or implied before the Council of Ministers assessed that Belgrade had realized full cooperation with the ICTY.

Verhagen told journalists that the handover of Ratko Mladic would be the best proof of full cooperation. However, I do not need a report of (ICTY chief prosecutor) Serge Brammertz to determine that the Serbs are not cooperating completely, the Dutch foreign minister said. Last week, a special representative of President (Boris) Tadic told me that Tadic wanted to cooperate with The Hague, but that Prime Minister Kostunica was blocking that cooperation, Verhagen said. He added that he had received a letter from President Tadic himself, in which the Serbian president said that he was aware of the fact that so far, Serbia had not achieved full cooperation with that court.

LUXEMBOURG, April 30 (Tanjug) - Romania's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu assessed on Wednesday that the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia represented a very important event, and that cooperation with The Hague Tribunal should not represent an imperative condition. In an interview with the Romanian national news agency Rompres, Comanescu said that when some other countries had been in question, the principle of cooperation with the ICTY had been implied in a "more flexible" manner, and that in case of Serbia, it should not represent an imperative condition either. When speaking about Serbia, this principle should not be an imperative condition either for the beginning of the process of approach towards the European Union, Comanescu said, and underlined that Romania strongly backed such an argument.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic voiced his belief on Wednesday that after the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) Serbia will join the EU in four years.

"The signing of the Agreement is an act of great patriotism by those who were in Luxembourg on Tuesday," Djelic said at a news conference in the Serbian government. He added that this only represents a key and important stop on our country's road towards the EU and that the full, practical implementation of the Agreement is in the hands of Serbia's citizens who will decide the issue at the May 11 elections.

BELGRADE, May 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic expressed Sunday his conviction that after the visit of European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot next Wednesday, Serbia will meet all the conditions for its citizens to get visas free of charge. Barrot will also propose a plan for full visa liberalization by the end of this year, he told Tanjug.

This is an initiative of a number of countries parties to the Schengen agreement, he added. A decision has not yet been taken by the European Union, but the initiative will constitute additional pressure on other countries to support it, Djelic said.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Wednesday that he is not surprised at the reaction of the Russian foreign service to Serbia's signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU), since the Russian Federation is practicing the policy of alliance and friendship with regards to Serbia, and its integral part is support to the struggle for the preservation of Kosovo and Metohija and Serbia's European integration processes.

"That has been demonstrated on repeated occasions, it was repeatedly underscored in all the talks with top Russian leaders, so that, in that sense, such a stand was to have been expected, with Russia welcoming the process of the stepping up of Serbia's European integrations," Jeremic said in a statement for Tanjug, commenting on yesterday's statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov said in Luxembourg yesterday that the problem which the international community has encountered as a result of the proclamation of the indepedence of Kosovo could have been avoided if the SAA between the EU and Serbia had been signed earlier, but pointed out that it is nevertheless better for it to be signed late, than never.

"The stronger Serbia is politically and economically, which is naturally in direct correlation with the process of our European integrations, the greater is the influence of the Russian Federation in the region, and the Russian investments in Serbia become all the more valuable," Jeremic said. "We are about to witness the closing of an important energy arrangement that will be finalized very soon after the May 11 elections. That is a major strategic investment for Serbia, it is an important investment for Russia, and the further Serbia progresses along its European pathway, and the closer it gets to its full membership in the EU, the more valuable becomes this investment and other investments by Russia in Serbia," the Serbian foreign minister said.

BELGRADE, May 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic welcomed Sunday the support Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to the Serbian government to pursuing diplomatic and political endeavors for preserving Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We have until now been following a united state policy towards Kosovo-Metohija, which got a clear support several times from the Serbian parliament. Russia has supported this policy the whole time and we appreciate this very much", Jeremic told Tanjug. Consultations with the Russian government on future diplomatic and political steps will be pursued, and Putin's letter constitutes yet another expression of support to the policy of the Serbian government and President Boris Tadic, he said.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic said on Wednesday that the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) and the related interim agreement took effect immediately after they were signed, but that their implementation will depend on whether the future Serbian government will cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Addressing a press conference, Djelic pointed out that the early elections set for May 11 in Serbia will be a referendum on whether Serbian citizens want to join the EU and whether they want the SAA to start being implemented, or whether they want a suspension of the cooperation with the ICTY and a deterioration of their living conditions. The further steps to be taken by a pro-European government will be to complete the cooperation with the ICTY, Djelic said, because the implementation of the SAA depends on whether the next report by ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz will be positive or not.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Spokesperson Christina Gallach of the European Union (EU) High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said on Wednesday that the condition of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague does not block the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) signed yesterday with Serbia, but that it in fact provides an opportunity for Serbia to demonstrate maximum efforts in cooperation with the ICTY and in the process of its association with the EU.

The Agreement has not been blocked, it has taken effect because it has been signed by EU ministers, she said. At the same time, agreement has been reached among the EU ministers and with the Serbian leaders, that the cooperation with the ICTY is of key importance, so that all the measures will start being implemented once full cooperation is secured, Gallach said in a statement for Belgrade-based TV B92.

In contacts with the authorized persons at the ICTY, EU ministers will be able to obtain regular assessments about the progress in Serbia's cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, she said. Gallach was asked whether progress in cooperation or the presence of all indicted persons in The Hague are sufficient for the ratification of the SAA in the parliaments of the EU member-states. What must be done is that Serbia should invest the greatest possible efforts in order to meet the demands of the Tribunal, she specified.

Such efforts are full transparency, so that the EU can see that everything is being done to secure that the persons indicted for horrendous crimes committed in the past are justly put on trial, Gallach said. Speaking in reaction to announcements by certain Serbian parties that the SAA would be annulled after the elections on May 11, Solana's spokesperson said that Luxembourg extended a sincere offer to the entire Serbian nation, and that it is now up to the Serbian leaders to decide what they will do with it. The SAA presents the most fundamental relations that the EU can have with Serbia before the process of its accession to the Union, Gallach underscored. This is a clear signal from all the EU members that they wish to see Serbia's future within the European Union, she said.

BELGRADE, May 1 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic will take part in the 15th summit of heads of state of Central Europe to be held in Ohrid, Macedonia, on May 2-3.

At the summit, Tadic will speak about European prospects for Serbia and Western Balkans, preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and regional stability and cooperation, his press service stated. Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski will host the summit, while heads of 17 states, including nine EU member states have confirmed their participation.

OHRID, May 3 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Sunday at a summit of central and southeastern European heads of state that Serbia will never give up its integrity and sovereignty, as well as it does not give up its joining the EU. "Serbia has the right and obligation to defend its own integrity and identity in a peaceful way and at the same time the full right to secure its European future," the Serbian president said.

Addressing the participants at the Ohrid summit, Tadic recalled that Serbia signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU on Tuesday as an important step toward Serbia's full-fledged membership in the EU. "My country is at the turning point and in the following weeks it has to make some brave decisions in order to secure a European future to its citizens," Tadic pointed out. The signed SAA, however, is also very important for the preservation of the country's territorial integrity, Tadic pointed out and added that the document is adhering to Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and does not set in advance Kosovo's final status that, as he pointed out, can be solely determined by the United Nations. Two months after the illegal declaration of the Kosovo independence by the Kosovo-Metohija interim authorities it is clear that this move has not brought anything good, the Serbian president said. "On contrary, it has negatively influenced political circumstances in Serbia, destabilized parts of Kosovo-Methoija with the majority of Serbian population, threatened the process of cooperation and reconciliation in the entire Balkans and set a precedent that the secessionist regions all around the world already refer to in the realization of their goals."

Once again Tadic underscored that Serbia will never recognize unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo because it regards the act itself as illegal and its unlawful recognition by individual countries a violation of Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tadic warned that the EU mission in Kosovo is acting outside the framework of Resolution 1244, underlining that the issue is not that the Eulex mission is not welcome to the southern Serbian province, but that for such an engagement there should be given a clear legal mandate - a decision of the UN Security Council. He added that UNMIK must not allow a single provision of the Ahtisaari plan to be implemented in Kosovo because the plan was not adopted by the UN Security Council, and it was rejected by Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs. A sustainable resolution to the Kosovo status is possible to be found only through the continuation of the negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, and the UN Security Council is the only institution with a capacity to make a legally valid decision.

SKOPJE, May 3 (Tanjug) - Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Serbian President Boris Tadic discussed on Friday on the sidelines of the Summit of Central European Heads of States in Ohrid the demarcation of the Macedonian border with Kosovo, the Macedonian President's Cabinet said, pointing out Tadic's statement that an agreement on demarcation of the Macedonia-Kosovo border is possible only with participation of Serbian institutions. Tadic reiterated that Serbia cannot accept any agreement reached between Pristina and Skopje concerning border demarcation, the statement said.

OHRID, May 3 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Saturday that Serbia is capable of becoming a formal EU membership candidate by the end of this year. "I am confident that Serbia is capable of becoming a formal (EU) membership candidate by the end of this year and that by that time it will meet all the prerogatives so that its citizens will be able to freely, without visas travel to the signatory countries of the Schengen agreement," Tadic said at the summit of central and southeastern European heads of state.

He said that no one should doubt that Serbia would fulfill all of its obligations towards the ICTY. "By signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement we opened the door of the EU, but the citizens will decide as to whether the agreement which is signed would be applied in practice", he said and voiced belief that at May 11 elections the citizens will once again confirm Serbia's European orientation.

BELGRADE, May 4 (Tanjug) - Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Sunday a message to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica that he can count on Russia's support to his policy on Kosovo. Russia's stand on Kosovo remains unchanged - that the unilateral declaration of independence of the province has dealt a serious blow to international law principles, Putin said.

Russia is ready to counter this dangerous development through joint endeavors and Serbia can count on its solidarity and support, he said. Russia focuses on close cooperation with Serbia in regard to a wide scope of international issues in the interest of peace and stability in the Balkans and in order to prevent a rift in Europe, Putin said. Russia's leadership is determined to foster relations with Serbia in other sectors too, including improvement of legal bases for concluding agreements, cooperation in industry and transport sectors, and development of cultural, scientific and educational cooperation, he noted.

Putin said he counts on fostering cooperation with Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia, which already has relations of partnership with United Russia. Active and open political dialogue is now being reinforced by strategic agreements on trade and economic partnership, particularly the energy sector, in which serious prospects are opening for fostering ties to mutual benefit, he said. Russia therefore particularly hopes for the implementation as soon as possible of the agreement with the Serbian government on cooperation in the oil and gas sector signed on January 25, 2008 in Moscow, and hopes this agreement will be ratified as soon as possible by the Serbian parliament, Putin said.

BELGRADE, May 5 (Tanjug) - Head of the election list of the DSS-NS coalition, Vojislav Kostunica, has said that the support Russian President Vladimir Putin gave him represents a support to Serbia. In a live broadcast by the Serbian Radio Television (RTS), Kostunica said late on Sunday that the support represented a support for the policy that had been pursued in the past couple of years, which had been faced with challenges such as the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo-Metohija independence and the recognition of that illegal creation by certain EU member countries and the United States. "This is President Putin's support to the policy of respect of international law, respect of Serbia's territorial integrity, and this is what makes it extremely important," Kostunica assessed.

PRAGUE, April 30 (Tanjug) - State Secretary at the Serbian Defence Ministry Dusan Spasojevic, who is in a visit to Prague, said on Wednesday that Czech officials had given their unequivocal support to Serbia's EU integration and signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union.

"We jointly assessed that Serbia's EU integration and inclusion among the full-fledged EU members was the best way to protect our overall interests and especially to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Spasojevic told Tanjug over the phone. He said that the "most ardent champions of non-recognition of unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija in the Czech Republic were those who said that the European integration was the best way to defend Kosovo." "They told us at all meetings that the recognition of so-called independent Kosovo must not and would not be a condition for our EU membership and that the EU would not make it condition for Serbia to make such a move to become a full-fledged member, as far as the Czech Republic was concerned," he said. He also said that Czech officials had said that their military contingent would remain within KFOR in the area around Lipljan, where it directly protected primarily the Serb population and that it would continue to act under the UN auspices and within Resolution 1244.

"The presence of the EU (mission), as far as Serbia is concerned, is welcome, but only under the mandate approved by the UN Security Council, which adopted Resolution 1244," Spasojevic said. He said that they had agreed that bilateral military cooperation between the Czech Republic and Serbia was very successful and added that the plan of bilateral military cooperation for 2008 containing about 20 activities had been signed. Spasojevic on Tuesday met with First Deputy Defence Minister Martin Bartak and Deputy Chief of the Czech Army General Staff Josef Prokos. He ended his visit to the Czech Republic on Wednesday by meeting with First Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar and head of the Czech Parliament's Defence and Security Committee Jan Vidim.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Minister of Economy Mladjan Dinkic and FIAT Vice President Alfredo Altavilla signed in Belgrade on Wednesday a Memorandum on understanding, strategic cooperation and joint investments, which envisages the setting up of a joint company and according to which the Torino factory would be a 70 percent owner and the state of Serbia a 30 percent.

According to the signed Memorandum, FIAT intends to begin manufacturing in Kragujevac by the end of 2009 a completely new model of Class A vehicles, and the envisaged scope of production is 200,000 cars per year. In the second stage, by the end of 2010, FIAT is supposed to began manufacturing one more model of Class B, which would increase the overall production in Zastava to 300,000 vehicles a year.

BELGRADE, May 1 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic and FIAT's CEO Sergio Marchione have agreed that it is very good that Italy's car producer wants to again start producing cars in Serbia.

In his statement to the press late on Wednesday, Tadic said that there is a "positive excitement" in Serbia over the news that Fiat is coming to Serbia again. He said that "fica," the first car produced in Yugoslavia in cooperation with Fiat half a century ago, was considered to be a national vehicle which had thus linked the two nations and cultures, and that is why it is good that Fiat is returning to Kragujevac, Serbia and Southeastern Europe after fifty years. Marchione underscored that the signing of the SAA between the EU and Serbia last Tuesday was a decisive factor for Fiat to come to Serbia.

He said that Fiat's intentions are to invest EUROPEAN 700 million in Zastava's production lines in the next two and a half years and to produce about 300,000 cars. Marchione expressed hope that a contract would soon be signed but he could not say what types of Fiat cars would be produced in Kragujevac. Under a memorandum on strategic partnership, which Serbian Minister of Economy Mladjan Dinkic and Fiat Vice-President Alfredo Altavilla signed in Belgrade on Wednesday, a joint company of which Fiat will own 70 percent and 30% will be owned by the state of Serbia will be set up.

BELGRADE, April 30 (Tanjug) - Serbian Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said that the Wednesday signing of a memorandum of understanding, strategic cooperation and joint investment between Italy's Fiat and Serbia's Zastava Automobili was one of the most important investment arrangements for Serbia. Cvetkovic told B92 television that about 160 million euros had been invested in all of Zastava in the form of subsidies and that an additional 130 million euros had been invested in the social programme, including the Zastava Employment and Education. This means that about 300 million euros were invested only for the purpose of maintaining the factory, he said and added that the budget would now be free from these expenses.

Cvetkovic said that another 200 million euros had been invested in Zastava before 2000, because the factory had suffered major damages in the NATO bombing. He said that the investment in Zastava would be a huge impetus for other branches of industry linked with the production of cars and the entire Serbian metalworking complex, which was in a big crisis. Cvetkovic said that the memorandum was not binding, but that the conclusion of the agreement would follow soon. He added that a meeting would be held in Kragujevac on May 6, when the agreement would most likely be signed and the making of an agreement defining ownership relations would follow. "Everything will be done within a very short time, because our strategic partner's plans are very ambitious - they expect to produce 200,000 cars annually as soon as next year, which will be the biggest production ever achieved by Zastava, and to reach 300,000 cars by 2010," he said.

BELGRADE, May 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian president and leader of the coalition For European Serbia, Boris Tadic, has announced that during the election silence, or the day before that, he will launch an initiative that the Serbian parliament ratifies the energy agreement with the Russian Federation.

In a late-Sunday live broadcast by TV B92, Tadic said that "during the election silence, or the day before that, he will launch an initiative that the Serbian parliament ratifies the gas arrangement." Election silence begins on May 8, at midnight.

BELGRADE, May 1 (Tanjug) - Fiat CEO Sergio Marchione on Thursday stated that the signing of the Memorandum of understanding regarding the purchase of a part of the Kragujevac-based car producer Zastava is a proof of confidence and trust in Serbia.

"This initiative represents a further step in Fiat Group Automobile's strategy aimed at supporting its growth and volume aspirations. It follows a number of targeted mergers and partnerships signed with leading carmakers and automotive suppliers over the last four years, Marchione said in a statement forwarded to Tanjug. Moreover, it demonstrates our confidence and trust in Serbia, its industry, management competence and the skill of its workers, not to forget the Serbian automotive market itself, which we consider an integral extension of our domestic market," said Marchione.

Marchione also recalled that 54 years ago Fiat and Zastava signed an accord for the construction of the factory in Kragujevac, where the Fiat Punto is manufactured today. "We believe that, together with Zastava, we have played an important role in enhancing the Serbian automotive industry from both the manufacturing as well as the technological point of view. We are proud that many Serbian engineers and technicians have been trained at Fiat in Italy and in Serbia," said Marchione.

BRUSSELS, May 1 (Tanjug) - The North Atlantic Council, the supreme organ of NATO, on Wednesday adopted a starting regulation on revision of Kfor's operational plan in Kosovo, whose one of the goals should be to train the future army of Kosovo. The North Atlantic council adopted today a starting regulation for a revision of the operational plan, i.e. instructions to NATO military structures to start planning a revision of its operations in Kosovo in the next couple of weeks, NATO spokesman James Appathurai has told a news conference in Brussels. A revision should take into account possible new tasks of Kfor, which include recognition of the developments in Kosovo, underscored Appathurai.

Tanjug's sources inside NATO confirmed that one of the main goals should be to train future Kosovo security forces. Regardless of what people would say, Kosovars will form its security forces. We would like to help them to do that in a right, democratic, way," the NATO spokesman said. He also said that all of the activities would be carried out within the U.N. mandate without biasness and with a consensus among its 26 member states. After several months of consideration, a draft revision will be presented to the North Atlantic Council, which will then have to make a political decision on whether it will and how carry out the proposed revision.

JAGODINA, May 1 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said in Jagodina that a "functional separation of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija is inevitable" and that the issue will be negotiated with UNMIK no matter how difficult the negotiations get. "Some kind of a solution has to be found, because we see that, in fact, even the most powerful from among the international community are faced with serious problems in Kosovo and Metohija," Kostunica said in an interview with Television Palma Plus late on Wednesday.

Serbia's rules, regarding both the Constitutions and the legal system, are being implemented in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, of course, where it is possible and where our institutions function, which is very important, underscored Kostunica, evaluating local elections in Kosovo as very important, because they make a system legitimate. There are problems and I believe that a solution will have to be found together with UNMIK, the only legitimate civil mission in Kosovo, said Kostunica, adding that those who have claimed that "law is not important, but the reality in the field, had now hit their heads against a brick wall." Kostunica underlined that "in time, Serbia will win the battle for Kosovo."

He evaluated that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) means "giving up the lawsuit that Serbia should pursue, proving that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia." Kostunica also underscored that the elections scheduled for May 11 are of "historic and referendum nature," because Serbia will hold the elections under threats and attempts to seize a part of its territory, which might have an impact on the elections. He evaluated that it is very important to solve the question of a new government soon after the elections and that it would be not good at all to hold new elections, because the way out is in a stable government which will be capable of running the state in the coming period for its full term.

LONDON, May 2 (Tanjug) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is visiting London, on Friday stated that the United States of America wants to make certain that there are no efforts to partition Kosovo-Metohija."Kosovo is now an independent state, recognized by all of the countries that will be coming to this meeting," BBC quoted Rice as telling reporters before arriving in London.

Besides talks on the situation in the Middle East and policy on Iran, Rice will hold a separate meeting with her counterparts from Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy - Western member states of the Contact Group for Kosovo - as well as with EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana. According to her, the meeting will also discuss how to move forward more quickly on the deployment of the European forces (EULEX) in Kosovo.

MOSCOW/LONDON, May 2 (Tanjug) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Friday that ideas launched outside the mandate regulated by UN Security Council Resolution 1244 may not be successful and that the policy of the creation of the armed forces right on the territory of Kosovo would not be a success either.

"The policy of the creation of armed forces right on the territory of Kosovo will not be a success, because all actions should satisfy both parties," the Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying at a news conference in London. Responding to the question on whether or not Russia felt that it was left out of the Kosovo settlement process, since the Western partners held a separate meeting on the Kosovo issue, Lavrov said: "Our partners have the right to discuss any problem at their meetings. Russia does not feel that it has been left out of the process of solving the Kosovo problem.

"Lavrov also said that discussions on the problem are held at the U.N. Security council all the time and that Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, takes part in them. In London, Lavrov took part in a meeting of four international mediators (foreign ministers of Russia, the United States and Luxembourg, as well as the U.N. Secretary-General) on the Middle East settlement.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, May 4 (Tanjug) - Head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guehenno told Sunday the presidents of northern Kosovo municipalities that law and order must be respected and that problems must not be resolved through violence.

There must be no violence in order to move forward, Serbs and everyone else, he told the press after the meeting. The UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is still in effect and all practical endeavors must be based on that document, Guehenno said. Zubin Potok municipality President Slavisa Ristic said he told Guehenno that the sole cause of violence and security threats in norhtern Kosovo was the attempt by the international community and UNMIK to establish independent Kosovo institutions.

The Serb community has demonstrated its compliance with the Resolution 1244 and expects talks with UNMIK and Belgrade to result in establishing a judiciary system under the jurisdiction of Serbia, not a state of Kosovo which the Serb community will never recognize, he said. Guehenno arrived in Mitrovica from Pristina, where he conferred Saturday evening with UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Premier Hashim Thaci.