Belgrade, 08. 02. 2008.

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY IN THE COUNTRY-GOVERNMENT DEEPLY DIVIDED

• TADIC ANNOUNCES TALKS WITH KOSTUNICA AND DULIC
• AGREEMENT ON SALE OF RTB BOR SIGNED
• SAMARDZIC: GOVERNMENT IN CRISIS, OUTCOME UNCERTAIN
• THE LEGAL ADVISOR TO PM: DULIC TO SCHEDULE PARLIAMENT SESSION
• DEPUTY WHIP IN THE SERB. ASSEM.: EARLY ELECTIONS POSSIBLE SOLUTION
• TRADE UNION URGES RESOLVING OF POLITICAL CRISIS IN COUNTRY

• MINISTERS DEMAND SIGNING OF ACCORD WITH EU
• SAMARDZIC AGAINST SIGNING AGREEMENT WITH BRUSSELS
• SOLANA'S ADVISOR LEHNE IN BELGRADE
• SAMARDZIC AND LEHNE DISCUSS EU AND KOSOVO-METOHIJA
• SAMARDZIC: SIGNATURE ON AGREEMENT IS SIGNATURE FOR INDEPENDENCE
• DINKIC: DJELIC WILL SIGN SAA IF OFFERED BY EUROPE
• MISCEVIC: NO REMARKS ABOUT INTERIM AGREEMENT
• MISCEVIC: 1.5 MILLION SERBIAN CITIZENS LIVING IN EU ILLEGALLY
• CONTINUATION OF TALKS ON ABOLISHING VISAS IN BRUSSELS
• SERBIA MET MOST CRITERIA FOR VISA ABOLITION
• MAAS: ELECTION SIGN THAT SERBIA IS MOVING TOWARD EU

• EU OPENS DEBATE ON “OPERATIONAL PLAN” FOR KIM MISSION
• RESOLUTION 1244 DOES NOT PROVIDE BASIS FOR EU MISSION
• ALEXEYEV: BARRIER FOR KOSOVO
• KOSOVO'S FUTURE STATUS IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE DOCUMENT

• KOUCHNER: EUROPEANS WILL SOON REACH DECISION ON KOSOVO
• CYPRUS STRONGLY OPPOSES TO KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• CZECH PARLIAMENT CONCLUDES 1244 PRESERVES STABILITY IN EUROPE
• KAIDANOV: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WILL PROTECT KOSOVO SERBS
• ERJAVEC: SCENARIOS READY IN CASE OF DETERIORATION
• KOSOVO DISCUSSED BY AUSTRIAN SECURITY COUNCIL
• THACI: SOME DETAILS TO BE CLARIFIED BEFORE INDEPENDENCE
• UNDP ON PROJECT OF DEVELOPMENT OF KOSOVSKA MITROVICA
• NATO REMAINS IN KOSOVO IN KEEPING WITH RESOLUTION 1244
• KRASNIQI: INDEPENDENCE IN FEBRUARY REGARDLESS OF EU MISSION
• DODIK: RS IS AGAINST KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE
• US INTELLIGENCE: UNSETTLED SITUATION IN BALKANS

• BROWN CONGRATULATES TADIC ON HIS REELECTION
• MAVRIC PRESENTED HER CREDENTIALS TO FINNISH PRESIDENT
• TERRAL: SERBIA IS BACKBONE OF REGION

BELGRADE, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic announced on Friday that early next week, upon his return from the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, he would invite Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and parliament speaker Oliver Dulic so that a solution could be found to the present situation in the country. The Conference on Security Policy will be held in Munich on February 8-10. In a statement presented to Tanjug, President Tadic announced that, most probably, he would most convene a session of the Council for National Security for Tuesday, during which he would discuss the regular issue of security in our country, all with the wish to inform the citizens that the situation was quite stable. Tadic assessed that the "new political situation undoubtedly demanded the biggest possible responsibility and seriousness of all leading officials, as well as a stable functioning of all state institutions, both the Serbian government and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia." "As for myself, I will do all can to ensure a stable functioning, and as soon as I return from the 44th Conference, I will call Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and parliament speaker Oliver Dulic so that we find a solution to the new situation," the Serbian president said. At the international conference in Munich, I will speak about the state's joint policy towards Kosovo and Metohija, of the unacceptability of any possible kind of Kosovo independence, Tadic said. In the days that are before us, it will be essential that all institutions of the state meet once again, that we all assume our part of responsibility and that the system in this country begins functioning in the best possible way, Tadic underlined and warned that there was to be no halt in the work of any public institution whatsoever, be that the government or the parliament.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - An agreement on the sale of the RTB Bor mining and smelting basin to an Austrian consortium was signed in the Serbian government on Thursday. The buyer has pledged to increase the purchase price of 466 million dollars for investments from the obligatory 180 million to 230 million dollars. The Austrian consortium also pledged to take over the 4, 691 employees without firing anyone over the next three years.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said on Thursday that the Serbian government is in crisis and that the ministers and MPs of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) will do everything they can for the crisis to be resolved, but "not at the cost of the integrity and the sovereignty of the country." "Should there be continued insistence on the signing of the political agreement with the European Union (EU), which indirectly affects the future and the destiny of Kosovo and Metohija, then the government probably has no future," Samardzic said, speaking at a press conference. "It can be expected that the government will be preserved if this matter is overcome, since the government practiced a united general policy before the EU proposal. Everything depends on the resolving of a small, minor issue - whether we will have a rift over the signing of the politial agreement," Samardzic specified. Samardzic is against the signing of the political agreement offered by Brussels, because, as he explained, "with its signature, Serbia would tacitly accept both the sending of an EU mission and the independence of Kosovo and Metohija" province.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - The legal advisor to Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica on Thursday reiterated his call to parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic to schedule an urgent session. In a letter to Dulic, Ristivojevic underscored that the Constitution of Serbia is "unequivocal," recalling that an urgent parliament session can also be scheduled by at least one-third of the MPs, and that the agenda of such a session is determined by the MPs who called it. "In that case, the role of parliament speaker is merely technical" and cannot affect the agenda of the session, Ristivojevic stated. "The duty of the parliament speaker, after calling the urgent session, is to set its date and time," Ristivojevic set out. It unequivocally stems from the Constitution that the urgent parliament session on the proposal of the National Assembly that the EU decision on the illegal deployment of its mission to Kosovo and Metohija represents the grossest violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the UN Charter and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, was called on Feb 5, 2008, Ristivojevic underscored. Ristivojevic pointed out that the parliament can open and close its session without an opinion from the government on general acts on its agenda, in this case without the government's opinion on the proposed decision on the agenda of the urgent session.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - DSS-NS deputy whip in the Serbian Assembly Miroslav Markicevic said on Thursday that early parliamentary elections, judging by relations inside the ruling coalition, were a possible solution. Markicevic assessed in a statement to Tanjug that "it is emerging that the differences inside the ruling coalition are huge" and added that it would be best to hold early parliamentary elections on May 11, along with the local elections, because that would keep down costs. He said that in his view the first step out of the political crisis would be the earliest possible convening of a session of the National Assembly, attended by the president and prime minister, as well as by all the ministers. Responding to the question whether the parliament session could resolve the crisis in the ruling coalition, Markicevic said that he did not know, but the apparent differences are bigger than it is represented. Markicevic, explaining the reasons for the current state of the ruling coalition, said he was not sure whether all the citizens, who had voted for President Boris Tadic had opted for Europe at any price." "It was honest to say in the campaign that they were not interested in anything except Europe, but we heard a different story. No one mentioned that Serbia should give up on Kosovo because of integrations," Markicevic said.

BELGRADE, F eb 7 (Tanjug) - The Independent Trade Union of Energy and Petrol Chemistry Workers of Serbia on Thursday asked Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to do his utmost for the employed persons and citizens of Serbia not to bear the consequences of the political rivalry in the country. In an open letter to the Serbian prime minister, the trade union pointed out that tens of thousands of Serbian citizens employed in public companies are waiting for their salaries that are blocked because the government is not meeting and is not granting approval for the business programs of these companies, programs that have already been coordinated with the respective ministries.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Ministers from the DS in the Serbian government have agreed that in Thursday's session to be conducted over the telephone will be on the agenda the sale of RTB Bor, but demanded that in the agenda be included also the signing of a political accord with the EU, Serbian government office for cooperation with the media director Milivoje Mihajlovic told Tanjug. Earlier, several sources in the Serbian government confirmed to Tanjug the holding of a "telephone" government session in which the ministers will take a position on the sale of the Bor mining and smelting basin. The national news agency was told that would be the only point on the agenda of the "telephone" government session. The Sebrian government's approval is needed for the contract to be signed with the bidder - Austrian company A-Tek. It was confirmed in the Ministry of Economy that negotiations were completed and that they are waiting for the government session.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Serbian Kosovo-Metohija Minister Slobodan Samardzic on Thursday came out against the signing of the political agreement offered by Brussels, because "by signing it, Serbia would tacitly be agreeing to the deployment of the EU mission and to the independence of Kosovo and Metohija." "If we compare this (political agreement) with announcements that the Kosovo Albanians will declare independence, then it is certain that the EU intends to push Serbia into the process of recognizing Kosovo and Metohija," Samardzic told a press conference. He explained that Serbia would be "sucked into cooperating as if that had not happenned." Samardzic described the political agreement as "an ordinary declaration" and that "its function is, that by signing it, Serbia would tacitly be agreeing both to the sending of the mission and to the independence of Kosovo and Metohija." According to Samardzic, "the EU activities have largely disrupted relations within the ruling coalition," adding that "their effect is undermining the democratic institutions in Serbia." he said that "it is regretable that EU has thus entered Serbia's political system, especially after Serbia has elected a president." He siad that the EU "brought the democratic institutions into a crisis, since a part of Serbia's territory is being violently torn away ."

BRUSSELS, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Former EU envoy for negotiations on Kosovo Stephan Lehne will arrive in Belgrade on Thursday to discuss latest developments in relations between Serbia and the EU with senior Serbian officians, the spokesperson of the EU foreign policy chief, Cristina Gallach, has told Tanjug. Lehne is coming to Belgrade in the capacity of advisor to Javier Solana. Gallach did not say with whom the european diplomat is scheduled to meet in Belgrade, noting that in question is a "regular working visit," during which Lehne and the Serbian officials will exchange views on developments after the re-election of President Boris Tadic and the EU's offer for Serbia to sign an interim political agreement. On Jan 28, the EU offered Serbia the interim political agreement on cooperation which aims to intensify cooperation between Belgrade and Brussels in the economic and political spheres, to liberalize the visa regime and speed up Serbia's association with the EU.

BELGRADE, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Advisor to EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Stephan Lehne, and Serbian Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic have discussed Serbia's relations with the EU and the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug learned at the Serbian government early on Friday. Lehne, former EU envoy for the negotiations on the future status of the southern Serbian province, arrived on a sudden visit to Belgrade, where he met with Samardzic in the evening hours. Solana's spokesperson Cristina Gallach told Tanjug that in his talks with Serbian officials, Lehne would discuss the latest development of events regarding the relations between Serbia and the European Union. Lehne is paying the visit to Belgrade in the competence of Solana's advisor, and this is a regular working visit, during which he will exchange views with the Serbian officials regarding the development of events after the election of Boris Tadic for president and the offer the EU has made to Serbia to sign an interim agreement, she said.

BELGRADE, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic has informed European commissioner Javier Solana's advisor Stephan Lehne that there is a growing number of relevant information that independence of Kosovo will be unilaterally declared in Pristina on February 17, evaluating that signing of any agreement with the EU would mean Serbia's acceptance of independence of its southern province. "The Serbian government has been receiving a growing number of relevant information that Hasim Taci will illegally proclaim unilateral independence of Kosovo on Sunday, February 17," the government office for cooperation with media quoted Samardzic as saying to Lehne during their Thursday meeting. Samardzic also said that the EU is trying at any cost to sign any kind of agreement with Serbia before February 17, because that way Serbia's signature will actually be its signature on Kosovo's independence. Minister Samardzic also pointed out that with its signature Serbia would justify the seizure of 15 percent of its territory and a violent breach of the U.N. Charter and Resolution 1244, and that by signing of any kind of an agreement with the EU Serbia would agree with a creation of a fake state in its territory. Samardzic underscored that Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica will not give such a signature by Serbia, adding that the EU may not expect Serbia to sign Kosovo's independence just before it is proclaimed unilaterally on February 17.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said on Thursday that, should the European Union (EU) offer the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to Serbia for signing, Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic would go to Brussels to sign that document. Addressing a press conference at the Serbian government, Dinkic said that Djelic "has the right to do that" because he has received the mandate from the government. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on Wednesday indicated the possibility that the EU might offer the SAA for signing, the minister said. "The majority of the Serbian government is in favor of moving closer to Europe," Dinkic said, expressing confidence that "the minority will also join this stand."

NOVI SAD, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Director of the government's European Integration Office Tanja Miscevic has said that Serbia should sign the "interim political agreement" which the European Union offered it and assessed that "not a single remark can be made" about that document. "The messages Serbia is sending to the Union bring harm to the process of European integration, as well as to the process of liberalisation and abolishment of the visa regime which was first launched on January 30 and which continues in Brussels today," she said in an interview for the Novi Sad daily Dnevnik. Miscevic said that while they were waiting for the government to reach a decision on the signing of that document, the EU "is counting on that that Serbia has not given up on neither the interim political agreement nor the SAA."

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Beta) -Since the beginning of this year, when the implementation of the agreement with the EU on readmission began, 52 applications for readmission have arrived in Serbia, while more than 1.5 million Serbian citizens are living in EU countries illegally, the director of the Office for Association with the EU, Tanja Miscevic, stated on Feb. 7."The process of readmission has only just begun. We are late with the reintegration of people who are returning to Serbia, there is no strategic document to accompany the action plan," Miscevic said at a conference devoted to readmission, held in the Center for Cultural Decontamination.Miscevic said the creation of the strategy for reintegration is in its final phase, but that there is no clear idea about how those returning should be helped. She added that it is impossible to establish the exact number of those who are living in EU countries illegally, because they can only be counted after the immigration services register them.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - A Serbian government delegation left on Thursday for Brussels to meet with representatives of the European Commission (EC) to continue a dialogue on abolishing the visa regime between Serbia and the European Union. The visit was agreed during a meeting between Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic and EU Vice-President Franco Frattini in Belgrade on Jan 30, Djelic's office announced on Thursday. The visit aims to pinpoint the roadmap towards the white Schengen list for the Republic of Serbia and to set a time limit for the dialogue. The Serbian delegation will met the head of the Directorate for Migrations, Borders and Asylum and the EC chief negotiator for abolishing visas - Jean Louis de Brouwer. The delegation is headed by the head of the Serbian Interior Ministry's Bureau for International Cooperation and European Integrations - Drazen Maravic.

BELGRADE/BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Serbia has met most of the criteria for the so-called white Schengen list, chief negotiator of the European Commission Jean Louis de Brouwer underscored in Brussels on Friday. After the second round of talks on abolition of visas for Serbia's citizens, de Brouwer said that he is satisfied with the work of the Serbian Government Working Group for the "White Schengen," it was said in a statement released by the office of Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic. The European Commission will determine a precise sequence of fulfillment of the visa abolition criteria, and the EU Council of Ministers will adopt the document at its March meeting, it was said in the statement. The Serbian government delegation, headed by Drazen Maravic, Head of the Interior Ministry's Bureau for International Cooperation and European Integrations, resumed in Brussels on Friday the dialogue on abolition of the visa regime between Serbia and the EU.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - The results of the presidential elections are an encouraging sign that Serbia is moving toward the European Union (EU), German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said in Belgrade on Thursday, adding that his country is resolved to support Serbia in its integrations with Europe. The message of the presidential elections is clear, Serbia has clearly opted for a pro-European pathway and Germany will continue to support Serbia in its advance toward the EU, Maas said, opening a meeting on the regional development of eastern Serbia which is financed by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation. Nevertheless, the individual results of these elections have shown that the population of certain regions is deeply disappointed and that it is necessary to invest efforts for money from funds to reach the undeveloped municipalities as well. In keeping with that, Germany will support four municipalities in eastern Serbia through various projects in the next six years, municipalities that only sporadically received donations so far, Ambassador Maas said. German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has earmarked 1.5 million euros for the first phase of the project on support to the development of the Danube region, which covers the municipalities of Majdanpek, Zajecar, Sokobanja, and Golubac.

BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - The members of the European Union were informed for the first time of the draft operational plan, a document whose adoption would give the green light for the sending of a EU mission to Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug learned from sources in the Union on Friday.A formal debate on this document will be opened on Monday, and it is essential that the plan passes through the lower bodies of the EU before it is put on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers, who are supposed to adopt it. Although it usually takes more time to adopt such a document, the EU sources hold that it is possible that in a speeded procedure, the plan be presented to the foreign ministers at the European Council session scheduled for February 18.The operational plan should specify the ways in which the mission intends to fulfill the given tasks.The adoption of the operational plan represents the last step before the mission is sent to Kosmet, which, practically, might happen the very next day. All the EU documents on the mission are status neutral, meaning that they do not mention any specific future status of Kosovo, since it is not the EU itself, but rather its member countries that would recognise the possible independence of Kosovo.

MOSCOW, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which has not been fulfilled, does not provide any basis for the sending of an EU mission to Kosovo-Metohija, Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko has said. He said that this would be an "unprecedented move, when the form of international presence is arbitrarily changed." The Russian diplomat recalled that Russia had already presented its stand on this occasion and that "it is now holding a dialogue with European partners." "There is UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and peacekeeping principles which do not envisage such arbitrary behaviour with the international presence," Botsan-Kharchenko said and added that it was "unclear how the EU mission's mandate will be realised and how it will cooperate with the UN mission in Kosovo." He told the Itar-Tass news agency that Russia was seriously concerned with the possible speedy unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija and reiterated that the process of determination of Kosovo's status had to be under UN Security Council control.

BELGRADE, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - A mission of the European Union may come to Kosovo and Metohija only in scope of a general resolution of the Kosovo issue and only following a corresponding decision of the UN Security Council, and its arrival which would be the result of any other decision would be illegal, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Serbia Alexander Alexeyev said in an interview for the Friday issue of the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. Asked if Russia would be ready to give, through the Security Council, a green light for the arrival of this mission, Alexeyev answered that Russia was aware of the fact that the ones who wanted the mission to come placed great hope on the UN secretary general, but that it was convinced that those hopes would not be justified. I think that it would be a huge mistake if the secretary general gave some kind of a sign that could be interpreted as a green light for the sending of the mission to Kosovo, he added. Asked what Russia could do in case that Brussels sent the mission to Kosovo, Alexeyev answered that his country had close contacts with Serbia and underlined that Russia highly appreciated the cooperation it had established in regard to Kosovo. Our two countries have already passed the way from coordinated to joint policy, and you can be absolutely sure that in our contacts, we will find ways of how to respond to this challenge, he added. As for the possible unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence, if any, Alexeyev said that a session of the Security Council should be convened at once and that the body was obliged to reach such a decision that would proclaim the declaration as null and void. You have probably read in the papers that ways are being sought for the proclamation of independence, Alexeyev said, adding that an "original" idea had presented itself that it might be better to do such a thing over the weekend, so that an urgent session of the Security Council could be avoided. This proves that the people who think in this way are not completely sure that their moves are correct, the Russian ambassador said. Deeds that take place at night, during weekends, at the time when no one knows what is going on, are probably not justified and well-thought-out.

BELGRADE , Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Media company B92 has had access to the draft document of the European Union on a joint action for the establishment of the EU mission in Kosovo, which, they say, reads that the aim of the mission is to promote democracy, economic development and stability in Kosovo. EU envoys will be in charge of promotion of justice, police and customs service. Members of the Mission in Kosovo are being sent under conditions when there is a need in the field to prevent possible conflicts, prosecution and violence, the document reads. The beginning of the mission in Kosovo is not specified in the document. Instead, it reads that its duration is 28 months, with a possibility of an extension, B92 stated. The mission will be financed from the European budget and the first 16 months of the engagement will cost EUR 205 million. The future status of Kosovo is not mentioned in the 30-page document, which is the basis for the mission's establishment.

PARIS, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - French Foreign Minister B. Kouchner said that the Europeans would shortly reach a decision on Kosovo's future. We waited for the elections in Serbia, at which Tadic became the head of the state, which is good, Kouchner told the press in the parliament building. Serbia is still in the election process, we will see what will happen, he added. We will reach a decision on Kosovo very soon, and we were not able to do that before because everything was blocked, the French foreign minister said. I did not say that we expect independence, but rather a decision that will be reached very soon, Kouchner said.

BELGRADE, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis has said that official Nokosia abstained in the recent EU voting because it was not satisfied with the legal explanation regarding the possible EU mission in Kosovo and Metohija. Asked by the BBC whether the fact that Cyprus had not openly opposed to the mission whose task would be to implement the Martti Ahtisaari plan, it had, in fact, yielded to the pressure of other EU member states, she answered that Cyprus had decided to act that way. We were not satisfied with the legal explanation that was given in the documents, and although certain changes had been added, we still found it as unacceptable, so we decided to abstain in the voting, she specidfied. Kozakou-Marcoullis reiterated that the stand of Cyprus as regards the recognition was well known, and underlined that the country was resolved not to acknowledge Kosovo independence and that it would not change that stand.

PRAGUE, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - The Czech parliament Chamber of Deputies has discussed the situation involving Kosovo and concluded that the solution for the future status of that Serbian province must stem from United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244 and be founded in international law so that the security of Europe and the world could be ensured in the Western Balkans. At a session held late on Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies adopted proposals from the Foreign Relations Committee pertaining to the future status of the southern Serbian province with an overwhelming majority vote. The conclusions focused on the stand that not all possibilities have been exhausted during the negotiations on the future status of this province. Contributing to the stability in the Balkans and strengthening European and global security, the solution for Kosovo must be in keeping with international law and must stem from the text of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and any possible changes in this resolution must be adopted on the grounds of consensus, the Czech parliament lower house concluded. Stressing that the resolving of the future status of the province is extremely important for the future peaceful development of the Western Balkans and European and global security, the Czech parliament Chamber of Deputies expressed confidence that the best way for securing the peaceful development, security and prosperity of the region is to include the states of the Western Balkans into the structures of the EU.

PRISTINA, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - The international community will do everything to secure the safety of the Serb community in the period of the declaration of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija, and in the future, the head of the US office in Pristina, Tina Kaidanov, said. Kfor, UNMIK and the Kosovo Police Service, who are all responsible for this, will ensure the widest possible safety for all communities, especially the Serbs during this period ... I believe that we can say that the Serb community will be safe both during this period and in the future, Kaidanov set out. She said that she is confused by the fact that people feel unsafe due to announcements that the EU mission will be deployed in the province, noting that the EU mission in Kosovo will do good things for the people of Kosovo, it will aid the implementation of the provisions on the protection of the population and the rule of the law.

VILNIUS, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - At an informal meeting in Vilnius, the NATO defence ministers on Thursday assessed that the situation in Kosovo was sensitive and stressed that different scenarios of action had been prepared if the situation deteriorated, said Slovenian Minister Karl Erjavec, who presided the meeting. In a statement for the Slovenian news agency STA, Erjavec did not want to disclose the contents of prepared scenarios. The topic of the Thursday meeting was KFOR's action and the ministers concluded that KFOR was a factor of stability in Kosovo because it ensured safety to all ethnic communities in the region.

VIENNA, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Leader of the Austrian Freedom Party Heinz-Christian Strache said in Vienna on Thursday that he would request from Austria not to recognise the independence of Kosovo-Metohija. Our government cannot support a unilateral declaration of independence, which is contrary to UN Resolution that envisages autonomy, Strache told reporters after a meeting of the National Security Council where one of the topics was Kosovo. Austria does not have a neutral stand on Kosovo-Metohija, as it is obliged by the Constitution. Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who presided the Council session, announced that Austria would be among the first to recognise Kosovo's independence. Austria also supports the establishment of an EU mission in Kosovo, believing that no new UN resolution is needed for it.

PRISTINA, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaci said that "a few details" had to be agreed on with the international community before independence of Kosovo was declared. "Pristina, Washingotn and Brussels are in the final stage of finalisation of the status," said Thaci after a regular government session, according to Pristina-based Albanian-language electronic media. He said that Belgrade could oppose Kosovo's independence, but that for "Washington, Brussels and Pristina everything is over as far as the status and independence are concerned." The provisional government of Kosovo has allocated one million euros from the budget for the events dedicated to the celebration of independence.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - UNDP representatives visited Kosovska Mitrovica and Zvecan to get more information about the UNDP work in this region. UN Ass. SG and reg. director K. Udovicki reviewed a new project, recently signed with representatives of southern and northern Mitrovica and Zvecan, which refers to the development of the region but has not been concretised yet. The value of the project is 1.5 million dollars and the subprojects on which work will be done will be determined in the next month. Udovicki met with southern Mitrovica municipality President Bajram Rexhepi and said after the meeting that local governments had to be able to take the responsibility for citizens' needs.

VILNIUS, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - UN Security Council Resolution 1244 ensures the mandate of NATO troops to remain in Kosovo in case that ethnic Albanians proclaim independence, which can be expected, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hop Scheffer said at a meeting that was held in Vilnius on Thursday. Resolution 1244 is and will remain the basis of NATO's presence, Scheffer told a news briefing. Scheffer also announced that the Alliance might play a crucial role in the training of future Kosovo security forces, but that all this would have to wait for the resolution of the status of that province. Before this, the participants of the meeting in Vilnius agreed that KFOR troops would remain in Kosovo until stability was ensured in the West Balkans. KFOR comprises of about 16,000 solders, whose commanders have confirmed they are ready to get to grips with any possible form of violence.

PRISTINA, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - President of the provisional Kosovo parliament Jakup Krasniqi said on Thursday that Kosovo would declare independence in February, regardless of whether the European Union would soon decide to send its mission to Kosovo. According to Pristina-based electronic media, Krasniqi was speaking after a meeting with the head of the Hungarian office in Pristina. "The declaration will happen regardless of whether a decision on the sending of an EU mission will be made on February 18 or not," Krasniqi said. The Hungarian diplomat told reporters that the Hungarian government's stand would be identical to the stand of EU member-countries.

BANJA LUKA, Feb 8 (Tanjug) - Republic of Srpska (RS) Premier Milorad Dodik stated late on Thursday that the RS is against Kosovo's independence and that it will not recognize a unilateral solution, but it believes that the reality should be accepted. "As Milorad Dodik and not as president, I believe that Serbia must not be an experimental subject of the situation regarding Kosovo. I simply believe that the end solution to the issue should happen in that way that northern part of Kosovo remains in Serbia's territory and that independence is accepted in the other part, but with international guarantees of the status of the remaining Serbs and monasteries in that area," Dodik said in a live broadcast by TV BN late on Thursday. He also said that one part of the international community believes that Kosovo as a whole, including its northern part, should be declared independent. "That is not fair and correct, because their initial claim was that the degree of interethnic hatred and distrust is such that there is no possibility for the Kosovo Albanians to remain in Serbia. How can it now be checked that, as they say, the Serbs in northern Kosovo may remain with Albanians,".

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Tanjug) - United States intelligence services expect that the situiation in the Balkans will "remain unsettled" in 2008 due to a proclamation of the independence of Kosovo province, and that ethnic Albanian extremists in Macedonia and in southern Serbia will after that continue pressuring for unification with Kosovo, said a report presented to the US Senate by Director for National Intelligence Michael McConnell. "We judge that the Balkans will remain unsettled in 2008 as Kosovo's drive for independence from Serbia comes to a head and inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia worsen," said the annual report on the world-wide threat assessment which McConnell presented to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. McConnell, who head the service that covers 16 US intelligence agencies and services within various ministries, pointed out that Kosovo Albanian leaders intend to proclaim independence from Serbia "early in 2008." "Kosovo leaders say they will declare independence early in 2008, a move that could trigger confrontation with rejectionist Serbs living in northern Kosovo and some retaliatory measures by Belgrade. A delay in independence could provoke a violent response from embittered Kosovo Albanian extremists," the report said. This is why, according to McConnell, it is possible that the proclamation of independence in the province could lead to violence. "Inter-ethnic violence that brings about intervention by NATO-led forces, is possible once Kosovo declares its independence, and any violence could spill over into neighboring states," the report said. "However Kosovo's status is resolved, ethnic Albanian minorities in Macedonia and southern Serbia are likely to continue pressuring for greater autonomy, and ethnic Albanian extremists will attempt to exploit public discontent and use small-scale violence to rally support for unification with Kosovo," McConnell said in his report.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Beta) - On Feb. 7, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown congratulated Serbian President Boris Tadic on his reelection, stated the British Embassy in Belgrade.In his letter to Tadic, Brown said that the British government shares his political dedication to the realization of Serbia's European prospects. "We will continue to provide strong support to your work on the realization of the remaining conditions needed to make your country's quicker progress possible," it was said in the letter. The British prime minister added that he is looking forward to this joint challenge and to the moment when Serbia becomes a full and respected member of the European family.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Beta) - Ambassador to Finland Vera Mavric presented her credentials to Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Feb. 7. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said that in the conversation that followed, Halonen emphasized the importance of Serbia's European integration, a process she said her country fully supports. The statement added that a part of the conversation was devoted to the future status of Kosovo.

BELGRADE, Feb 7 (Beta) - The French ambassador to Serbia, JeanFrancois Terral, stated on Feb. 7 that France is convinced Serbia will take "its place as the backbone of the region," in spite of current complications."Interest in Serbia is growing and we are convinced Serbia will affirm itself," Terral said at a gathering entitled "Minorities: Migration and Readmission," held in the Center for Cultural Decontamination.Commenting on the beginning of work of the website "Courriers de la Serbie" (Messenger of Serbia), which is part of the website "Courriers de Balkan," Terral said that, for France, francophony does not represent a remnant of nationalism or nostalgia, but care for cultural variety.The website, at the address www.balkans.courriers.info, is intended for Frenchspeaking readers in Serbia and in Frenchspeaking countries.Minister for the Diaspora Milica Cubrilo said her ministry had donated EUR 5,000 for the creation of the website and that about 300,000 people who originated in Serbia are now living in francophonic areas of Europe, North America and Africa. The Swiss ambassador to Serbia, Wilhelm Meyer, said that his country had greatly contributed to the creation of the website, and that balkans.courriers.info is the first francophonic website in eastern Europe, initiated ten years ago.