Belgrade, 15. 01. 2008.

C O N T E N T :

SERBIA

• DJELIC: SERBIA READY TO SIGN EU AGREEMENT
• JEREMIC ON ONE-DAY VISIT TO MADRID
• BUBALO: SERBIA DOES NOT PREPARE EMBARGO AGAINST KOSOVO
• KAVRAN: BRAMMERTZ NOT PLANNING NEW REPORT
• PUTIN WISHES TADIC HAPPY BIRTHDAY
• KOSTUNICA OPENS MECAVNIK FILM FESTIVAL
• PRE-ELECTION SILENCE IN SERBIA STARTS THURSDAY MIDNIGHT
• CANADIAN AMBASSADOR VISITS BELGRADE CITY HALL

• SAMARDZIC: PARAMOUNT FOR STATE BODIES TO CARRY OUT TASKS FROM PLAN
• SUTANOVAC: VS NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION UNLESS CALLED ON BY KFOR
• SUTANOVAC: DEFENSE MINISTRY DOES NOT HAVE ACTION PLAN

• SC DISCUSSES ONCE AGAIN FORMAT OF SESSION ON KOSOVO
• SERBIAN GOVERNMENT: NOT SINGLE STANDARD MET IN KIM
• KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE INEVITABLE, DIALOGUE WITH SERBIA NEEDED
• SCHWARTZENBERG, STANKOVIC AGAINST PARTITIONING OF KOSOVO
• CZECH FM: KOSOVO STATUS AFTER ELECTION IN SERBIA
• NAPOLITANO, TUERK ON KOSOVO
• RECKLESS PERSISTENCE OF US AND ITS ALLIES, PRIMAKOV
• ROGOZIN: KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE WOULD OPEN DOOR TO CHAOS
• SLOVENIA: UN HAS DOMINATING BUT NOT EXCLUSIVE ROLE
• MONTENEGRO WILL NOT RUSH DECISIONS ON KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE

BELGRADE, Jan. 14 (Beta) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic announced on Jan. 14 that Serbia is ready to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU as soon as possible, and then to immediately begin a dialogue on full liberalization of the visa regime.

As was announced after a regular meeting with the ambassadors of EU countries, Djelic invited the vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, to visit Serbia in the coming weeks to see the progress Serbia has made toward meeting the standards required for the country to be placed on the "white Schengen list."

Djelic emphasized that Serbia's priority is to be granted candidate status for entry into the European Union by the end of 2008 and to begin negotiations on full membership by spring 2009.

"Signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement will give Serbia an economic boost and a better standard of living for all its citizens," Djelic said.

Djelic welcomed the formation of a European Commission working group to assist Serbia during the membership process.

MADRID, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will be on a one-day visit to Madrid Tuesday, where he will attend the opening of the First Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations.

During his stay in Madrid, Jeremic will hold separate meetings with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

While in Madrid, Jeremic will also meet with Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Genz, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, and Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik. After Madrid, Jeremic will join the Serbian state delegation and travel to New York to attend a UN Security Council session devoted to Kosovo on Wednesday.

VIENNA, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - Serbia is not preparing any kind of embargo against Kosovo and Metohija in case its southern province declares independence unilaterally, Serbian Minister of Trade Predrag Bubalo said in an interview published by the Vienna economic daily Wiertschaftsblatt on Tuesday.

Bubalo underscored that Serbia will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union only if it is accepted as a sovereign state, reminding that the international community had conditioned Serbia on many occasions over the past years.

"We want only one thing - accept our sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Bubalo.

THE HAGUE, Jan. 14 (Beta) - Serge Brammertz, the new chief prosecutor of the Hague tribunal, is not planning to make a new assessment of Serbia's cooperation with that court. The report by his predecessor, Carla del Ponte, that Serbia's cooperation is insufficient, will remain active.

Prosecutor Brammertz will not be making a new assessment for now, except in case a significant development occurs that would justify it, said the prosecutor's spokeswoman, Olga Kavran, adding that Del Ponte's report was still applicable, major news agencies reported.

Brammertz assumed the office of chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Jan. 1, after Del Ponte's term expired on Dec. 31. "Full cooperation," which according to Del Ponte has not been provided, is the European Union's official condition before it will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia.

EU chair and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel is to travel to The Hague on Jan. 16, to meet with Brammertz and his Dutch counterpart Maxime Verhagen.

The Netherlands and Belgium oppose Serbia's association with the EU before it has cooperated fully with ICTY, that is, has extradited the four remaining fugitives before the court, chiefly Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, but also Goran Hadzic and Stojan Zupljanin.

EU foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels on Jan. 28, when they will discuss the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia.

BELGRADE, Jan. 14 (Beta) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 14 wrote a personal letter to his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic, wishing him much success in his activities toward "the wellbeing of a friendly Serbia."

In the letter, which Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Alekseev handed to Tadic, Putin wished Tadic a happy 50th birthday, noting that Russia knows Tadic as an outstanding politician and supporter of the overall development of bilateral ties.

"Serbia has been and still is Russia's key partner in the Balkans," Putin stressed and added that "it is a special satisfaction to see the visibly intensified political dialogue, characterized by a high degree of trust and sharing the same approach to key international issues."

"This fully applies to the cooperation concerning the resolution of the Kosovo issue, based on respect for the principles of international law," the Russian president stressed.

Putin further said Serbia and Russia are facing "the large tasks of enhancing trade and economic cooperation, which is characterized by a steady increase in bilateral trade."

Putin cited as especially important "the realization of the joint project in the energy field," according to Tadic's office.

DRVENGRAD, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - The 1st Kustendorf Film Festival, which started in Drvengrad on Mecavnik on Monday, was opened by Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in the presence of festival founder Emir Kusturica, famous Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov, Austrian author Peter Handke and other renowned guests.

"On behalf of the Serbian government and on my personal behalf I wish our Kusturica and all his associates and participants in this important cultural event a lot of success," Kostunica said and wished the "new festival of author film called Kustendorf a long and successful life." He said that the "special feature of this event is its focus on young authors and effort to make a mix between the youth and experience of proven authors through an exchange of thoughts and ideas, because this mix should result in some kind of common feeling for true values that oppose the global commercialization and kitsch."

BELGRADE, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - Presidential candidates in Serbia have until Thursday at midnight to present their programs to the voters. Pre-election silence will last until polling stations close at 8 pm Sunday. There are 6,701,779 registered voters in Serbia, including 103,137 in Kosovo-Metohija. They will cast their votes in 8,573 polling stations.

BELGRADE, Jan. 14 (Beta) - Canadian Ambassador to Belgrade Robert McDougall visited Belgrade City Hall on Jan. 14 to offer his country's assistance in realizing the Belgrade metro project.

In a meeting with City Assembly vice chairman Milorad Perovic, Ambassador McDougall underlined the great importance of the subway for Serbia's capital.

Perovic and McDougall also discussed Belgrade's strategic development and possible cooperation between the two countries in concrete projects relating to the city's infrastructure, according to a statement from City Hall.

BELGRADE, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said on Monday that "at this point it is paramount that Serbian state bodies carry out its tasks" from the Action Plan in the event of unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

Samardzic, following an extraordinary Serbian government session, at which was adopted the Action Plan of the Republic of Serbia in the event of declaration of unilateral independence of Kosovo and Metohija, told Tanjug that the plan "has the status of top state secret." "As such it is not possible to comment on its content or to talk about it more concretely," Samardzic said.

"The adopted document is the expression of a united state policy on the province of Kosovo and Metohija," said the statement from the Serbian government session. It underscores that the Action Plan was adopted in keeping with the Resolution of the Serbian National Assembly on the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Republic of Serbia. In the Resolution, adopted on December 26 last year, it is pointed out that international agreements concluded by the Republic of Serbia, including the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, have to be in the service of preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

In the Resolution it is said that several key positions that represent the framework for the actions of state bodies and other public factors in the defence of sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Republic of Serbia. Besides the already mentioned about international agreements, the Resolution envisages that the defence of Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of the Republic of Serbia represents a priority of state institutions and of all public factors in the state, as long as a compromise solution is not reached on the issue on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

BELGRADE, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac has said that the Serbian Army (VS) "will not take any action in Kosovo unless called on by KFOR."

"Under Resolution 1244 (of the UN Security Council) we cannot enter Kosovo unless invited by KFOR and I expect that KFOR will be efficient enough to prevent any destabilization," Sutanovac told the Tuesday issue of the Belgrade daily Blic.

He assessed that the prevention of conflict is in the highest interest of both the international community and the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. "I personally regard KFOR as a partner regardless of negative rhetoric used against it in Serbia," the Serbian defense minister said.

BELGRADE, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said on Monday that his Ministry will have no special action plan to offer at a government session that take place on Monday.

At the Democratic Party (DS) headquarters, Sutanovac told the press that his Ministry will not have any special plan for the "activities that are going on in Kosovo-Metohija" either and added that his department operates in the same manner "as every other Defense Ministry in the world," or according to the best and worst case scenarios.

According to him, the army's primary role is to prevent violence, which also involves activities aimed at discouraging those who want to cause violence. Serbia's Action Plan in the event of unilateral declaration of the Kosovo independence will be the topic of the Serbian government's special session on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - The ambassadors of the UN Security Council failed late on Monday to reach an agreement on the format of the December 16 session, at which they will review the report on the situation in Kosovo that has been drafted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker, so that the decision on the issue has been postponed for Tuesday.

Western diplomats and the representatives of Russia tried once again on Monday to harmonize their stands on the format of the session, but failed to reach accord because of the insisting of the Western countries that on this meeting, only the reports by the two officials of the world organization be discussed. Serbian President Boris Tadic, who will arrive in New York late on Tuesday, has demanded to address the Security Council.

The Russian initiative requires that the session's format be the same as that of the meeting that was held in April last year, that is that Kosovo institutions, according to the temporary constitutional framework of that province, be represented by the UNMIK chief, with the presence of the representatives of Kosovo local authorities.

As announced, the Wednesday session will be attended by newly-appointed Kosovo Premier Hasim Taci.

BELGRADE, NEWYORK, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government has assessed that the UN Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (UNMIK) had not met a single one of the eight standards and that most of them are in the field of human rights, which even though work on their implementation was supposed to begin in 2003, had not even started to be implemented.

This assessment dominates the Serbian government’s commentary on the report by UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker in which he analyses the progress made in the implementation of standards in Kosovo from September 1 to November 30, 2007, prepared for the UN SC session, scheduled for January 16, 2008.

The reports by Ruecker and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in the UNMIK mission will constitute the basis for discussions at the upcoming UN SC session. Reacting to the assertions from the two reports that the transfer of powers from UNMIK to the provisional Kosovo institutions was being carried out in keeping with Resolution 1244, the Serbian government pointed to the unilateral forcing of the implementation of the plan pf the former mediator for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari, which recommends supervised independence for Kosovo.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic sent the 27-page government commentary on the reports by Ruecker's and Ban Ki-moon last week.

The government commentary on Ruecker's report, seen by Tanjug, points to all the shortcomings of UNMIK and of the provisional Kosovo institutions for meeting standards in the fields of functioning of democratic institutions, rule of law, freedom of movement, sustainable return, economy, right to property, the Serbian cultural heritage, dialogue and the Kosovo Protection Corps.

In the response to the meeting of standards in the fields of functioning of democratic institutions in Kosovo it is pointed out that in 2001 UNMIK and FRY adopted the Agreement on Cooperation in Kosovo on Joint Tasks and Objectives in Implementation of UN SC Resolution 1244. In the document is expressed a mutual conviction that Resolution 1244 can be successfully implemented only by the joint activity of all the interested parties and confirmed commitments relating to security and human rights, the protection of rights of Serbian and other ethnically discriminated communities and the return of displaced.

The Serbian government assessed that the document was never implemented in full, and pointed out that UNMIK and its decrees had breached the document; which is still today legally valid. By breaching the Agreement, Serbia's sovereignty was directly violated by the transfer of powers from UNMIK to the provisional institutions of self-rule in Kosovo and Metohija and without any consultations with competent bodies of the Republic of Serbia, said the commentary on Ruecker's report. In the field of rule of law, the Serbian government pointed out that in the presence of UNMIK in Kosovo, in addition to being taked away by force Serbian property is also usurped by way of the judicial system.

In municipalities that lack cadastral documentation - Pec, Klina, Decani, Istok, ethnic Albanians are being inscribed in cadastral documents as the owners of real estate whose real owners are expelled Serbs. In the Commentary drawn up by the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija is underscored the fact that freedom of movement, as a basic human right, is denied to a significant part of the population that is ethnically discriminated in Kosovo. It is reminded that in the eight years since the arrival of UNMIK in Kosovo, according to UNHCR data, there are 207,000 internally displaced persons expelled to Serbia and 18,000 expelled to Montenegro.

In Kosovo and Metohija there are around 22,000 persons expelled to some other place of residence in the province. After eight years, according to UNHCR data, to Kosovo and Metohija have returned 16,452 persons, of which 7,231 Serbs, 4,415 Ashkalies ands Egyptians, 2,038 Roma and 1,425 Bosniacs. According to data of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, only 3,000 of the returned really stayed on to live in Kosovo. The number of displaced from Kosovo is constantly on the rise. Of the 187,129 displaced in 2000, the number rose to 207,000, which means that since the arrival of UNMIK from Kosovo have moved almost 20,000 persons.

Referring to the standard for the protection of Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo, the Serbian government pointed out that in the province since 1999 have been demolished 156 churches and monasteries, 35 of them in the violence of March 17-18 2004. It was assessed that since the arrival of UNMIK administration, circumstances in the fields of employment and social issues in Kosovo have deteriorated significantly. Of 509 social, mixed and public enterprises, 507 folded, leaving 76,535 without work.

BONN, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - European Parliament President Hans Gert Petering urged Monday all parties involved in resolving the Kosovo status to show restraint, noting that there is no way to avert Kosovo independence but that dialogue with Serbia must nevertheless be maintained.

Contact must be maintained with all involved parties. Kosovo independence is inevitable given the historical heritage, but this should be done along with cooperation with Serbia, he told Deutsche Welle radio.

The long-term goal is membership of both Kosovo and Serbia in the European Union, hopefully as good partners. This will take time, but this is the goal, Petering said.

PRISTINA, Jan. 14 (Beta) - Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said on Jan. 14, in Pristina, that any partitioning of Kosovo would be the worst solution, weakening the position of the remaining Kosovo Serbs.

"If I were a Serb, I would protest against it. Such a solution would weaken the position of Serbs in Kosovo. We should not forget that Serbs live throughout Kosovo, not only in the north. If the northern area were to break off, the remaining Kosovo Serbs would be in a worse position," Schwarzenberg said after meeting with Slobodan Stankovic, minister for returns and communities in the Kosovo government.

Stankovic would not comment on the latest statement by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic about the possibility of dividing Kosovo, but said he felt it would be best if Kosovo's borders remained the same.

"The matter is a political one and I would not like to comment on Jeremic's statement. I can only speak for myself. I believe Kosovo should remain the way it is and within these borders. The northern area breaking off would absolutely not be good for the remainder of the Serb community in Kosovo," he said.

Stankovic pointed out that he stood for the interests of the Serb community and did not consider breaking off a good solution because the 80,000 Serbs living south of the Ibar River would be dissatisfied with the decision. He added that he did not believe that option to be on the table.

Stankovic said he was focused on solving the issue of the Serb community in Kosovo and returns, adding that he did not consider the Kosovo independence issue a priority.

While in Pristina, Schwarzenberg also spoke with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Premier Hashim Thaci.

He said his country's position on the status of Kosovo was in step with the positions of other European Union countries and further stated that, if the province proclaimed independence, the Czech Parliament would discuss the matter.

Asked by a reporter why at one point he had called Sejdiu "head of state," Schwartzenberg said Kosovo was an autonomous community soon to become an independent state.

PRISTINA, Jan 14 (Tanjug) - Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Monday that Kosovo Albanians should be patient and declare status after the presidential election in Serbia.

He made the statement after meeting Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Premier Hashim Thaci and UNMIK deputy Chief Larry Rossin, Albanian-language media in Pristina said. Kosovo is now on its own track and the Czech Republic will be engaged in support, he said.

LJUBLJANA, Jan. 14 (Beta) - At present it is impossible to predict what will happen when Kosovo proclaims independence, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said on Jan. 14, in Ljubljana.

It is Italy's position that a decision needs to be adopted to secure stability in Kosovo and the Balkans in order to prevent further tension, Napolitano said, adding that what would happen once the province proclaims independence could not be predicted at present.

The Italian president believes it is important to prepare a common stance of the European Union and the European civil mission in Kosovo. The adoption of the final status of Kosovo still does not mean the problem will have been solved, Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk said, warning of the need to find solutions to the issues of economic development, protection for minorities and preventing organized crime.

Napolitano visited Slovenia at the invitation of Tuerk, and was due to meet with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Parliament Speaker France Cujkati later in the day.

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - Former Russian Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov has said that the persistence of the United States and its allies in an attempt to give Kosovo independence was reckless and warned that a possible independence might be used by other separatist forces, which would undermine stability in many countries.

The breaking away of a part of Serbia's territory is a phenomenon of a violent secession of autonomy from a unitary state, Primakov said at a round table of Mercury Club, in the Russian Chamber of Commerce, the official Rossiyskaya Gazeta said on Tuesday.

This could set a precedent that could be used by many separatist forces and break the arduously established stability of many countries, Primakov warned.

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - If Kosovo was granted independence, this would open a Pandora's Box and open the door to chaos first in Europe and then in other parts of the world, newly-appointed Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin cautioned on Tuesday, warning that this would create great problems for Russia in particular.

If up to now, the Russian political leadership has restrained from acknowledging an independence of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Pridnestrovie, even skeptics would lack arguments to oppose to the independence of these autonomous regions in case that Kosovo became an independent territory, Rogozin specified in an interview with the Russian TV Vesti.

The Russian representative in NATO also said that Georgia, which Abkhazia and South Ossetia had seceded from, did not fulfill the conditions for the Alliance's membership, since, as Rogozin put it, it was not independent in the economic field, it had a split territory and had not overcome the consequences of its civil war.

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Tanjug) - Slovenia believes that the UN Security Council has a dominating but not an exclusive role in the settlement of the Kosovo issue, Slovenian Ambassador to Russia Andrej Benedejcic has said presenting the program of Slovenia's presidency over the European Union in Moscow.

It is primarily a European problem, claimed Benedejcic, underscoring that Ljubljana also believes that all possibilities for reaching an agreement on the status of Kosovo through talks between Belgrade and Pristina had been exhausted.

A solution to the problem should thus be sought together, with participation of all members of the mediation Troika (Russia, the EU and the United States), Itar-Tass quoted Ambassador Benedejcic as saying.

PODGORICA, Jan. 14 (Beta) - The government of Montenegro will not rush its decisions if Kosovo proclaims independence, Montenegrin Deputy Foreign Minister Irena Radovic said on Jan. 14.

Radovic told BETA the ministry was "not in a position" to comment on the call by Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Coast of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the Montenegrin authorities not to sign off on "the false independence" of Kosovo and his statement that, should they do so, they would "bring a curse upon their heads and blacken Montenegro's good name."

Radovic said the Foreign Ministry was "unable to comment on statements by Church dignitaries, as it is the institution which implements policies established and conducted by the Montenegrin government."

The deputy foreign minister reiterated that the Montenegrin government "wishes for a sustainable and workable solution which will strengthen stability in the region and contribute to energizing the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries."

"If Kosovo proclaims independence, Montenegro will not rush to make decisions. At this stage we are carefully monitoring developments, the announced steps of all parties in the process, and in accordance with this, when the time comes, Montenegro will take a position in line with declared foreign policy priorities, primarily European and Euro Atlantic integrations," she stated.