SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DECISION

GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO NULLIFY INDEPENDENCE

BELGRADE, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government Thursday adopted a Decision on nullification of illegal acts on declaration of unilateral independence by provisional organs of self-government in Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian government submitted a Decision Proposal of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on confirmation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia Decision on nullification of illegal acts on declaration of unilateral independence by provisional organs of self-government in Kosovo and Metohija, requesting an urgent sitting of the National Assembly. Under the Serbian Government Decision, acts and activities by provisional organs of self-government in Kosovo and Metohija declaring unilateral independence are being nullified, because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, U.N. Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 and other UN Security Council resolutions, as well as by international law in force. Those acts and activities are violent and unilateral secession of a part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and that is why they are null and void. Those acts and activities have no legal effect in the Republic of Serbia or in international legal system. Unilateral secession of a part of the sovereign state's territory is an act of legal violence against the Republic of Serbia and violence against the valid international law, it is said in the Decision. With this Decision, the Government of the Republic of Serbia confirms that the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija is an inalienable part of a single and inseparable constitutional, state and legal system of the Republic of Serbia based on the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the U.N. Charter. The government also confirms that Serbs and all citizens of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija who recognize the state of Serbia are fully equal citizens of the Republic of Serbia, and have the right not to recognize illegal acts on declaration of unilateral independence. With this Decision, the Government confirms that it implements the Constitution and laws, as well as the entire legal order of the Republic of Serbia, in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian Government requests all member states of the United Nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia in keeping with international law, U.N. Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244, it is said in the Decision.

SERBIA WILL ANNUL PRISTINA DECISION

BELGRADE, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Thursday that Serbia will annul a unilterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija and that it will ask the United Nations (UN) to do the same. Addressing a press conference, the prime minister announced that the decision on the annulment of the announced unilateral independence of Kosovo will take effect when that unilateral independence is proclaimed. Such legal violence is being inflicted against a country for the first time in the world, Kostunica said. At the present historical moment, Serbia is demonstrating national unity and dedication to international law and the principles on which the world is founded, the prime minister said. Kostunica said that the decision will also be forwarded to the UN secretary-general, asking for an emergency session of the Security Council and the annulment of the self-proclaimed independence as an illegal act. The self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija will be "without effect in Serbia, but also in the international legal order," and all the decisions in connection with the sending of a European Union (EU) mission to Kosovo will also be declared null and void in the decision, Kostunica underscored. Kostunica urged Serbs in Kosovo to remain in their land and said the state will do everything for them to continue living there, leading normal lives. The state organs will strengthen their presence in Kosovo.

KOSTUNICA: SERBIA WILL RESPOND WITH CONCRETE MEASURES

BELGRADE, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica said Thursday that Serbia would respond with concrete measures to the possible decision of certain countries to recognize the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo. "If some are deluding themselves that there will no such measures and that Serbia will shut its eyes before such an illegal and violent act, they are greatly mistaken," Kostunica warned at a press conference in the Serbian government seat. He added that Serbia will act within its powers, but completely decisively, that it will implement the principles of the international order and its constitutional order in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. Speaking about the announced deployment of the EU mission to Kosovo and Metohija, Kostunica said that such a mission violates international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the UN Charter.

DJELIC: SERBIA WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE

BELGRADE, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic said on Thursday, in a meeting with ambassadors of member-states of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission delegation head, that Serbia will never recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija province and that it will fight for the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity using peaceful and diplomatic means. Djelic pointed out to the ambassadors that an EU mission can come to the southern Serbian province only with a relevant decision adopted at the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the Serbian Deputy Premier's Office said. In the talks with the foreign diplomats, Djelic stressed Serbia's stand in principle that international law must be respected. The topics at the talks also included the European future of Serbia, the steps that need to be taken to secure the abolishment of the visa regime, the acquiring of candidate status for EU membership by the end of 2008, as well as an increase in the EU funds intended for Serbia in 2009.

POPOVIC: KOSMET WILL NEVER BE A STATE 

VIENNA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) –Minister of Mining and Energy, Aleksandar Popovic, said on Thursday that Kosovo and Metohija would never be a state and that Serbia would do all in its power so as to render senseless the snatching away of its territory. "We will do all that is realistically possible, both now and in the future, so as to make this violence senseless and we will do this peacefully and rationally. If we are persistent in this, I am positive that the result will be new talks on Kosovo that will take place in five, six, or eight years," Popovic said in an interview for the Frankfurt Serbian-language daily Vesti. He pointed to the fact that at the recent meeting between the Serbian president, prime minister and parliament speaker, accord had been reached that Kosovo was an issue of key importance for the state and that all other matters should be put aside.  Asked if the DSS would be willing to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) since the interim political agreement the EU had offered was qualified as unacceptable, Popovic answered that the SAA and the sending of the EU mission to Kosovo were two separate issues. According to him, it is the EU that has to clearly define its stand. "We have already decided in favour of the European path, and it is the EU that has to make it clear whether it respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.We are not going to accept a snatching away of our territory. It is for Europe to say whether it wants us or not. If they want us, they can have us only within our internationally recognised orders. This means - only together with Kosovo," Popovic underlined.

SERBIAN PARLIAMENT

TADIC SWORN IN

BELGRADE, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - Newly elected Serbian President Boris Tadic was sworn in at the Serbian parliament on Friday, and this marked the beginning of his five-year term of office. Tadic took the oath by reading and signing the text from the new Serbian Constitution, after which the national anthem was played. The text of the oath goes as follows: "I swear that I will invest all my efforts in the preservation of sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo-Metohija as its integral part, as well as the realisation of human and minority rights and freedoms, observation and defence of the Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and welfare of all Serbian citizens and that I will fulfill all my duties conscientiously and responsibly." Tadic was sworn in after the Serbian parliament had accepted the Serbian Electoral Commission report on the results of presidential elections organised under the new Constitution and election laws.

THE CENTRAL CELEBRATION OF SERBIA'S STATEHOOD AND ARMY DAY

TADIC LAYS WREATH AT TOMB OF UNKNOWN SOLDIER

BELGRADE, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - On the occasion of Serbia's Statehood Day, Serbian President Boris Tadic on Friday laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Mt Avala. The president signed the book and wrote: "For Serbia, which creates its future, keeps its Kosovo and is dedicated to its identity." The president's delegation included Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Chief of the Serbian Army General Staff Zdravko Ponos.

CELEBRATION IN ORASAC BEGINS WITH LITURGY

ORASAC, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - The central celebration of Serbia's Statehood Day and 204th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising started at the Church of Our Lord's Resurrection in Orasac, where the liturgy was served by Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Coast, Bishop Jovan of Sumadija, Bishop Atanasije and priests from the Sumadija eparchy. In the presence of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Serbian ministers, Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, Princess Katarina and a large number of officials, Metropolitan Amfilohije recalled the importance of one of the 15 biggest Christian holidays, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which the Serbian Orthodox Church marks on February 15. Karadjordje Petrovic led the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire near Orasac 204 days ago today. The first big victories in the first years of the uprising followed and they were crowned by the liberation of Belgrade. Serbia marks its Statehood Day on Feb 15, when the fight against the Ottoman rule started in Orasac and when the first Constitution of the Principality of Serbia was promulgated in 1835.

KOSTUNICA: SERBIA WILL NOT JOIN EU THROUGH UNDIGNIFIED TRADING

ORASAC, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - Serbia has always been in Europe and therefore nobody can either bring it in or take it out, and Serbia should join the European Union as a whole, in the same way as all other members entered this union, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Friday. The prime minister said that Serbia was requested to "sit at the table of the European family" of nations as the only state which got its seat through undignified trading and by sacrificing its memories and identity. "Serbia can never agree to this," Kostunica said at a celebration on the occasion of the Statehood Day in Orasac. The Serbian prime minister stressed that Kosovo is "another name for the worthiest thing that Serbs have given to the Christian civilisation." "Throughout centuries, many times, numerous power-wielders took Kosovo from us by force. But in our history, this is the first time that robbers want us to agree, to approve and accept, to welcome the stealing of Kosovo as slaves. To sign that what has been ours for centuries is not ours," Kostunica said.

TADIC CONGRATULATES SERBIAN ARMY DAY TO SUTANOVAC AND PONOS

BELGRADE, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - On the occasion of February 15, Serbian Army Day, Serbian President Boris Tadic on Friday congratulated the holiday to Serbian Army Chief of Staff Zdravko Ponos, Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and all Army members. "I wish you a lot of success in your work. The reform of the defence system must continue because the Serbian Army represents one of the key pillars of the overall stability and progress of our country," Tadic said in his message.

KOSTUNICA INVITES SERBS TO UNITY IN DEFENCE OF KOSOVO

BELGRADE, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Friday that all state institutions and all Serbian citizens should be united in the defence of Kosovo-Metohija, like Serbs were united in Kosovo in 1389 and in Orasac in 1804. "This might be the only issue on which differences should not exist. The Serbian government on Thursday adopted the historic decision to annul in advance and once and for all the illegal declaration of a false state in Serbia's soil," Kostunica said in Orasac, at the celebration of Serbia's Statehood Day. If Serbia today agrees to what part of the international community wants from it, it will give up not just the past generations, but will also tie the hands of future generations at times in which law and justice will be victorious, the prime minister said. "We cannot give up our ancestors, we cannot jeopardise the rights of our descendants and remain what we are," Kostunica said and said that Serbs who lived in Kosovo-Metohija and all those who respected Serbia and thought of it as their state should know that Kosovo is Serbia and that they could only be the citizens of Serbia.

URGENT UN SECURITY COUNCIL SESSION

JEREMIC SAYS INDEPENDENCE WILL THREATEN PEACE IN WORLD

NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbia has requested an urgent UN Security Council session under the UN Charter item that refers to the direct threat to peace and stability in the world, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said ahead of the session late on Thursday. "We believe that the announcement of Pristina institutions that they might declare independence in the next few days represents a serious threat to international peace and stability in the world," Jeremic told the Serbian Broadcasting Company and added that Serbia urged a compromise solution. "If independence is declared, despite a warning which Serbia, Russia and many other countries will make this evening, I will present to the Security Council Serbia's firm stand that such a decision will be completely null and void, illegitimate and without any legal effect for us. It will seriously threaten peace and stability in the West Balkans and most likely in other parts of the world," Jeremic said. "I expect that we will get support for such a stand, for efforts to find a compromise solution that can never be the fruit of any unilateral moves," Jeremic said and added that Serbia would request from the Security Council to adopt a conclusion condemning and preventing the declaration of independence.

JEREMIC PRESENTS PROPOSALS TO UN SC

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic urged Thursday the UN Security Council to secure full respect of its Resolution 1244, to react immediately and condemn Pristina's intention to unilaterally, illegally and unlawfully declare independence of Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia. The UN SC must also confirm Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Kosovo, Jeremic told the UN SC session. If the Kosovo parliament adopts a declaration of independence, the special representative of the UN secretary-general in Kosovo Joachim Ruecker must without delay nullify the declaration and dissolve the Kosovo parliament, he said. Serbia also demands that KFOR remain neutral as regards Kosovo status, protect the Kosovo Serb community and the Serbian Orthodox Church clergy and monasteries, and prevent possible repetition of ethnic cleansing such as was perpatrated in the second half of 1999 and in March 2004, Jeremic said. Serbia also expects the European Union to continue to respect all provisions of the Resolution 1244, particularly those which concern prerogatives under UN SC jurisdiction, he said. Serbia in principle welcomes any expression of Europe's commitment to Western Balkans and consequently commends the EU wish to step up its presence in Kosovo, but only with UN SC authorization, Jeremic said.

JEREMIC: SERBIA WILL NOT TOLERATE KOSOVO SECESSION

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic informed the UN Security Council at its session behind closed doors Thursday that Serbia will not tolerate any unlawful act of secession of Kosovo-Metohija and urged UN member-states to continue to respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity in this time of crisis. The Serbian government and parliament will nullify the decision of Pristina authorities and will take all diplomatic, political and economic measures to prevent and reverse this direct and unprovoked attack on Serbia's sovereignty, Jeremic said addressing the UN SC. Serbia will not, however, resort to the use of force, he emphasized. Serbia will never agree to any violation of its territorial integrity and will never recognize Kosovo independence. Serbia will never renounce Kosovo and will never give up if this cowardly act is not prevented, not now, not in a year, not in a decade, not ever. Kosovo-Metohija will remain part of Serbia forever, Jeremic said in his address to which Tanjug has had access.

JEREMIC: SERBIA HAS SUFFERED ENOUGH

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Addressing the UN Security Council on Thursday, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic rejected a series of lies against Serbia, voiced in the "corridors" of the international diplomatic scene, starting from the untruth that Serbia had caused the present problems in Kosovo. My people has suffered enough, being satanised for the events from the 1990s. We are tired of people who still hide behind the past in order to justify their attacks at our country today, Jeremic said and added that he would be non-diplomatically open in order to present the current status of Serbia. He said that Serbia could not let a pack of lies enter history books, lies that Serbia obstructed processes, that Serbia was still a nationalist country trying to oppress minorities and that Serbia was the cause of current problems. You were told in the corridors that all possibilities have been exhausted, that a solution must be imposed, because negotiations have failed, Jeremic said and added that what had happened in the past two years had not been negotiations, but an exercise whose final outcome had been presented to all. Last two years testify about the failure of those who wanted to impose solutions through a ruthless lack of observation of the most elementary rules of international law and democratic values. Serbia will not accept responsibility for this failure, he said.

JEREMIC: SERBIA WILL NEVER FORGET

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Kosovo will be ours until the end, Kosovo will remain a part of Serbia forever, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Thursday, addressing the UN Security Council. Jeremic emotionally invited all Security Council members and all UN member-countries to continue to observe Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity at this time of crisis. We are telling you with all our certainty and moral force of united people - Serbia will never forget, Jeremic said. The preservation of integrity and freedom of Serbia integrated in Europe and the world is the foundation of our national interest. This will not change. We have made our choice. It is now time for the Security Council and member-countries to choose - to decide whether they will join us in the defence of principles which we all deeply observe, the minister said. He said that this very issue was before the Security Council - whether to destroy or preserve the inviolable character of basic solidarity among the sovereign states, the common denominator of the international community. Moments such as this one determine the path of every nation, Jeremic said and added that Serbs had for years fought to defend their freedom, to establish democracy and to build a fair society. This is how it was, how it is and how it will be. Like Kosovo will be ours until the end. Kosovo will remain a part of Serbia forever, Jeremic said.

JEREMIC AND CHURKIN: MAJORITY IS NOT FOR UNILATERAL INDEPENDENCE

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - The UN Security Council held a two-hour session on Kosovo-Metohija late on Thursday, after which Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Russia's permanent representative at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said that the Security Council did not have the majority that supported unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. Jeremic said that most Security Council members had supported the continuation of peaceful negotiations on the status of Kosovo-Metohija, because they believed that only peaceful negotiations could lead to a solution to complicated problems. If the world keeps silent before the violent dismembering of a sovereign country with internationally recognised borders and a UN member, then tomorrow we will wake up in a world where no sovereign country's interests are guaranteed, Jeremic told reporters. Kosovo is not a unique case. There is nothing unique in plans to achieve ethnically motivated secession. There are many such cases in the world, but this would be the first time for a secessionist movement to get the support of key Security Council members, Jeremic said. Churkin said that the supporters of independence of Kosovo-Metohija - United States and EU members - had remained in the political minority at the UN Security Council. It turned out that their policy has no support whatsoever at the UN Security Council, Churkin told Russian reporters after the special Council session in New York.

CHURKIN: PRESENCE OF MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES IS SUFFICIENT RESPONSE

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - The presence of representatives of more than 50 countries at the UN Security Council session on Kosovo is a sufficient response to those who believe that Kosovo is a unique case, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Friday. Speaking after the special UN Security Council session on Kosovo, Churkin said that the "Kosovo precedent" might cause a painful reaction in different parts of the planet. Asked how the Russian delegation to the UN Security Council would act if Kosovo authorities unilaterally declared the independence of Serbia's southern province, Churkin said that he was "waiting for instructions from Moscow," Itar-Tass reported.

CHURKIN: RUSSIA DOES NOT ABANDON FRIENDS IN NEED 

NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Russia will continue to offer to Serbia the necessary political and diplomatic support and intends to express at the UN Security Council session a strong warning in case of any act of repression against Kosovo Serbs who might disagree with possible unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence, Russia's permanent representative at the UN Vitaly Churkin said Thursday. This is one of Russia's basic tasks at the forthcoming UN SC session, he said. Serbia is continuing to fight bravely for preserving its territorial integrity, and Russia never abandons its friends in need, Churkin said. He emphasized that resumption of negotiations in Kosovo status is possible provided the right political decisions are taken, adding that Russia will make it clear that the UN SC continues to play a key role in resolving the Kosovo issue. Russia will continue to advocate the search for a negotiated, political and legal solution, he noted.

KAMINYIN SAYS UN SECURITY COUNCIL SHOWS RUSSIA IS RIGHT

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - The special UN Security Council session on Thursday showed once again how correct Russia's approach to the resolution of the status of Kosovo-Metohija is, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kaminyin said on Friday. We are still confident that a unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo would not be right under the existing international law, Kaminyin told the Interfax news agency. He said that the results of the late Thursday session should make those who actively encouraged Pristina to declare independence think about it.

PROCLAMATION OF UNILATERAL INDEPENDENCE BY PROVISIONAL ORGANS IN K AND M

PONOS SAYS SERBIAN ARMY WILL NOT BE ENGAGED

BELGRADE, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - Serbian Army Chief of the General Staff Zdravko Ponos said late on Thursday that a Serbian government decision annulling in advance any decisions on independence by provisional institutions of authority in Kosovo-Metohija was the right reaction and that a political decision on the Serbian Army engagement in this case did not exist. Ponos said that there was no military threat and that there were no political decisions for the military engagement of the army in Kosovo-Metohija and that the army could not even start planning, let alone carrying out such operations without the appropriate political decision of competent state bodies. Speaking for the B92 television, Ponos said that what was possible for the army to do was one thing and what was realistic was something completely different. "The army may go against the institutions which make the decision on independence, it may run over all security institutions in Kosovo and paramilitary forces without any problem, it can even be stronger than KFOR, but what would this achieve and would Europe sit with its arms crossed and look at such a military operation,".

PROROKOVIC ON SERB PROPERTY IN KOSOVO

MOSCOW, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija Dusan Prorokovic on Thursday categorically rejected claims of some Western media that Kosovo Serbs had allegedly sold their land to Albanians in large numbers and said that "according to the cadaster, more than one-half of arable land belongs to Serbs." In an interview to the Itar-Tass news agency, Prorokovic said that according to the Serbian government's data, until the beginning of the 1999 NATO bombing 58 percent of property in Kosovo belonged to Serbs, Serbian Orthodox Church and state-owned companies. He said that the rest had belonged to Albanians, Roma, Bosniaks, Turks, Gorans and members of other nationalities who lived in the province. Prorokovic said that little had changed since and the fact "that the impression is created that Serbs have less property in Kosovo than in July 1999 (when the cadaster was sent to Belgrade), represents illegal stealing and grossest violation of the right to property, guaranteed throughout the world."  "It is no big secret that a huge number of Albanian houses were built on the Serb land without any licences and Serb property has largely been usurped," Prorokovic said. At the same time, the international community is an accessory in the process of privatisation in Kosovo, where the state ownership of Serbia and Serb companies was sold to private persons without consultations with Belgrade, he said. "This is all the subject matter for court processes, because Serbia as a state, Serbian companies and Serbs who were expelled from Kosovo do not want to give up their property," he said.

EU WILL NOTE INDEPENDENCE & LEAVE RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS

BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - The European Union will note Pristina's unilateral declaration of independence, but will leave the decision to recognise Kosovo's secession from Serbia to its member-states, the Slovenian EU presidency announced in Brussels on Friday. The EU Council of Ministers will discuss Kosovo on Monday and will simultaneously send a message to Serbia that a political agreement with the European Union is still on the table and that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement might be signed as soon as Serbia shows its will to meet the necessary conditions of full cooperation with the ICTY. If and when a decision on the declaration of independence is made, the European Union will note this decision and voice its assessment of the situation, a ranking official of the Slovenian presidency said.

RICE HOPES SERBIA WILL ACCEPT RESOLUTION OF KOSOVO'S STATUS

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she hopes Serbia will accept a resolution of Kosovo's status and move forward to fuller integration with Europe, Voice of America reported on Thursday. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said the United States of America offers a hand of friendship at the time when leaders of the Kosovo Albanians are getting prepared to declare independence, which Serbia is strongly opposed to. "I do know that this is going to be an extraordinarily difficult period of time for the Serbian people. And what the United States will be doing is offering a hand of friendship, saying that the status of Kosovo, and its resolution, will allow Serbia to look forward and to move on then with what it needs to do," she said.

LAVROV: RUSSIA WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES TO ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Tanjug) - Any recognition of independence of Kosovo-Metohija would cause disastrous consequences and will have to be taken into account in connection with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, autonomies that have seceded from Georgia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. "The declaration and recognition of independence of Kosovo will have to be doubtless taken into account in connection with the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," it was said in a statement after a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidents of the unrecognised republics Sergei Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoity in Moscow. Voicing his concern over the destructive consequences of the recognition of Kosovo's independence, the interlocutors said that "such a step will require a revision of generally accepted norms and principles of international law and can undermine the set rules and ethics of inter-state communication."

TITOV CONFERS ON KOSOVO WITH US AMBASSADOR BURNS

MOSCOW, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija will have negative effects on the world order, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said Thursday meeting the UN Ambassador to Moscow William Burns. The talk focused mainly on the situation created by announcements on possible declaration of Kosovo independence soon, and Titov emphasized that such activities of Kosovo Albanians would be unlawful and contrary to the UN Charter and Resolution 1244 and would violate the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry said. Titov also poined to destabilizing effects of unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence, which would constitute a precedent and have negative effects on the world order, the release says.

GEORGIEVSKI: MACEDONIA WILL FOLLOW EU ON ISSUE OF KOSOVO

LJUBLJANA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Macedonian Parliament President Ljubisa Georgievski said in Ljubljana on Thursday that Macedonia will act like the European Union (EU) in the event of a proclamation of independence by the Serbian southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. The Macedonian government believes that there is no better solution for Kosovo than the one proposed by United Nations (UN) special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, Georgievski said. The Macedonian speaker met with Slovenian counterpart France Cukjati at the beginning of his several days' long visit to Slovenia. Underscoring that 90 percent of the citizens of Macedonia support the country joining the EU and NATO, Georgievski said it is natural that the country should, in connection to the future status of Kosovo, follow the viewpoint of the integrations which it aspires to join.

DODIK: INDEPENDENCE COULD STOKE VARIOUS IDEAS ELSEWHERE

BANJALUKA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said on Thursday that, in the event of a unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo, others might also get different ideas, pointing out that the RS institutions are carefully following the situation in Kosovo. Addressing a press conference, Dodik said the RS will not recognize the possible independence of Kosovo and that they will prevent the state organs of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) from doing so, through their representatives in the BiH joint institutions. The developments concerning Kosovo and the possible secession of the southern Serbian province was today also a topic at a meeting of RS non-governmental organizations, mostly comprising the veteran categories of the population, students and pensioners, who announced that, if the European Union (EU) recognizes the unilateral independence of Kosovo, they will ask the RS parliament to proclaim the independence of the RS. Branislav Dukic, who chairs the NGOs rallied within the Serb Movement of NGOs, Spona, told reporters that this association will also ask that the mandates transferred from the entity to the state level should be restored if any of the countries that comprised the former Yugoslav federation recognize the independence of Kosovo.

KUZMANOVIC: SERBIA IS GOING THROUGH DIFFICULT PERIOD

BANJA LUKA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (RS) President Rajko Kuzmanovic said late on Wednesday that Serbia was going through a difficult period, now that the international community and some other factors were trying to snatch part of its territory away from it and let someone else govern it. "I hope that together with all good people and well-intentioned countries and peoples, Serbia will have the strength to preserve its integrity and sovereignty," Kuzmanovic said. He underlined that the possible independence of Kosovo was totally contrary to all legal standards and international law, as well as moral itself. He said that in case that Kosovo declared independence, the RS National Ass would also hold a sitting.

PROVISIONAL ORGANS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN KOSOVO-ETOHIJA

GOVERNMENT PROCLAIMS POWER CRISIS IN KOSOVO

PRISTINA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - The provisional Kosovo government on Thursday proclaimed a power crisis in the province and formed a special body to deal with problems linked to electric power supply. The body is headed by Premier Hashim Thaci, it was decided. Thaci announced he would take measures against all who restore to sabotage in an attempt to leave Kosovo in the dark at the time of its independence. Today's regular government session focused on problems of the three major public companies in Kosovo: Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), Kosovo Post and Telekom (PTK) and Pristina Airport. Several days ago, Thaci said that these comapnies are the leaders in corruption and bad management.

THACI REFUSES TO REVEAL DATE OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

PRISTINA, Feb 14 (Tanjug) - Kosovo provisional Premier Hashim Thaci on Thursday demanded from the Kosovo Albanians to mark the declaration of independence in a dignified manner, refusing to reveal the exact date when unilateral independence could be proclaimed. Thaci told a press conference in Pristina that the Kosovo government would continue working over the weekend, but did not want to pinpoint the date when the Kosovo parliament could declare independence, the Pristina electronic media reported. The Kosovo people and institutions know the date and it is clear that we will have a magnificent celebration with a state ceremony and nation-wide celebrations in the best possible sense by sending a message to the democratic world that this country and this nation deserve independence, Thaci said. The provisional Kosovo parliament is expected to unilaterally declare independence either on Sunday or Monday.