Belgrade, 17. 03. 2008.

SERBIA

• TADIC: ELECTION NOT ABOUT KOSOVO
• KOSTUNICA DOUBTS COALITION PARTNERS' SINCERITY
• JEREMIC: SERBIA TO PURSUE POLICY ON KOSOVO
• OZEGOVIC SAYS KOSOVO IS INTEGRAL PART OF SERBIA
• SERBIA FACING DIFFICULT STRUGGLE - RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR
• RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, AMBASSADOR POZAREVAC CITIZENS OF HONOR
• SEARCH CONTINUES FOR ICTY INDICTEES – PROSECUTOR

• SCHEFFER: SERBIA TO GET STRONG SIGNAL AT BUCHAREST SUMMIT
• LONCAR: NATO SHOULD UNDERSTAND SERBIA MILITARILY NEUTRAL

• BILDT: UN TO CONTINUE PLAYING ROLE IN KOSOVO
• MAAS: EUROPE IS NOT DIVIDED ON KOSOVO
• KOUCHNER: SLOVENIA WELCOMED INDEPENDENT KOSOVO
• KOSACHOV: FEW COUNTRIES RECOGNIZE KOSOVO
• GREECE HAS NO REASON TO RUSH WITH RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO

• TADIC: ENABLE URGENT DELIVERY OF MEDICINES TO KOSOVO
• WHO, UNMIK REPRESENTATIVES ON MEDICINES FOR KOSOVO
• THACI CALLS ON UNMIK, NATO TO RESTORE ORDER IN KOSOVO NORTH
• KOSOVO SERBS BOYCOTT NATO SECGEN
• EU PRESIDENCY CONDEMNS SERB TAKEOVER OF KOSOVO COURT
• RUECKER CONDEMNS INTRUSION INTO DISTRICT COURT
• POLICE USE TEAR GAS, SHOCK BOMBS AGAINST SERBS
• UNMIK: CONTROL OVER MITROVICA COURT REGAINED
• UNMIK: ARRESTED JUDICIAL WORKERS WILL BE RELEASED SOON
• TADIC CALLS ON UNMIK, KFOR TO AVOID VIOLENCE
• SAMARDZIC PROPOSES CONSENSUAL RESOLUTION OF ISSUE
• UNMIK: BELGRADE TO PREVENT CALLENGES TO UNMIK'S AUTHORITY

• DJELIC: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SERBIA'S ECONOMIC CHANCE
• DJELIC: STIMULATING OF EXPORTS AN ECONOMIC POLICY PRIORITY
• EU IS SERBIA'S BIGGEST FOREIGN TRADE PARTNER
• DULIC: UNREALISTIC FOR PARLIAMENT TO CONVENE ONLY FOR GAZPROM
• JANUARY TRADE 2.2 BILLION EUROS, COUPLED WITH DEFICIT GROWTH
• GREEK LAMPSA NOT DETERRED BY POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN SERBIA

President Boris Tadic, who also heads the Democratic Party, has said that the next election is not about Kosovo, as Kosovo and the EU are two parts of the same whole and consequently inseparable.

In an interview in the March 15 issue of Danas, Tadic says that the talk of the elections having to do with Kosovo is coming from the Democratic Party of Serbia.

"It's possible that they want to depart from the agreed state policy but I will continue to defend and advocate it with all my strength. In other words, we will enter Europe with our identity, defending Kosovo, like any other normal, democratic state, defending our people and our heritage in Kosovo," he added.

Tadic also said that one cannot insist on Europe or on the EU because "you can't have one without the other." "Kosovo is Serbia as far as identity goes and Kosovo is Serbia from the viewpoint of international law. EU membership is the only economic possibility for our country," Tadic said.

Tadic pledged to go on fighting for the status of Kosovo over the next five years, but without going to war, resorting to violence, endangering human lives, or reducing the economic and national potential of the state.

BELGRADE, Mar 16 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says he no longer believes in the sincerity of former coalition partners as regards the defense of Kosovo-Metohija, as their joint policy in this regard disappeared after February 17. Kostunica said he thought the government should hold on until the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence despite some differences which appeared even before February 17.

The government did hold on well, and then the differences grew, destroying the joint policy, he said in an interview Belgrade daily Politika will publish Monday, adding that he then started to doubt his coalition partners' sincerity as regards the defense of Kosovo-Metohija.

Asked to explain the differences among coalition partners in the presently outgoing government, he said they concerned serious negotiations with the European Union which he had advocated. This cannot be reduced to two sentences: Serbia has no future without the EU and Serbia will never recognize Kosovo independence, but serious talks were needed, he said. He also criticized coalition partners for failing to support the idea of suing the countries which recognized the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence. He noted that he had insisted for months that those countries should be sued once Kosovo declares independence, but when this move should have been taken, the partners urged the creation of a commission to deal with this. Serbia should have reacted faster and sued those countries, Kostunica said.

BELGRADE, Mar 15 (Tanjug) - It is essential that the issue of Kosovo-Metohija remain a major topic of international community interest, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in an interview to Saturday issue of Belgrade daily Blic.

Serbia will continue to request debates on Kosovo in the UN Security Council and all other international forums. As long as Serbia can continue presenting its arguments it has a chance of success, he said. Serbia's idea is that Kosovo independence should be recognized by as few countries as possible and that the province should not get membership in key international organizations, he said. This would mean a failure of the strategy of imposing solutions and a deadlock that can be resolved only by realizing that the future status of Kosovo can only be defined through dialogue and compromise, he said.

The attempts at unilaterally imposing independence have not produced results that some expected, Jeremic said. Serbia will pursue its active foreign policy endeavors regarding Kosovo and this policy has so far been successful as the degree of recognition of the illegal act by interim Pristina authorities is not as high as some expected, he said. Serbia intends to ask the UN General Assembly to apply to the International Court of Justice to rule whether the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence was in keeping with international law and has reason to believe that ICJ will take a stand identical to its own that the act was illegal, he noted. Despite great pressures by some countries, Jeremic expressed hope that when a final count is taken at the UN in September, it will turn out that a considerable number of member-states have refrained from recognizing Kosovo independence.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - President of the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities of Serbia Zeljko Ozegovic requested at a conference in Malaga, Spain, on Friday that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe quote Kosovo-Metohija in its reports and documents only with the note that this is an integral part of the Republic of Serbia.

A statement issued by the Standing Conference said that Ozegovic, who heads the Serbian delegation at the spring session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and meeting of the Standing Committee of the Congress had submitted amendments "with an explanation that Kosovo-Metohija may not be quoted in the documents of the Congress without stating that this is an integral part of the Republic of Serbia."

After the debate, the Committee Council partly adopted Serbia's amendments, the statement said. The Congress on March 13-14 discussed sustainable development, state of the local and regional democracy in Spain, territorial cohesion, inter-regional cooperation in the Black Sea region, draft charter on urban development, development of city diplomacy and integration through the policy of sport and biodiversity for urban areas.

BELGRADE, Mar 16 (Tanjug) - Future Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Konuzin, expected in Belgrade in mid-April, said that Serbs are facing a difficult political struggle for the defense of Kosovo-Metohija. The situation will not be resolved quickly and will grow increasingly conflictual, he said in an interview to the Saturday issue of Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti.

Given the complexity of the problem and the involvement of many factors, a difficult political struggle as well as dramatic developments can be expected, he said. Serbs are facing ordeals but Russians will be there to help them, he said. Asked what Russia can still do in the UN to nullify Kosovo independence and return the problem to the framework of international law, Konuzin said that the UN has a series of instruments for influencing developments. First, there is the Security Council which has the main responsibility for peace and security in the world. It has already debated Kosovo five times, he noted. There are other possibilities too for countering an illegal solution, he said, adding he was aware that Serbs are considering these possibilities and that Russia is ready to support them.

POZAREVAC, Mar 14 (Tanjug) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and outgoing Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Alexeyev were proclaimed Friday citizens of honor of Pozarevac. Pozarevac municipality President Dusan Vujcic thanked Alexeyev for his personal efforts and for Russia's contribution to the search for a right solution for Kosovo-Metohija.

Russia will continue to follow a principled policy based on respect of international law and the UN Charter and will not change its stand on Kosovo, Alexeyev said. Russia is not setting any conditions to Serbia or opposing its integration in the European Union, although Russia itself will not join the EU, he added. Russia would respect Serbia's decision to join NATO although it opposes its expansion, he noted.

BELGRADE, Mar 14 (Tanjug) - The political situation has affected Serbia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but the search for the indictees continues, War Crimes Prosecutor and Coordinator of the Action Plan for Cooperation with ICTY Vladimir Vukcevic said.

He told B 92 TV that Serbia's Action Team is working with reduced intensity but that the search continues. Vukcevic said that he and the Action Team Coordinator Rasim Ljajic will travel to The Hague next week to confer with the new ICTY Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on cooperation. He noted that the book written by former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte is affecting the atmosphere in the team. Serbia has protested against the publishing of Del Ponte's book to ICTY and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

BUCHAREST, March 14 (Beta)- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said he hopes Serbia's Euro Atlantic integration will get another boost at the NATO Summit in Bucharest in early April, where other countries of the Western Balkans can count on similar encouragement and membership invitations.

Speaking at the Transatlantic Forum, Scheffer said that NATO's doors are open and that the military organization has unfinished business in Europe.

He added that he does not know which countries will be invited to join NATO, although he hopes that Albania, Macedonia, and Croatia will get invitations.

In addition, Scheffer said that KFOR will continue to operate throughout Serbia, adding that the people behind the "trouble" in northern Kosovo are working against their interests.

The NATO secretary general also remarked that recognizing Kosovo's independence is not the job of the organization.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Education Minister Zoran Loncar said on Friday it was very important that in its plans NATO "bears in mind the fact that Serbia is a militarily neutral state." Loncar, in a statement to Tanjug, said that Serbia had declared military neutrality and that NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's allegation that the future of Serbia was to become a member of their military alliance, will not happen.

"The reasons why the National Assembly took a decision to declare military neutrality have been cited in detail and they are that military neutrality had been declared because of NATO's overall role, ranging from the illegal bombing of Serbia in 1999 without a UN SC decision to annex 11 of the rejected Ahtisaari plan that determines NATO as the final body of power in Kosovo," Loncar said. Scheffer said in a statement in Warsaw Thursday evening he had not doubt that the long-term future of Serbia was in Euroatlantic integrations.

BRUSSELS, Mar 16 (Tanjug) - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Saturday in Brussels that UN Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo was not adopted by the UN Security Council and that there is therefore no general agreement on the issue, which means that the UN presence in the province will continue to be needed.

Asked by Tanjug on the future UN role in Kosovo, he said that Ahtisaari's plan is the foundation, but that implementation of that plan depended on approval by the UN SC in a resolution which would have resolved many problems which remain unsolved now. The UN role will continue to be needed in various sectors which were not envisaged in Ahtisaari's plan a year ago, he said on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum. The UN role will also be needed for communication with the Serbs, he said. Bildt admitted that the jobs of international institutions in Kosovo are still not clearly defined. Endeavors are underway to adapt to the situation which is different from that of one year ago, he added. The rule of law situation in Kosovo is very gloomy, he noted.

NOVI SAD, March 15 (Beta) - German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas stated that Europe is not divided on the issue of Kosovo independence and that its recognition is a "decision of the individual member states, not of the European Union."

The vast majority of EU states have recognized Kosovo. Some others simply need some more time. It is relevant that the EU members have without exception agreed to take responsibility for Kosovo through the EULEX Mission, Maas told the Novi Sad Dnevnik on March 15. The ambassador added that the EU never brought into question the validity of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244 and that there is no reason for the existing of a conflict between the EU and the U.N. According to him, the European Union will coordinate with the United Nations on taking over responsibility in Kosovo.

Maas also said that, because his country has recognized Kosovo independence, he has not been barred from communicating with Serbian government officials, but that for some of the Serbian officials it is a problem to meet with him. He added that due to the dissolution of the Serbian parliament "communication in connection with current projects is difficult."

Certainly, the flow of German resources to help Serbia is suffering because at the moment agreements, which define this aid, are unable to pass through parliamentary procedures, ambassador Maas said. He said that Germany had hoped for an agreement in connection with Kosovo, adding that he is very disappointed that it was not possible and that as far as his country is concerned, it had recognized Kosovo on Feb. 21.

BRUSSELS, Mar 14 (Tanjug) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday in Brussels that the fact that it was Slovenia, which used to be a part of Yugoslavia and now presides the European Union, which has welcomed the independent state of Kosovo and at the same time offered to Serbia membership in the EU was very interesting and symbolic.

Addressing the Brussels Forum, Kouchner accused Russia of being responsible for the absence of an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. President of the Russian Duma foreign policy committee Konstantin Kosachov answered that it was not Russia's stand which prevented the finding of a solution, but rather the West's promise to Kosovo Albanians that they would get independence sooner or later. Kosovo Albanians were therefore not motivated to look for a solution, he said, noting that the promise was made during the NATO bombing of Serbia. At the mention of NATO bombing, former US envoy for the Balkans Richard Holbrooke said he knew about that and - burst out laughing.

BRUSSELS, Mar 15 (Tanjug) - The fact that the number of countries opposing recognition of Kosovo secession is quite high is a good development and Russia will exert bilateral endeavors to maintain this situation, head of the Russian Duma foreign policy committee Konstantin Kosachov said Friday in Brussels.

Russia wants to prevent full recognition of Kosovo independence by working together with the countries which have not yet done so, and they are the majority, he said on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum. Russia also wants to prevent accession of Kosovo to organizations in which it can prevent it such as the UN and OSCE, and can urged the majority in the Council of Europe not to recognize the secession, he said.

Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina remains the only way of finding a solution in the UN Security Council he said. As regards international law, Russia recognizes Serbia's internationally recognized borders, including Kosovo, and will always do so, Kosachov said. Kosovo secession has so far been recognized by 27 of the 193 UN member-states.

BRUSSELS, March 14 (Tanjug) - Greece has no reason to rush with the recognition of Kosovo's independence, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanslis said in Brussels on Friday and added that Athens would decide on this primarily guided by Greece's national interests.

Stressing that Greece's stand on Kosovo has long been known, he said that Athens wanted to promote the European perspective of the entire region of South-East Europe, particularly Serbia, the Greek news agency ANA reported. Karamanlis said that Greece wanted to ensure the presence of KFOR and European civil mission in Kosovo-Metohija.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic requested on Friday the finding of an urgent solution so that medicines and medical material can arrive in hospitals and healthcare institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug was told in the press service of the president of the Republic.

President Tadic warned of the alarming situation and requested from UNMIK, the Serbian government and Kfor to urgently find a solution and prevent a humanitarian disaster that might be caused by a shortage of medicines and medical material in hospitals in Kosovo and Metohija.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - World Health Organisation (WHO) office for the European region is holding talks with UNMIK to consider the seizing of a contingent of medicines intended for the Clinical-Hospital Center in the center of Gracanica and the treatment of patients in central Kosovo, it was confirmed to Tanjug on Friday in the office of the specialised UN agency in Belgrade.

WHO office for the European region representatives are assessing the situation and holding talks with UNMIK about the possible "implications," in expectation of a solution to the situation. Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic requested assistance from the Belgrade representatives of WHO, which has its representatives in Pristina, so as to resolve the crisis that arose after customs services in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica refused to allow the passage of medicines from Serbia for the Clinical-Hospital Centre in Gracanica and healthcare institutions in central Kosovo.

PRISTINA, March 14 (Tanjug) - Kosovo Prime Minister and President Hashim Thaci and Fatmir Seydiu demanded from UNMIK and NATO on Friday to establish order in the north of Kosovo, news agencies have reported. Leaders of the unilaterally declared Republic of Kosovo demanded from UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker to urgently establish order and peace in Kosovska MItrovica, DPA news agency reported.

A joint demand has been made to UN police and NATO to urgently throw out hooligans from the municipal and district court building, Thaci and Seydiu said after meeting with Ruecker. Thaci and Seydiu will, as planned, meet on Friday with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who is expected to arrive this afternoon on his first visit to Kosovo since the unilateral declaration of independence.

PRISTINA, Mar 15 (Tanjug) - NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who visited Kosovo Friday for the first time since it unilaterally proclaimed independence, did not meet with Serb community representatives as they boycotted the meeting.

Scheffer said he deplored the boycott and that the Serbs made a great mistake, as NATO is not in Kosovo to guarantee the safety of one community but of all its inhabitants. KFOR will continue to provide protection to all in Kosovo, he said. He described the takeover of the Kosovska Mitrovica Municipal and District Court building as a provocation and an attack on the UN, international community, law and order.

Scheffer conferred Friday with Kosovo interim officials, European Union Special Representative Peter Feith, head of the EULEX mission Yves de Kermabon and UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker.

BRUSSELS, Mar 15 (Tanjug) - Slovenia's EU Presidency strongly condemned on Friday in a release the takeover of the court in Mitrovica by Kosovo Serbs.

The Presidency strongly condemns the attacks on and the seizure of the court in Mitrovica, pointing out that no one benefits from the use of violence and from the attacks on the institutions that provide rule of law in Kosovo, the release says. Stressing the need to protect the safety of the civilians, the Presidency insists on the full respect of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and full respect of the UNMIK mandate throughout the territory of Kosovo, the release says.

The Presidency again called on Serbia to respect repeatedly expressed commitments to refrain from any activities or statements which might endanger the security situation. Serb employees of Mitrovica judiciary institutions expelled in 1999 broke into the court building Friday morning and intend to stay there until their demands to return to work are met.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, March 14 (Tanjug) - UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker condemned on Friday the intrusion into the District Court building in Kosovska Mitrovica and instructed the police to establish peace and order, UNMIK said.

Ruecker called on the government in Belgrade to prevent such attacks and reiterated that UNMIK will defend its mandate in the entire territory of Kosovo without exception, the statement said. Those who have resorted to violence in Northern Mitrovica have crossed one of UNMIK's red lines and it is completely unacceptable, said Ruecker, who, it is added, instructed UNMIK police to establish peace and order in the North and to ensure that the court building is returned under UNMIK control. He informed Kosovo President and Prime Minister Fatmir Seydiu and Hashim Thaci of the developments and the measures he had taken.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, March 17 (Tanjug) - Following the early Monday operation of KFOR and UNMIK, several hundred Serbs have gathered outside the curt building in Kosovska Mitrovica so as to prevent their arrested fellow citizens from being taken to prison.

On several occasions, the police used tear gas and shock bombs. Strong KFOR forces, supported by over 50 members of special forces of the UNMIK police that have encircled the buildings of the court and the police station, are protecting the building. Two vehicles, one belonging to KFOR and the other to UNMIK, have been set on fire. Sirens have been heard as wailing in northern Mitrovica and KFOR helicopters are flying over the city. Early in the morning, at 5.30 am, members of a special UNMIK police unit launched an unexpected operation and arrested several Serbs that were outside and inside the building of the Municipal and District Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica.

The police seized the court building and removed two Serb flags they were put on the top of it. The Serbs, including some women, did not resist arrest, and so far, there is no information as to whether force was used against them while they were still inside the building. This was the third night in a row that the Serb employees of the judicial bodies spent in the building of the Muncipal and District Court in northern Mitrovica. They siezed the building on Friday morning, and in spite of UNMIK's demand, were determined to stay there.

PRISTINA, March 17 (Tanjug) - UNMIK has said in a statement that UN and KFOR police forces have regained control over the court in Kosovska Mitrovica, and has called on all communities in Kosovo to remain calm. According initial reports from the site, several UNMIK policemen and KFOR soldiers were wounded in the operation that was launched early on Monday, at 5.30 a.m. CET.

Several KFOR and UN vehicles were set on fire and several dozen of people were arrested on the occasion, it is specified in the statement presented to Tanjug. Larry Rosin, chief deputy of the special envoy of the UN Secretary General to Kosovo, has called on all communities in the province to remain calm so that UNMIK could continue performing its mandate on the whole of Kosovo territory. I especially call on those that are reacting in a violent manner to the actions of UNMIK and KFOR to observe the law and order and to stop their illegal activities, Rosin said.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, March 17 (Tanjug) - UNMIK spokesman Gyorgy Kakuk said on Monday that all the persons that had been arrested in the District and Municipal Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica earlier that day would face a summary trial and be released shortly after that because they had committed only minor crimes.

In an interview with the Mitrovica-based Radio Kontakt Plus, Kakuk said that all had to realise that a serious escalation of violence could be avoided only if both sides were pacified and if they withdrew. All have to withdraw, he said. Several dozen civilians and international policemen were injured in the early Monday clashes outside the building of the District and Muncipal Court in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Tanjug has learned at a local hospital and from the Kosovo police.

BELGRADE, Mar 17 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday called on UNMIK police and KFOR to refrain from use of force against Serbs protesting against seizure of the Municipal and District Court in Kosovska Mitrovica, the president's Press Service stated today.

Tadic believes that such a sharp response with an excessive use of force by UNMIK and KFOR troops, whose mandate is to keep all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija safe, especially today on March 17, the day when the Serb people in the province experienced probably the worst pogrom in Kosovo-Metohija in 2004, because it might cause escalation of conflicts throughout the province, it was said in the statement.

Tadic called on Kosovo Serbs to restrain from provoking use of force by international troops and called on leaders of the Kosovo Serbs to do everything in their power to calm the situation in Kosovska Mitrovica.

BELGRADE, March 17 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic conveyed late on Sunday to UNMIK Deputy Chief Larry Rosin that Serbia had the intention of making an agreement with UNMIK on the implementation of Resolution 1244 "in the new circumstances," following the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence.

As Radio Gracanica has reported, Samardzic and Rosin discussed in the Kosovo-Metohija town of Gracanica the present situation in the province and the possibility that certain problems be resolved by way of consensus. "Our talks were constructive in that sense that I conveyed to him the proposal put forward by the Serbian side, which I have already hinted to (UNMIK chief Joachim) Ruecker and which Foreign Minister (Vuk) Jeremic hinted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, that Serbia has the intention of making an agreement with UNMIK on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in the new circumstances that have presented themselves, and we have already present a draft of such an agreement," Samardzic said. "This agreement would be obliging for Serbia, for UNMIK and for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Samardzic said.

PRISTINA, March 17 (Tanjug) - UNMIK Deputy Chief Larry Rosin demanded late on Sunday from Serbian Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic to end direct challenges to UNMIK's authority in the province which "violate Belgrade's pledges to the (UN) Security Council."

"The mission welcomes the recent statement by the Serbian Foreign Minister to the Security Council that UNMIK is the exclusive administrative authority in Kosovo and that Resolution 1244 is the only legal framework," said Larry Rossin, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative, in talks with Samardzic in Gracanica, pointing out that "this now places responsibility on Belgrade to avoid or avert any action that challenges this authority (UNMIK)."

Rossin qualified as violations the last week's occupation of UNMIK's District Court building in Mitrovica, which was invaded on Friday by Serb judicial workers, as well as the seizure, as specified in UNMIK's statement, of UNMIK railways property and the fact that the Serbian Railways continued use of organize the railway traffic in Kosovo. Such moves are at odds with the direct assurances the Serbian government has given to the UN Security Council, Rosin noted, and UNMIK specified in the statement.

CAJETINA, March 14 (Beta) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic in Cajetina on March 14 stated that, although caretaker, the government will guarantee stability of salaries and pensions until the election of a new cabinet, as well as that the realization of the started projects will be continued.

"Salaries and pensions will be regularly paid in," Djelic said after giving a speech on Serbia's sustainable development to the students of the Tourist Catering High School in Cajetina. According to him, sustainable development is Serbia's economic chance, and tourism is one of the three economic branches with the highest potential.

The project for forming the strategy of Serbia's sustainable development has been implemented since 2005, through cooperation between the government, the U.N. Development Program, and the Swedish International Development Agency, aimed at creating a framework for Serbia's sustainable development until 2017.

TARA, March 14 (Tanjug) - The stimulating of exports and reducing of the foreign-trade deficit are the priorities of Serbia's economic policy, Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic said on Friday, underscoring that the draft strategy for increasing exports will be presented in early April. According to Djelic, conditions have been created for insuring export deals and credits with commercial banks and, consequently, for the reducing of credit costs. "Work is also under way on reducing the threshold for acquiring the status of predominant exporter, from 70 percent to 50 percent, in the year 2009, as well as reducing the threshold for the use of customs facilities for imports of equipment that is not produced in the country, from 500,000 to 200,000 euros," Djelic announced, promising that the government will shorten the process for the issue of all permits from several weeks to several days.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Serbia's biggest foreign trade partner is the European Union, where Serbia realizes over 50% of its exports, Serbian Trade and Services Minister Predrag Bubalo said on Friday. "There is no doubt that the EU is our partner the foreign trade sphere, ahead of the countries signatories of CEFTA who are our neighbors," Bubalo told reporters in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

Second are CEFTA countries, followed by the Russian market, which is potentially very significant for Serbia, Bubalo stated, adding that the growth percentages of imports and exports on the Russian market are very optimistic for Serbia. Bubalo told a session of the Trade Association in PKS that trade played an important role in the increase of the gross national product (GNP) in Serbia, which rose at an average rate of about seven percent over the past four years. He added that, last year, trade was one of the major generators of the GNP, accounting for its growth with 20%.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic said Friday that it is unrealistic for the parliament to convene only in order to ratify the energy agreement with Gazprom of Russia. "This is unrealistic, especially since that energy agreement has still not been included into the parliamentary procedure. Had the government sent it on time and had the parliament not been dissolved, the agreement would have been ratified," Dulic told Tanjug.

According to him, because the parliament has been dissolved and because it can convene only under constitutionally defined conditions, this is not realistic at present. Earlier today, the Russian Itar-Tass news agency conveyed Moscow's serious concern over the possibility that the political crisis could prevent the ratification of the agreement with Gazprom by the Serbian parliament as planned. Itar-Tass said that the Serbian parliament was dissolved, but that it is not excluded that it could meet for only a single day for this purpose. In February, Gazprom and Srbijagas signed an agreement on the realization of a project for the construction of a gas pipeline for the transit of natural gas via Serbia's territory.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Serbia's foreign trade in January 2008 amounted about 2.2 billion euros, with a deficit of 549.6 million euros, which is 23% up on the same month of 2007, the Republican Statistics Institute announced on Friday.

Exports amounted 696 million euros, which is 28.3% up on January last year, but imports reached 1.5 billion euros, 34.1% up on January 2007. The rise in imports in January this year is the result of the import of energy (27.6% of the overall imports), import of copper and iron and an increasing demand for individual and public spending.

BELGRADE, March 14 (Tanjug) - Political instability in Serbia did not deter the Greek company Lampsa from expressing interest in buying Genex of Belgrade and this decision is solely based on business interests and estimates about Serbia's tourist potentials, Lampsa Executive Director Nicolaos Dandolos told reporters on Friday.

We are aware that governments change, but we are also certain that democracy in Serbia is stable, Dandolos stated. The company's openness towards investing is also reflected in the fact that if it wins at the public bid for Genex, it is prepared to invest some 100 million euros into the Genex complex in Belgrade.