Belgrade, 24. 01. 2008.

C O N T E N T :

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE- PACE

• PACE DECISION ON KOSOVO JOINT SUCCESS OF RUSSIA & SERBIA

• RIK: NIKOLIC 39.99 PERCENT, TADIC 35.39 PERCENT
• ELECTIONS 2ROUND: WINNER WHOEVER GETS MAJORITY OF BALLOTS CAST

• KOSTUNICA: AGREEMENTS WITH RUSSIA AND EU HAVE TO BE IN SERBIA'S INTEREST
• JEREMIC: FRANCE FOR FASTER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OF SERBIA
• FRANCE SUPPORTS SERBIA'S EUROPEAN PROSPECTS
• SOLANA HOPES SAA MIGHT BE SIGNED ON JAN 28
• REHN: SAA READY FOR SIGNING AS SOON AS POLITICAL TERMS ARE MET
• RUPEL: AT PRESENT, NO ACTIVITIES ON EU MISSION IN KOSOVO
• RUPEL SAYS SERBIA SHOULD BE SUPPORTED THROUGH SIGNING OF SAA
• EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO DEBATE SERBIA MONDAY
• MISCEVIC: VERY IMPORTANT SERBIA SIGNS SAA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
• MARAVIC SAYS SERBIA WILL JOIN SCHENGEN LIST BY END OF YEAR
• NGOS CONCERNED OVER DISTANCING FROM EU INTEGRATION

• REHN TO DISCUSS "COORDINATION" OF KOSOVO STATUS RESOLUTION
• JONSSON ON COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES ON KOSOVO STATUS DECISION
• SCHEFFER SAYS CANNOT CONFIRM THACI'S STATEMENT
• RICE: US FOR SOLUTION TO KOSOVO BASED ON AHTISAARI PLAN
• LAVROV SAYS KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE WILL CREATE PRECEDENT
• KOSOVO IS AMONG GREATEST CHALLENGES OF SLOVENIA'S PRESIDENCY
• ROGOZIN: INDEPENDENCE WOULD LEAD TO DRAMATIC CONSEQUENCES
• KOSACHEV AGAINST DECISIONS ON KOSOVO BEFORE COMPROMISE
• BASESCU: KOSOVO STATUS ONLY IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW
• THACI URGES INDEPENDENCE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
• SEJDIJU: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - MATTER OF DAYS
• ADDITIONAL KFOR TROOPS TO ARRIVE IN FEBRUARY
• KFOR COMMANDER GUARANTEES SECURITY TO ALL CITIZENS IN KOSOVO
• TOPI FOR IMMEDIATE INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO PROVINCE

• JEREMIC: ENERGY AGREEMENT IS A GOOD STRATEGIC MOVE
• RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT & PM FRIDAY
• DINKIC: SERBIA SHOULD KEEP 50% OF NIS

• UNHCR AND UNDP LAUNCH PROGRAMME OF ASSISTANCE TO IDPS
• FINAL DRAFT CONTRACT ON NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSFER TO RUSSIA MADE

MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Kosovo can be describes as a joint success at this session of Russia and Serbia, head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs Mikhail Margelov said Wednesday. The Serbian delegation has managed to persuade a majority of PACE members that only with a compromise decision, Kosovo will not turn into a 'powder keg' and a frozen conflict in the Balkans", he said. Margelov leads a group of European democrats in the PACE. The Assembly has called on the UN Security Council to overcome differences and come to a compromise that will be the sole guaranteed basis of peace and stability in the Balkans, he said. "This coincides with Russia's repeatedly stated stance on this issue," Margelov stressed. PACE thus advocated continuing the negotiations on the status of the province of Kosovo on the basis of the UN Security Council's Resolution 1244, he noted. He explained that this decision "is aimed against unilateral proclamation of the province's independence". Separatist moods have increased in Europe recently, Margelov went on to say. Proclamation of Kosovo's independence bypassing international laws "can inspire self-determination fighters to resolute actions," he warned.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The Republican Election Commission (RIK) on Wednesday determined the final results of the first round of the Serbian presidential elections, according to which Serbian Radical Party (SRS) candidate Tomislav Nikolic won 39.99 percent of the vote, and Democratic Party (DS) candidate Boris Tadic won 35.39 percent. At the RIK session, it was announced that all 8,573 polling stations have been processed, and that 4,116,844 citizens went to the polls on Sunday, Jan 20. In absolute numbers, Nikolic won 1,646,172 votes, and Tadic won 1,457,030 votes.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The second round of presidential elections in Serbia will be held on February 3, after none of the nine candidates won in the first round over 50 pct of ballots cast. Participating in the second round are the two top contenders from the first round, Serbian Radical Party candidate Tomislav Nikolic and Democratic Party candidate Boris Tadic. The winner of the second round is the one who gets the majority of ballots cast by voters, and the final results of the presidential elections in Serbia will be announced by the electoral commission 72 hours after the closing of polling stations.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Wednesday evaluated that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union has to be in Serbia's interest, the same way the energy agreement with the Russian Government on cooperation in the oil and gas sector is in the interest of all our citizens and Serbia's economy. On January 25, the Serbian government will sign a strategic agreement with Russia on cooperation in the energy sector, Kostunica said in a statement with Tanjug, underscoring that the agreement is in Serbia's interest and in the interest of all Serbian citizens, as well as beneficial for Serbia's economic development. Kostunica also said that as for the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, the EU must choose whether it will sign the agreement with Serbia or illegally send a mission to fragment Serbia. If the agreement with the EU is to be in the interest of Serbia and its citizens, it has to be in line with the founding principles of international law, which is why the EU must give up on the attempt to send its mission and should unequivocally support Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, underscored Kostunica.

PARIS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - France strongly supports the speedy european integration of Serbia, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Wednesday following talks with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner in Paris. "Serbia and the entire Western Balkans have the unequivocal, undivided, firm and unconditional support of France for faster european integrations," Jeremic told reporters after lengthy and detailed talks with Kouchner. Jeremic set out that France backs the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) at the meeting of EU foreign ministers on Jan 28. He, however, said there is a possibility that the SAA would not be signed, "because there is still no concensus (within the EU)." "France will do everything in its power that the SAA is signed on Jan 28, but if this does not happen next Monday, it will take place at the next meeting of the EU ministers," Jeremic pointed out. Speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, Jeremic said that he informed Kouchner about Serbia's official stand that it "refuses to accept an imposed solution and a solution not in keeping with international law, and that it is prepared to search for a compromise solution through the continuation of a peaceful, diplomatic, status dialogue." Kouchner, whose country urges the discontinuation of the talks and independence for Serbia's southern province, "said little" about this topic and "did not want to go into detail," but "expressed concern for Serbia's european integrations," Jeremic stated. In the part of the talks on the deployment of a EU mission to Kosovo, Jeremic told Kouchner that "this mission should be approved by the UN Security Council in order to give it legitimacy."

PARIS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - France supports Serbia's european prospects and wants the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU to be signed as soon as possible, the French Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. France wants to see progress in relations between Serbia and the EU, the French Foreign Ministry said following talks between the foreign ministers of France and Serbia - Bernard Kouchner and Vuk Jeremic respectively. The two ministers discussed relations between Serbia and the EU and the political situation in Serbia ahead of the Feb 3 run-off in the presidential election. Jeremic is on a one-day working visit to France within which he will also meet with the political advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-David Levitt at the Elysee Palace.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Javier Solana said in Brussels on Wednesday that he hoped that the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia was still possible at the Council of Ministers meeting on January 28. Addressing a news conference after a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Solana said he still hoped that this was possible, but that he could not guarantee that this would really happen.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Beta) - EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Jan. 23 that the EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on Jan. 28 to discuss the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, stressing that the agreement is technically ready. The SAA opens the doors for Serbia's candidacy for EU membership and will be signed as soon as "the remaining conditions" are met, Rehn highlighted, after a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. He said the European Commission was completely dedicated to integrating Serbia into the EU. Asked what the EU could do to strengthen the proEuropean forces in Serbia, given that within the EU the Netherlands was against signing the SAA, before Serbia delivered indicted general Ratko Mladic to the Hague tribunal, Rehn said, "As soon as we sign the SAA, we shall cross the threshold for EU membership candidacy and Serbia can move forward."

"And I think that will happen very soon, given the country's essential institutional capacity to progress in European integration," the commissioner said. Rehn reiterated that the European Commission and the EU "are already doing a lot to pave the way for Serbia to associate with the EU and progress in European integrations." "We have approved important trade measures as a means of supporting Serbia, we are giving the country significant financial backing, we have recently made a visa benefit agreement, and are launching a dialog on a visafree regime for Serbian citizens," he said. He added that the SAA was technically ready for signing, as soon as the political conditions were met. "I expect those remaining conditions to be met, and then we can sign the agreement," Rehn said.

VIENNA, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel stated in Vienna on Thursday that at present there are no activities regarding the European Union mission in Kosovo. Following his address to the Permanent Council of The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Rupel told reporters that he does not wish to speculate on the date of the establishment of an EU mission in Kosovo. "It is a matter of a complex decision making. The EU Council had decided to establish a mission in Kosovo. At present, nothing is happening either physically or practically on the issue," Rupel clarified.

VIENNA, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in Vienna on Thursday that Serbia, which was making effort to approach the European Union, should be backed through the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), which, as he put it, would take place as soon as possible.In its efforts to get closer to the EU, Serbia can be given signals, for example, through the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the foreign minister of Slovenia, the country which has assumed the body's six-month rotating presidency, said while addressing the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).Rupel also pointed to the importance that, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations or the further developments regarding the future status of the province, the OSCE Mission continued to operate in Kosovo and Metohija.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The European Union Council of Ministers will debate Serbia Monday in Brussels and at a meeting of the EU Troika and Serbia, to which Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic was invited, European officials told Tanjug. The chances for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement have not been exhausted, but have been considerably reduced due to opposition by the Netherlands and Belgium and to the lack of time for technical preparations for the signing procedure. This does not, however, mean that the EU cannot reach agreement at the CM meeting on signing the SAA at a later date. If the agreement is not reached, the EU will adopt conclusions that will send a positive message in keeping with the conclusions of the session held last December. The EU CM will also point to the importance of starting dialogue on visa liberalization between Serbia and the European Commission on January 30 in Belgrade. Serbia and the situation in Kosovo-Metohija will also be discussed during a working lunch and at the meeting between the EU Troika and Serbia. The prospects for an EU decision to send to Kosovo a police and judiciary mission are very low, although the procedure of adoption of preparatory documents is nearing copmpletion.

BELGRADE, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Government Office for European Integrations Director Tanja Miscevic said on Thursday it was very important that Serbia signs a Stabilisation and Association Agreement as soon as possible because it is already lagging behind in its relations with the European Union. Miscevic, who was talking to reporters in the Serbia Palace building, pointed out that it was eight years already since Serbia joined the stabilisation and association process, and the agreement has not been signed yet, even though we have potential to be much closer to membership than now. Miscevic said she was confident that the agreement would be signed in the shortest period possible, because that is be much better for Serbia. She pointed out that everyone stands to lose from not signing the agreement - Serbia, because it can not proceed in European integrations, just as all of us in Serbia, both consumers and producers who might benefit from the agreement. Miscevic reminded that the sole condition for signing the agreement was full cooperation with the wear crimes tribunal, and that since December 6 Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic has been authorized by the Serbian government to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

BELGRADE, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Head of the Bureau for International Cooperation and European Integration of the Interior Ministry, Drazen Maravic, said on Thursday that Serbia would suggest in December that the EU considers abolishing the visa regime, and that the country might find itself on the white Schengen list late this or early next year.In an interview with Tanjug, Maravic specified that he would convince the EU, through a dialogue on visa liberalisation which was supposed to start on January 30, that the abolishment of the visa regime would not cause any negative consequences in the EU member states or an immigration wave from Serbia.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The European Movement in Serbia and another 17 NGOs on Wednesday sent a letter to statesmen and politician, voicing their concern over the "increasingly prominent dissociation of Serbia from integration courses in our neighbourhood." In a letter to Serbian President Tadic, Prime Minister Kostunica, parliament speaker Dulic and parliamentary parties, the NGOs said that "in the past few months Serbia threatened to walk out of some of the most important integration arrangements that were created for years after the democratic changes in the country, when it was seen as a pillar of integration processes, engine of development and key stabilisation factor in this part of Europe." It was said that "political messages have been sent lately, creating anti-Western mood in the country and leading to a visible change of the foreign policy course." The European Movement voiced its concern over "Serbia's unnecessary deterioration of relations with the European Union, bringing into question the realisation of one of the key priorities of the state policy set in the programme of the present coalition government and adopted at the Serbian parliament." The NGOs also believe that the business climate in the country has deteriorated because of the decreasing clarity of the route taken by Serbia, that the risk of business operation increased in the past three months, that the inflow of investments has reduced, industrial production has dropped, trade deficit is huge, inflation rate is growing and that another feature that is especially worrying for citizens is the increase of the unemployment rate.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said in Brussels on Wednesday that he and Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaci would on Thursday discuss the coordination of resolution of Kosovo's status and that he would present his view on the process. Addressing a news conference after a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Grueski, Rehn said that after the failed talks at the United Nations, the European Union had urged the coordination of a process that would result in the finalisation of the resolution of status. Asked by reporters when he expected that Kosovo would declare independence, Rehn responded that he did not want to bet. Thaci should meet with Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel in Brussels on Wednesday and on Thursday he will meet with Rehn and EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Javier Solana. Thaci will on Friday discuss the "coordination" of resolution of Kosovo's status with NATO officials.

PRISTINA, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - European Union (EU) representative for Kosovo Jonas Jonsson of Sweden has said that representatives of EU member-states are conferring with representatives of other international partners and Kosovo institutions about finding a date for determining a status for Kosovo province that would be acceptable to all. In an interview to the Pristina Albanian-language daily Zeri, published on Wednesday, Jonsson did not wish to speculate about the date of the proclamation of the independence of the southern Serbian province. The question of the recognition of independence is the responsibility of each individual state, he said. It will be an individual decision of each EU member-state, Jonsson said, pointing out that the EU is completing preparations for establishing a new mission in Kosovo which will control the judiciary and the police. Jonsson also said the EU decision from the top-level meeting held in December last year indicates the unity within that organization over the establishment of its mission in Kosovo.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Beta) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Jan. 23 that he could not confirm Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaqi's statement that "the Kosovo institutions will announce the date of independence, one of these days" and that the move had been arranged with Brussels and Washington. Thaqi said this before arriving in Brussels, where he will meet with top EU officials on Jan. 24 and with Scheffer on Jan. 25. Asked whether he was able to confirm Thaqi's statement that the declaration of Kosovo's independence had been "harmonized" with the EU, U.S. and NATO, Scheffer told reporters that he was "in regular contact with Thaqi," and that he "cannot and will not confirm anything related to the declaration or dates" of independence. After a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Scheffer underlined that this was not his job or responsibility, adding that he would talk with the (Kosovo) premier on Jan. 25 and his reply only "boils down to that."

ZURICH, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - The United States wants all countries to engage constructivly in the resolution of the future status of Kosovo, which it believes should be based on the Martti Ahtisaari plan, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday, adding that Serbia had a future in Europe. "We believe strongly in the United States that the status of Kosovo must be resolved and that the Ahtisaari plan, the Ahtisaari effort, has given us a way ahead that will make that resolution as smooth and as peaceful as possible," Rice told journalists in Zurich, after her talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Michelin Calmy-Rey, the main topic of which was the Kosovo issue. The wish of the United States is that all countries take part in this process in a constructive manner, Rice said.

MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Beta) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Jan. 23 that Russia had never said it would immediately recognize Abkhasia and South Ossetia, if Kosovo gained independence. "The Russian leadership has never said that," Lavrov told the annual news conference. He pointed out that Kosovo's independence would "objectively" create a precedent, not only for South Ossetia and Abkhasia, but also for 200 different regions in the world. Lavrov waved off claims that Russia was coming out with "a hard position on Kosovo, warning about the creation of a precedent, while actually that is what it is waiting for, in order to start recognizing everyone around it."

"They can accuse us of anything but not of that," Lavrov said, and added that Russia understood the destabilizing effect of separatist processes, and had recently felt that effect itself. Asked what Russia would do if Kosovo became independent, he replied that this was "a defeatist position," and that now everything should be done to solve the Kosovo problem within the boundaries of international law and the OSCE principle of inviolable borders, unless the two sides in the matter should agree differently. "It is in our interest to preserve stability, not to allow separatism and the violation of international law," Lavrov said, stressing that Russia was not trying to reap any kind of benefit for itself. "We have told our Serbian friends more than once that we have our own position regarding the work of the C. Group and the mediating troika, and that we will be ready to embrace any solution that is acceptable for both sides. We will not be bigger Serbs than the Serbs themselves. That position remains valid.

The Russian foreign minister criticized the EU for attempting to "convince everyone" that U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244 did not rule out independence, and that it contained the statement which said that securing autonomy for Kosovo allegedly referred only to the interim period. According to him, it "does not withstand any criticism," because the resolution is clear and cannot be used as grounds for the implementation of a political idea, the longterm goal of which "no one can explain." He said Russia had no intention of agreeing to what was being proposed, or "reconcile itself to the inevitable." "We feel that there are healthy minds in the EU and there is increasing consideration of what will happen next, and how the neighboring countries, which also have an Albanian population, will react," he added.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Kosovo will be among the biggest challenges Slovenia will face during its six-month EU presidency, Slovenian Foreign Minister Rupel said in Brussels. Rupel said that this would be the hardest test of the joint European security and foreign policies. Stressing the importance of sending an EU mission to Kosovo, Rupel urged a regional approach to problems in the W. Balkans, since the issue of Kosovo cannot be solved in isolation. Rupel said that Serbia had to focus on Europe and that Slovenia and its partners should send a positive message to the region on its realistic future within the EU and NATO.

MOSCOW, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin on Thursday warned that independence of Kosovo and Metohija might open a Pandora's box and lead to dramatic consequences in Europe. Without international law everything is permitted, Rogozin told a news conference in Moscow, adding that many similar cases would then appear not only in South Osetia and Abkhazia. Rogozin underscored that Russia's stand had not changed and that Russia is not protecting Serbia but the architecture of international security and international law. He also said that Serbia has allies, that it should act according to its own Constitution and that it was rather encouraged by Russia's protection of international law in the UN Security Council. Underscoring that it is not up to him to decide, Rogozin said that he does not believe that a return of Russia's troops to Kosovo is possible. "Serbia does not need Russian soldiers, because it has its own. It needs talks and to protect its constitution," underscored Ambassador Rogozin. He also said that he is fully confident that Serbia will manage to fulfill its tasks.

MOSCOW, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Kosovo's status is not predetermined and no decisions should be taken until a compromise solution is found, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Duma and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), stated on Thursday."Discussion at a PACE meeting was tough, not only Russia and Serbia criticized the proposed text, but also many other national delegations protected this very position," he said.The main thing is that PACE clearly and unambiguously urges further talks between the conflicting parties, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Kosachev as saying. According to him, the talks should continue not in some abstract direction, but on the basis of UN SC Resolution 1244 that stipulates Serbia's territorial integrity, and should search for a compromise and not assume this or that position. The resolution on the importance of a mutually acceptable, compromise solution for the status of Kosovo by resuming the dialogue and talks is a U-turn, he said."For the first time we have the text that is backed by the authoritative international organization," and that directly and clearly states that there is no need to make haste, concluded Kosachev. "We consider it principally important that some amendments proposed by the Russian and Serbian delegations should be supported and submitted to the resolution's text,".

Bucharest, Jan 23 (Beta) - Romania supports a sustainable solution for the Kosovo status, based on the Belgrade-Pristina talks, Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Jan. 23. In a meeting with ambassadors to Romania, Basescu stressed that the solution for Kosovo should respect international law that guarantees the state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of Serbia's borders. "No one can simply ignore the principles of international law, which is the basis of the current international order," Basescu said and stressed that over the past decades, those principles have ensured a period of peace and wellbeing without precedent in Europe.

Basescu further said "Romania does not want to ignore those principles," and added that his country "fosters hope in a negotiable solution for the Kosovo status," which would be reached by a consensus in the U.N. Security Council, as the guarantor of international law. The Romanian president added that his country had decided to deploy 750 police officers to Kosovo as part of the future European mission, once Brussels decides on the matter. The meeting of the Romanian president and foreign diplomats was also attended by the Serbian ambassador to Bucharest, Dusan Crnogorcevic.

BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaci said Wednesday in Brussels that he told the President of the European Union Council of Ministers Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel that Kosovo is ready for status and fostering a democratic state. He expects this to be achieved in very close cooperation with Brussels and Washington as soon as possible. Rupel said the EU Presidency is eager to learn about developments in Kosovo to help the EU formulate its policy. European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said he would confer with Thaci Thursday on coordinating the resolving of the Kosovo status and convey to him his views on that process.

PRISTINA, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiju said on Thursday that the very day parliament declared Kosovo independence, an invitation would be sent to the European Union to assign a mission to Kosovo, as well as to NATO to keep the international peacekeeping forces there. In an interview with the BBC in Albanian, Sejdiju reiterated that the proclamation of Kosovo's independence is "a matter of days." In a short time we will have a clear and firm position, Sejdiju said and added that Kosovo's independence enjoyed strong support of the United States and the European Union, in conjunction with the Ahtisaari Plan as the best and optimal solution to Kosovo's political status.

PRISTINA, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - In February, Kfor will be reinforced by an additional 560 Italian peacekeepers, it was announced in Pristina on Wednesday. A Kfor spokesman told a regular press conference that starting Feb 4 until March 4, a battalion of 560 peacekeepers from Italy would be deployed in Kosovo. He added that the arrival of fresh Kfor troops cannot be linked to the process of determining the status of Kosovo and Metohija, but that in question is a regular excercise of the Kfor operative reserve contigent. The Kfor spokesman said that the reinforcements would be located in the central and northern parts of the province where about 16,000 Kfor troops are currently stationed.

ZVECAN, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - International peacekeeping force in Kosovo province KFOR commander, Lieutenant General Xavier Bout de Marnhac said in Zvecan on Wednesday that this military mission is ready to secure peace, safety and stability for all the citizens in Kosovo and Metohija province. As commander-in-chief of KFOR, he is in charge of ensuring peace and security in Kosovo, the lieutenant general stressed, pointing out that KFOR is present precisely in order to preserve the security of the country. The KFOR commander said that the leaders from northern Kosovo should also be dedicated to this task.

STRASBOURG, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Albanian President Bamir Topi called for the urgent granting of independence to Serbia's Kosovo province, speaking at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Contrary to the stand of the PACE, which confirmed the importance of the continuation of the negotiations on finding a compromise solution for Kosovo in a resolution, Topi called on the European Union (EU) and NATO to launch an initiative for the independence of Kosovo, in the event that the United Nations (UN) Security Council is unable to do this, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass said.

PARIS, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Ahead of his today's visit to Moscow, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic evaluated that the signing of the energy agreement on cooperation in the oil and gas sector between Serbia and Russia is a good move from the strategic point of view because it will provide long-term energy stability to Serbia. "The agreement is very attractive, because it provides long-term energy stability, energy supplies to Serbia and the whole of the Western Balkans," Jeremic said in a statement with Radio France Internationale. "With this agreement, Serbia will secure its energy supplies for a long period of time and that strategically it is a rather attractive project," said Jeremic, adding that the government had agreed unanimously to sign the agreement after an extensive debate.

MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will confer Friday, January 25, with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Putin's press service said. Tadic and Kostunica will arrive in Moscow on Friday to participate in the ceremony of signing an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the oil and gas sphere, the press service told Itar-Tass. Putin will receive Tadic and Kostunica on Friday and the document will be signed by Russian Minister for Fuel and Energy Viktor Khristenko and Serbian Minister for Infrastructure Velimir Ilic. The Russian-Serbian agreement will be signed together with supplements determining concrete details of cooperation, a source close to negotiations confirmed to reporters in Moscow on Wednesday. He stressed that "it is not an agreement on the selling of something, but a package of intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in that sphere". Under the package deal, it is planned to lay a 400-kilometer segment of the South Stream gas pipeline through Serbia, complete the construction of the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage with the capacity of about 800 million cubic meters, and provide Gazprom's purchase of a 51% stake in the Serbian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS).

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Beta) - The Serbian minister for the economy and regional development, Mladjan Dinkic, stated on Jan. 23 that Serbia should keep 50 percent of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS). "It would be best for Serbia to sign the same energy agreement with Russia, as Bulgaria," Dinkic said at a news conference in the Serbian government. Bulgaria has made a deal with Russia to form a joint company for running the gas pipeline and, according to Dinkic, Serbia should also apply this model. He pointed out that, according to the model, the property of Serbia's oil company should be divided, i.e. Serbia should keep 50 percent of NIS and Gasprom should take over 50 percent. He added that the price for the 50 percent of capital in NIS should be dictated by the market.

Dinkic said Serbia should keep the oil wells and issue a concession for using them to Gasprom. Dinkic and other ministers from the G17 Plus did not attend the Jan. 22 session of the Serbian government, at which the draft agreement on cooperation between Serbia and Russia in the oil and gas industry was adopted. Dinkic explained that he would declare a stand on the agreement after the details about the building of the gas pipeline and the underground gas storage facility, and about the sale of NIS, had been negotiated. The agreement on energy cooperation between Serbia and Russia will be signed in Moscow on Jan. 25, after which it will be presented to the public.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched a joint project of assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia, head of the UNDP Office to Serbia Lance Clark said on Wednesday. The UNHCR-UNDP project should solve the IDP problem in the long run and the stress is on voluntary return as well as on assistance to those who opt for integration, Clark said at a meeting of the working group for IDPs in Belgrade.

BELGRADE, VIENNA, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Negotiations on transit agreements on the transfer of nuclear fuel from the Vinca Institute to Russia have been successfully completed at UN Headquarters in Vienna by the adoption of a final draft agreement on transit, the Serbian Ministry of Science said in a statement on Wednesday. The negotiations on the transit agreements between Serbia, Russia, Hungary and Ukraine were held at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seat in Vienna on Tuesday. "The negotiations in Vienna were very successful and they are expected to resume in Moscow in late February, when final agreements will be made before the signing of an inter-governmental agreement between Serbia and the Russian Federation," head of the Serbian delegation Uranija Kozmidis-Luburic said, according to the statement. The negotiations will continue during the day in order to set the financial terms of this important project, which requires about 30 million dollars, the statement said. The reactor in Vinca was closed in 1984 and the Serbian government adopted a decision on its decommission and transport of fuel in 2002.