Belgrade, 27. 03. 2008.

SERBIA

• RUPEL SAYS EU MAY OFFER SERBIA NEW VISA AGREEMENT
• SEARCH FOR ICTY FUGITIVE WITHOUT RESULT – OFFICIAL

• SITUATION IN KOSOVO STABILIZING, SUTANOVAC
• SUTANOVAC SAYS ALGERIA HAS PRINCIPLED STAND ON KOSOVO
• CZECH GOVT DIVIDED ON KOSOVO ISSUE - DEPUTY PM
• BUBALO SAYS SERBIA DID NOT SEEK HUMANITARIAN AID FROM RUSSIA
• U.S. EMBASSY: WASHINGTON WILL NOT SEND KOSOVO FIGHTER JETS
• STANICIC: PRESSURES WERE MADE ON CROATIA TO RECOGNISE KOSOVO
• KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE-OPENING OF NEW CRISIS IN BALKANS,CHIZOV
• MEDICINES FOR PATIENTS IN CENTRAL KOSOVO CONFISCATED AGAIN
• UNMIK SPOKESPERSON: MEDICINE SHIPMENT AWAITING MORE PAPERS
• IVANKO: UNMIK HAS PROOF OF MUP PRESENCE
• BULGARIA SENDS TROOPS TO KOSOVO

• SERBIA NEEDS HORGOS-POZEGA MOTORWAY, SAYS BUBALO
• DJILAS EXPECTS COMPROMISE FOR HORGOS-POZEGA MOTORWAY

LJUBLJANA, March 26 (Beta) - Current EU presiding country Slovenia said on March 26 that the union may soon offer Serbia a new, more favorable visa regime, in order to indicate to Serbian citizens that it supports the country's accession to the EU.

"What we can offer is a visa regime agreement that will certainly be much more favorable than the current one," Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said, in the face of the EU foreign ministers' meeting due to be held in Slovenia this week.

"This agreement could soon become effective, and I hope that it will be signed before the (general) election in Serbia," Rupel told Reuters.

Rupel was unable to say whether Serbia will sign the interim political agreement, which the EU offered it in February, before the end of Slovenia's term at the EU's helm on June 30.

The Belgrade government could not sign the agreement due to the EU's position on the secession of Kosovo, which has been backed by the majority of member countries.

"The interim political agreement is still waiting to be signed. I will put my signature on it now, if the Serbs want me to," Rupel said.

BELGRADE, Mar 26 (Tanjug) - President of the National Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Rasim Ljajic told Tanjug Wednesday that a large-scale search was organized in Nis for ICTY indictee Stojan Zupljanin but that the fugitive was not found.

The operation was carried out on the basis of several reports to the search team, he said. Zupljanin is not indicted for any particular crimes but is held accountable for planning an executing police operation while he was head of the Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina) security center and for crimes the police committed there. According to the ICTY indictment, Zupljanin was involved in persecution on political, racial and religious grounds and in crimes against humanity.

BELGRADE, March 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac has said that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is stabilizing, but that "this is not permanent," adding that Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo, but will seek solely political and diplomatic possibilities for solving this problem. "The military has been placed on a state of alert corresponding to the new situation.

The situation in Kosovo and Metohija is stabilizing, but we cannot say that this is permanent," Sutanovac told the Nedeljni Telegraf paper, noting that "the Kosovo fuse is burning, and the coming period will show whether it will light up or go out." Underscoring that the situation in southern Serbia is stable and that "the citizens who live there are acting in a very responsible manner," Sutanovac called "on all who are in the possession of force and who are directing the crisis, not to stir up violence, but to appease it."

Sutanovac, who hosted Russian Ambassador Alexander Alekseev in the Serbian Army General Staff building, said that Serbia more than ever needs to hear the voice of its friend Russia.

ALGIERS, March 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac on Wednesday thanked ranking Algerian officials on the stand in principle that this northern African state has on Kosovo, underscoring that the defense of international law is the only true stand that states should take on Kosovo.

"We believe that the defense of international law is the only correct stand and Algeria has that stand," Sutanovac said after talks with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The visit by the Defense Ministry delegation to Algeria is strategic in nature, the minister said, pointing out that he had conferred with the Algerian president and military officials about military-technical and military-economic cooperation, the Serbian Defense Ministry said.

"The Serbian Defense Ministry has adopted the decision to open a certain number of places for the free education of officers from Algeria," Sutanovac said, stressing that military cooperation with Algeria can again be at the level that had been realized in the past. Algeria has great capacities and Serbia has knowledge, and the two countries could therefore cooperate on joint projects, the Serbian Minister said.

BELGRADE, Mar 26 (Tanjug) - Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra said Wednesday in Belgrade that the Czech government is divided on the issue of recognizing the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence and that this will be a difficult decision that must be considered carefully.

Whatever the government may decide, it will be a result of careful consideration, he said after meeting Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic. Once a decision is taken, the Czech government will stand firmly behind it and will not disclose details on the vote, he said. The Czech government will take its decision on Kosovo realistically and with responsibility and wisdom, but will also bear in mind the traditional friendship with the Serbian people, Vondra said, adding that whatever the decision, he hopes that bilateral relations will remain friendly.

Djelic told the press he made it clear to Vondra that Serbia will never recognize independence of its southern province and expressed hope that the Czech Republic's decision will be in line with its traditional friendship with Serbia. Vondra and Djelic also discussed integration in Europe and bilateral economic cooperation, which can be fostered in the vehicle industry, energy and transport sectors.

The European Union attitude towards Serbia should from now on be more careful, Vondra said, adding that his country will lobby for Serbia's accelerated integration in the EU. There is no reason to postpone the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, he said.

Djelic expressed hope that Serbia will get the status of candidate for EU membership by the end of this year.

BELGRADE, March 26 (Tanjug) - Trade Minister Predrag Bubalo said on Wednesday that Serbia at this time did not ask Russia for any particular humanitarian aid for Kosovo, and pointed out that Russia itself saw the difficult situation in the enclaves and consequently launched the initiative.

The Serbian government is constantly sending aid to the population in Kosovo that recognizes the state of Serbia, Bubalo said, underscoring that he had seen for himself, during a visit to Osojane, what was needed and that he had secured aid in the form of three tractors for that enclave in the southern province. However, there are problems with the customs of the local United Nations administration UNMIK in bringing in the aid, he said.

"It is essential for us that the government is functioning in places where there is a Serb population, and a population of non-Albanians who recognize this state, so that we are trying to secure, through the market inspection and security structures, the regular supply of that population, and additional funds are secured through the National Investment Plan as well," Bubalo said.

MOSCOW, March 26 (Beta) - The U.S. embassy in Russia on March 26 denied allegations that the U.S. planned to deliver F16 fighter jets to Kosovo soon.

"That information is absolutely untrue," a representative of the embassy in Moscow told the Russian news agency Itartass, commenting on claims that appeared in the Russian media late last week.

Regarding U.S. President George Bush's statement that the U.S. will deliver weapons to Kosovo, the embassy officials said that this was "a usual element of procedure when establishing relations with a new state."

"As far as Kosovo is concerned, it is still too early to talk about the details" of the aid, the embassy representative said.

According to him, "the U.S. military cooperation with Kosovo will help the new state create transparent and professional security structures."

He also said this cooperation was "in tune with the spirit of Martti Ahtisaari's plan."

VIENNA, March 27 (Tanjug) - Croatian Ambassador to Belgrade Tonci Stanicic said on Thursday that international pressures had been made on Zagreb to recognise Kosovo, denying, at the same time, that Croatia had been forced to do that because of its admission in NATO.

"International pressures were made on us, but we did not make haste because of the very respect we have for Serbia and our partnership relations," Stanicic said in an interview for the Frankfurt Serbian-language daily Vesti, and expressed hope that Zagreb's decision to recognise Kosovo independence would not jeopardise the relations between the two countries.

Claiming that Croatia would be invited to join NATO in a couple of days, he said that his country "could have waited and recognized Kosovo after that, but it wanted to show that the two issues were not linked." "Our relations with Serbia date from the time when NATO did not even exist, and they are much more complex than some that are standing aside can imagine," he added.

MOSCOW, March 27 (Tanjug) - The independence of Kosovo-Metohija is not the last act of disintegration of the former SFRY, but rather the opening of a new stage of the crisis in the Balkans, Russia's permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Thursday, adding that Kosovo's status remains undetermined until a stable international legal solution is found.

Claims by Western diplomats that Kosovo's independence is the last act of the disintegration of SFRY may be hypocritical or sincere, but in either case they represent a dangerous misconception, the Russian diplomat said in and interview with the Moscow-based daily Vremya Novostei and added that the independence is not the final act, but rather the opening of a new stage of the crisis in the Balkans.

Chizhov reiterated that the order that existed in Kosovo until February 17 was defined by UN SC Resolution 1244 as temporary until a final solution is found. However, recognition of the unilateral independence declaration by thirty or so states out of 200 does not solve the problem and Kosovo's status will remain undetermined until a stable international legal solution is found, he said.

GRACANICA, Mar 26 (Tanjug) - A shipment of medicines for health institutions in the municipality of Lipljan were held at the UNMIK customs terminal in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica several days ago, UNMIK Customs Spokesman Adriatik Stavileci confirmed to Tanjug on Wednesday. The shipment includes medicines worth RSD 1.7 million, which are to cover the needs of the medical centers in Dobrosin and Gusterica in the Lipljan municipality, the Caglavica-based KIM radio reported. Stavileci told Tanjug that there is no valid documentation, that is an import certificate issued by the Kosovo Medicines Agency, for the confiscated medicines. He underscored that the confiscated medicines and a sanitary vehicle will only be released if the Kosovo health ministry approves it.

Director of the Medical Center in Gracanica Rada Trajkovic said that "the essence of this act is to impose pressure on sick people in the enclaves, because this is the second time that UNMIK customs service does not allow a shipment of medicines to reach their destination." "This pressure destabilizes Serbs, Roma, Gorani, Croats, and even Albanians who are treated at our institutions," said Trajkovic, adding that this is "yet another attempt to cause a humanitarian disaster." On March 3, UNMIK customs confiscated a shipment of medicines, medical equipment and sanitary material sent to medical institutions in central Kosovo. The shipment reached its destination after ten days with the mediation of the World Health Organization.

PRISTINA, March 26 (Tanjug) - UNMIK Spokesperson Methild Heneke said in Pristina on Wednesday that the medicines intended for medical institutions in central Kosovo recently seized by UNMIK will be detained until a permit is obtained from the Kosovo Drug Regulatory Authority. UNMIK is again helping with this case, as it has done on previous occasions.

The problem is not with UNMIK, but with the importers. Imports of medicines must be licensed through the Kosovo organ in charge of medicines, Heneke told a press conference. Importers must secure a permit, she said. The latest shipment from Serbia had a license and the civilian administration department helped to secure that license, maintaining the connection between the partners, the spokesperson said.

Heneke reiterated that future shipments will also be stopped unless they contain a license from the Kosovo Drug Regulatory Activity. Medicines for medical institutions in the Municipality of Lipljan, worth 1.7 million dinars, have been detained for several days at the UNMIK customs terminal in southern Kosovska Mitrovica, UNMIK customs spokesperson Adriatik Stavileci has confirmed.

PRISTINA, March 26 (Tanjug) - UNMIK Spokesman Alexander Ivanko said on Wednesday that UNMIK has sufficient evidence that confirms members of the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) were present in the building of the Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica on March 17 this year.

UNMIK police and the Kosovo Police Service are continuing the investigation in connection with the events of March 17, Ivanko said, when a clash broke out between Serbs and the international forces in that town. UNMIK has a list of suspects, Ivanko told a press conference, but declined to give any details. The investigation requires time, and it has been only 10 days since the incident, he said. Ivanko also declined to comment on Pristina media reports stating that UNMIK intelligence services have identified the existence of 10 Serbian MUP offices in Kosovo.

SOFIA, Mar 26 (Tanjug) - The Bulgarian government on Wednesday decided to send to Kosovo up to six soldiers, together with arms and equipment, as support to KFOR troops, the government information service stated. Bulgaria's soldiers will join the newly established unit for military and civil cooperation at KFOR headquarters in Pristina.

Their task will be, among other things, to consult and provide support to the local security force and to control disintegration of the Kosovo Protection Corps. The new unit will also help the authorities in the area of recruitment and training. The participation of Bulgarian soldiers in the new KFOR unit is the country's contribution to the efforts of the international community to provide conditions for local institutions to guarantee irrevocability of the process of setting up a multiethnic and democratic Kosovo. There are currently 42 Bulgarian soldiers deployed in Kosovo as part of NATO forces.

BELGRADE, March 26 (Beta) - The Serbian minister for trade and services, Predrag Bubalo, said on March 26 that the concession deal for the Horgos-Pozega motorway has not failed, and that he expected the works to begin as planned, at the beginning of April.

Bubalo told reporters he expected the government to discuss the concession at its March 27 session and that, if needed, he would raise this issue himself because Serbia needed this development project.

Asked about whether the Alpina-Porr consortium had requested a change in the provisions of the contract, Bubalo replied that the changes related to the guarantees, but that experts believed Serbia would not carry any risk as a state, in this respect.

According to reports in the press, it is uncertain whether the concession contract will be fulfilled, because the concessionaires have requested to be allowed to secure guarantees only for works during the first year, instead of guarantees for the entire investment.

At the beginning of this week, it was confirmed that the Deutsche Bank, which was supposed to support this investment, had informed the concessionaires that it was unable to provide guarantees for the entire investment before the end of 2008.

BELGRADE, March 26 (Beta) - The Serbian minister for the National Investment Plan, Dragan Djilas, stated on March 26 that he expected the Serbian government to enable the concessionaires for the Horgos-Pozega motorway to start building, but that they will have to provide guarantees that the motorway will be completed.

Speaking at a news conference, he said the government could not accept such a large project to be started without guarantees that it will be finished, and that this was why any request for an amendment to the contract about the motorway had to be considered very carefully.

"It is not realistic for someone who starts building a motorway to say I will make a financial construction by Dec. 31, which I have not managed to do in a year, and, if I fail, you will pay me for what I have done, and ask God to help you," Djilas said.

He said that the building of this motorway is important for Serbia and that he believed the members of the government will try to find a compromise at the March 27 session, which will give the concessionaires more time to fulfill their obligations.

Trade Minister Predrag Bubalo said he was prepared to raise the issue of the concession at the government's session, because Serbia needed the motorway. He stated that the changes the Alpina and Porr companies had requested did not carry any risk for the state.

According to the contract on the concession for building the Horgos-Pozega motorway, signed in March last year, the construction works are to begin on April 1, 2008, at the latest.