Belgrade, 29. 02. 2008.

SEECP MEETING – ADRESS AND ACTIVITIES OF FM

• JEREMIC: SHAME THAT SOME BACKED KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• WE WILL REQUEST ICJ'S OPINION, JEREMIC
• JEREMIC, CROATIAN FOREIGN MINSITER ON KOSOVO, EMBASSY ATTACK
• KALFIN: NO ONE MUST BE EXCLUDED FROM SEECP

• SERBIA RECALLS AMBASSADORS FROM THREE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
• GOVERNMENT SETS UP LEGAL TEAM TO DEFEND STATE INTERESTS
• DINKIC: PAYING KOSOVO DEBT IRRATIONAL
• GOVERNMENT HAS NOT DISCUSSED DINKIC'S INITIATIVE
• DINKIC: PRESENT SITUATION IN GOVERNMENT NOT SUSTAINABLE IN LONG RUN
• BELARUS PRESIDENT EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH SERBIA
• C. MUNTER: DEMONSTRATORS CLOSED US EMBASSY IN BELGRADE
• COOPERATION BETWEEN OSCE, SERBIAN AUTHORTIES EXCELLENT

• DINKIC: ALIENATION FROM EU WOULD BE FATAL FOR SERBIA
• EU CONSIDERING DEMARCHE TO SERBIA DUE TO EMBASSY ATTACKS
• REHN: SERBIA’S EU ACCESSION UP TO ITS LEADERS, PEOPLE
• DANISH FM: EU DOOR OPEN TO SERBIA

• PLASSNIK SIGNS LETTER RECOGNISING KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• SPAIN AGAINST UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• ARGENTINA WILL NOT RECOGNISE KOSOVO
• GREECE: KOSMET ISSUE WILL BE REFLECTED ON EUROPEAN STABILITY
• BURNS: KOSOVO CANNOT BE PARTITIONED
• FEITH: NO KOSOVO PARTITION, SPECIAL TIES WITH BELGRADE
• STATE DEPARTMENT: US TROOPS TO STAY AS LONG AS NECESSARY
• EU MISSION IN KOSOVO ILLEGAL, SAYS CHURKIN
• RUSSIA AGAINST VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, SHUVALOV
• KFOR MUST COMPLY WITH RESOLUTION 1244 – RUSSIA
• ROGOZIN: NATO TO OBSERVE UN MANDATE
• CHIZOV: KOSOVO WILL NOT BECOME MEMBER OF OSCE
• AZERBAIJAN WITHDRAWS TROOPS FROM KOSOVO
• SERB POLICEMEN IN GNJILANE SUSPENDED FOR 48 HOURS, ELSHANI

• INTERNATIONAL STEERING GROUP FOR KOSOVO FORMED
• KOSTUNICA CONDEMNS FORMING OF INTERNATIONAL STEERING GROUP
• UN: UNMIK-EULEX RELATION WILL DEPEND ON SITUATION IN FIELD
• NO TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY FROM UNMIK IN KOSOVO, SPOKESMAN

• BUBALO: MANY REASONS FOR OPTIMISM
• CZECH COMPANIES FEAR LOSS OF BUSINESS IN SERBIA
• INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FAIR OPENS IN BELGRADE

SOFIA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Thursday, at a meeting of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Sofia, that "it is "shame, for instead of rallying under the banner of regional solidarity, some (countries) have chosen (in recognizing Kosovo) to side with those beyond the region that equate power and justice."

"As a result, a revival of the debate about the legitimacy of internationally recognized borders has been triggered - what a leading British analyst on Sunday termed as 'illegal Balkanization.' Its ripples are already being felt around the world - notwithstanding the preposterous claim that Kosovo is 'siu generis,'" Jeremic said at the SEECP ministerial meeting. According to him, in order to realize the illegal independence of Kosovo, the forces that lie behind this concept have offered deals, made pressure and "twisted arms" throughout the region, across Europe and around the world. "Some countries have succumbed, others might, still others shall not," Jeremic said. I am told that the reason "why some have opted to capitulate to the secessionist demands of the Kosovo Albanians is that the negotiations failed. Is that the reason? The Serbs and the Albanians just couldn't agree after a few rounds of talks, so a solution had to be imposed on them?" he wondered. In truth, Jeremic said, this is not a valid reason, because "some very powerful people said in advance that they (Kosovo Albanians) would get everything they wanted if they did not concede an inch" during the negotiations.

The Serbian foreign minister warned that "when the dust settles, when the forty or so countries worldwide that chose to recognize the illegal declaration of independence by Pristina to do so, we will all come face to face with a new, sobering reality: Kosovo will never be a member of the United Nations; it will not be a member of the OSCE." "As such, it will not belong to the world community of sovereign nations. It will never acquire this ultimate status of legitimacy. Even here, today, Kosovo is a guest of the Chairman. And let me tell you loud and clear: for as long as Serbia is, Kosovo shall never be," Jeremic underlined.

"It may be undiplomatic to say, but your countries find themselves facing the consequences of a perverse choice they asked from my country - to choose between Kosovo and Europe. As a result of this, you are effectively being put in a situation to choose between Serbia and Kosovo. This is not what we wanted. It is not what we worked to achieve. It is not what we wished to be. But we are where we are," Jeremic said. "Serbia is not a superpower - we don't have at our disposal what some others do. But we have justice, international law, and common sense on our side," Jeremic concluded, pointing out that the countries that chose to recognize Kosovo's secession would downgrade their relations with Serbia. Full fledged members of the South East Europe Cooperation Process are Bulgaria, which is presently chairing the body, Albania, Croatia, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia, while Kosovo, which is represented by UNMIK, has the status of an observer. Of all the SEECP member countries, only Albania and Turkey have recognized the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

SOFIA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in Sofia on Thursday that Serbia will request the opinion of the International Court on Justice (ICJ) in The Hague as to whether the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence represents a violation of international law.

Addressing the press on the sidelines of the South Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) meeting, Jeremic called on all countries, above all those in the region, to restrain from expressing stand on Kosovo's independence before the International Court of Justice gives its opinion this issue. This is the least the countries could do in order to contribute to peace, stability and neighborly relations, this region needs now more than ever, the Serbian foreign minister said.

He added that the recognition of Kosovo's independence represents a unilateral attack on Serbia's territorial integrity and that everyone should be aware that it represents "a walk on thin ice." Jeremic voiced hope that majority of countries will follow Serbia's and Russia's stands, as well as of other states supporting the principles of international law, which is based on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of internationally recognized countries.

SOFIA, Feb. 28 (Beta) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Jandrokovic, met in Sofia on Feb. 28 to discuss the situation in the region in the wake of Kosovo's declaration of independence and rioting in Belgrade that saw the Croatian Embassy attacked.

A statement from the Croatian Foreign Ministry quoted Jandrokovic as expressing concern over the attack, with Jeremic reiterating his regrets and pledging to do everything in his power to see the culprits caught and punished.

The two are also said to have exchanged views on the situation in the region, including Kosovo's attempt at gaining independence from Serbia.

Despite their differences on the issue, the ministers reportedly said that the countries of Southeastern Europe have no option but to cooperate and that both of their states will strive to maintain regional stability.

Serbian-Croatian ties were also discussed, together with efforts to overcome existing problems. Jeremic and Jandrokovic were in Sofia to participate in a meeting of the South East European Cooperation Process.

SOFIA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said Thursday referring to Kosovo's participation in the South East Europe Cooperation Process that Bulgaria believes that cooperation needs to include everyone, and that no one should be excluded, isolated, self-isolated, or forbidden from participating. It is understandable that Serbia's tone, given the situation, is rather terse, especially considering Kosovo's desire to join SEECP as a full member in its own right, Kalfin said.

However, Kalfin said that the very presence at this format of representatives of both Serbia and Kosovo, so soon after Kosovo's declaration of independence, is an important development which needs to be noted. The coming months will decide how this regional cooperation will successfully include everyone in its ranks, he said quoted by Bulgarian agency BTA.

BELGRADE, Feb. 28 (Beta) - The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 28 sent protest letters to the governments of Poland, Switzerland and Austria due to their recognition of the unilateral proclamation of independence by Kosovo and Metohija, reads a ministry statement.

The statement continues that in accordance with the Action Plan the foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, demanded the immediate withdrawal of the ambassadors from those countries.

Kosovo has been recognized by 20 countries so far.

BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government on Thursday decided to set up a Legal Team which should establish which measures and before which courts Serbia may use to defend its state interests after the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and Metohija.

Education Minister Zoran Loncar told a news conference after the government meeting that Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sasa Obradovic and Advisor of the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Milos Jovanovic were appointed as coordinators of the team. By the next government meeting, the coordinators should propose first team members, who will be appointed by a separate decision.

"My personal stand is that the team, comprised of the most eminent domestic and foreign experts, will very soon propose concrete measures to the government, and I believe that there are grounds to establish the competency of the International Court of Justice in the implementation of all measures against the countries which with their recognition had contributed to the threat of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia," said Loncar.

Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic on Feb. 28 stated that it is irrational to pay Kosovo's debt, worth USD1.25 billion in the next 20 years.

"The money is taken from Serbian citizens and their taxes in order to pay a debt we are not responsible for," Dinkic told journalists after the opening of the International Tourism Fair at the Belgrade Fairgrounds.

According to him, those debts belong to companies in Djakovica, Pec, and Pristina, where there might be no Serbs.

"It is necessary to distinguish between the fight for sovereignty for the Serbs of Kosovo and a kind of collective madness that we must not enter," the minister said.

Dinkic underlined that it would be "foolishness" to continue paying Kosovo's debt.

"In my opinion, there should be an agreement with international creditors so that someone else services the debts in the Albanian area of Kosovo, where not a single dinar in taxes has been paid since 1999," he said. Dinkic reminded that the creditors are the World Bank, the London Club, and the Paris Club. He previously announced that on Feb. 28 he will propose that the government stop paying Kosovo's debt, but the proposal has so far been rejected by the members of the Populist Coalition [the Democratic Party of Serbia and the New Serbia party]. Since 2002, USD328.4 million has been paid for Kosovo's debt.

BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government on Thursday did not discuss the initiative of Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic that Serbia should stop paying the foreign debt of its southern province, Serbian Education Minister Zoran Loncar said.

Loncar said that this initiative was not on the government's agenda, but that Dinkic had raised the issue and that Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica reminded him that this decision would clash with the platform of the state negotiating team adopted by the Serbian parliament. He said that, as a minister, Dinkic had the full legitimate and democratic right to make such an initiative and added that procedurally, the minister had to send such a proposal in writing before the government session.

BELGRADE, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said late on Thursday that the present situation in the government was not sustainable in the long run, because, although it had reached consensus on certain issues, its members had diametrically opposed stands on some other matters.

"The government has to operate with a minimum of consensus, and we have reached that consensus on some issues, while on others our stands are diametrically opposed, and I admit that this is not a situation that can be sustainable in the long run," Dinkic said in a broadcast by TV B92.He underlined that the G17 Plus party, he was the leader of, had not joined the government just for the sake of being part of it, but to help it work well. "If it is going to lead Serbia in the direction of the European Union, if it is going to lead it towards stronger economy, a better standard of living, then it is fine, but if not, then let us sit and see what we can do," Dinkic underlined.

MOSCOW/MINSK, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has addressed a message to Serbian President Boris Tadic expressing his support to Serbia's endeavors to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Lukashenko's press service said Thursday.

Belarus received with deep concern the news on the unilateral declaration of independence of the province by its interim self-government institutions, he said. Recognition of Kosovo independence by some countries clearly shows the West's "friendly" intentions towards Serbia, he said, adding that the use of dual standards for such a sensitive issue is unacceptable.

The ensuing growing tensions in Serbia's southern province has confirmed Belarus' fears that instability in Kosovo will intensify, Lukashenko said, warning that this situation can have unpredictable consequences. The crisis in the relations between Belgrade and Pristina can be resolved only within an international framework on the basis of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which remains in effect, he noted. The peoples of Belarus and Serbia have enjoyed friendship which has stood the test of time for centuries, and Belarus today expresses its solidarity with Serbia's endeavors to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

VIENNA, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - The US Embassy in Belgrade was closed by the demonstrators and not by the State Department, US Ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter has pointed out. It is not we, but rather the demonstrators that closed the Embassy, he explained in an interview for the Vienna daily Der Kurier.

Because of the damage they have done, we are not able to issue visas, he said, adding that he regretted the fact. We have not been given gurantees that Serbia's authorities will ensure protection for us and our Serbian associates, Ambassador Munter said.

Asked how long the rage in Serbia would last, Munter answered that certain irresponsible comments had been made by Serbian nationalist leaders which rouse doubt that the government would ensure security for the US diplomatic personnel. In this context, he pointed in particular to Minister of Infrastructure Velimir Ilic and Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic. Munter confirmed that presently, there was no possibility for contact with the officials of the Serbian government, since contacts had been frozen with the representatives of those countries that had recognized Kosovo.

VIENNA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Hans Ola Urstad said in Vienna on Thursday that the cooperation between the organization and the Serbian government is excellent and voiced hope that it will continue, despite the events regarding Kosovo-Metohija.

Submitting a regular report on the work of the organization in Serbia to the OSCE Permanent Council, Urstad said that the riots, which broke out in Belgrade last week after the demonstrations against the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence, are only damaging Serbia. In his report, Urstad said that the cooperation of the OSCE mission and the Serbian authorities is excellent in many areas.

BELGRADE, Feb. 28 (Beta) - Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic on Feb. 28 stated that selfisolation and alienation from the EU would be fatal for Serbia. "It is easier to fight for Kosovo if we join the EU," Dinkic said regarding Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's statement that Serbia can only join the EU together with Kosovo as its integral part, and that it should clarify what the Union considers Serbian territory before continuing the negotiations.

The minister told journalists that the fight for the establishment of economic sovereignty in the part of Kosovo where Serbs live should be initiated immediately, while diplomacy should be employed to fight for the establishment of political sovereignty.

"As a small country, Serbia has no future outside the EU," Dinkic stressed.

He stated that the government was united when Serbs in Kosovo needed help to stay there, and that the next stage is improving life in the whole country.

"Those 120,000 of our countrymen in Kosovo should live better, but we should not forget the eight million citizens of Serbia," Dinkic stated. He underscored that Serbia should join the EU as soon as possible, to strengthen itself economically, in order to provide a better standard of living to the citizens, and to solve all other problems. "Around 55 percent of Serbian exports and imports go through the EU, and we have a five percent turnover with Russia, and it is clear that we should develop relations with all countries in the world."

BRUSSELS, Feb. 28 (Beta) -. The Council of Ministers of the European Union could forward a demarche to the Serbian government over the fact that the embassies of several EU member countries were attacked last week in Belgrade and were not given appropriate police protection.

European diplomatic sources at the same time told BETA that no kind of official letter indicating a problem with the transfer of authority from UNMIK to the EU mission in Kosovo was sent to EU High Representative Javier Solana by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Officials in Brussels stated that the U.N. official responsible for peacekeeping, Jean Marie Guehenno, spoke at length with Solana on Feb. 27 about developments surrounding the situation in Kosovo, but that there is no confirmation that Guehenno gave any letter from Ban Ki Moon to Solana, nor that it was sent through different channels.

At the same time, international diplomatic sources at U.N. headquarters in New York told BETA that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appears to be trying to take into consideration the differing opinions that exist among U.N. Security Council members on the legal foundation for the mission, which the EU has decided to send to Kosovo.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 28 (Beta) – European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Feb. 28 that the fate of Serbia’s bid for EU membership is now in the hands of the country’s leaders and people.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels after a meeting between European Commission and Bosnian officials, Rehn remarked that Serbia stands a very real chance of making progress toward the bloc and eventually gaining membership. He said this in response to a reporter’s question about his opinion on a statement in which Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica remarked that Serbia can join the EU only with Kosovo as its integral part. The reporter wanted to know if that means Serbia will never join, or that membership is on hold while Kostunica is in power.

Rehn added that the EU is prepared to upgrade its relations with Serbia as soon as the country expresses a readiness to approach the EU.

LJUBLJANA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said Thursday in Ljubljana after meeting his Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel that the door to the EU remains open to Serbia.

The door to the EU is open, but the question is whether Serbia is ready to enter, Moller said, expressing hope that the situation in Serbia calms down and that Belgrade will sign the Association and Stabilization Agreement (SAA) with the EU soon, although there is no agreement on that issue among EU members. Serbia must choose the path to Europe, he said, expressing hope that the situation in Serbia will calm down following Kosovo's declaration of independence, Slovenian agency STA reports.

VIENNA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik signed on Thursday a letter on the recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Pristina authorities.

Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Lauski-Tiefental has told Tanjug the letter would be handed over next week to the authorities in Pristina, when Austria's recognition of the unilaterally declared independence would officially take effect.

BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Spain cannot recognize the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence both for legal reasons and on principle, because the secession of Serbia's southern province was carried out on the basis of ethnic reasons, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon Gros said.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1244 confirmed the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Helsinki Final Act, he said in an article published Thursday by NIN weekly. Besides these general principles and unlike the new republics created after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo is not a federal republic but a province of Serbia, he noted.

Consequently, the Kosovo parliament decision to unilaterally declare independence is contrary to the Resolution 1244, the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, he said. The declaration of Kosovo independence is also contrary to everything the international community has stood for in the Balkans since the onset of the tragic developments of the 1990', Gros said. Spain cannot recognize independence of Kosovo, not only for legal reasons, but also because referring to purely ethnic bases is contrary to the principles on which the EU is founded, he said. Spain has presented these arguments an initiated a discussion, which resulted in the adoption last week by the EU foreign affairs council of conclusions stating that EU member-states have the sovereign right to decide whether they will recognize new states, thus establishing the principle that the EU is not empowered to recognize states, he noted.

AIRES, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Argentina is not going to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo, since that would represent a dangerous precedent in international law, which is not in Argentina's national interest, Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said in Buenos Aires on Friday.

Argentina will not recognize Kosovo as an independent state as long as the issue of the Falkland Islands is not resolved, Taiana underlined in an interview for the Friday issue of the Buenos Aires daily Clarin. The Falkland Islands is a territory in the Atlantic Ocean which London has kept under control ever since 1833. The Argentineans tried to return the Islands under their sovereignty in 1982, but they lost the war. Minister Taiana explained that Argentina now wanted to return the Falkland Islands under its jurisdiction by political means, through negotiations with Great Britain.

If we recognized Kosovo, which has proclaimed its independence unilaterally, without an agreement with Serbia, we would pose a dangerous precedent that would seriously threaten our chances for a political settlement of the Falkland Islands case, the Argentine foreign minister said, and added that the president of the Republic, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, would not give any official statement on the issue, pointing out once again that there would be no recognition of Kosovo.

SOFIA, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Valinakis said in Sofia on Thursday that the question of Kosovo and Metohija is extremely complex and difficult.

Valinakis, who is attending a meeting of foreign ministers of southeastern Europe, reiterated the official stand of Athens that, in connection with Kosovo-Metohija, Greece supports the mutual acceptance of solutions that would be found through dialogue, with respect of international law, and that Greece will make its decision at the appropriate moment. Speaking at the forum, Valinakis underscored the European aspect of the problem of Kosovo, and underlined that it will inevitably have political repercussions on stability an security throughout the continent, the Greek news agency ANA-MPA reported.

WASHINGTON, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has flatly rejected the partition of Kosovo in any form. At a news conference at the State Department, he said the United States and key allies recognized Kosovo in the interest of Balkans stability, the Voice of America (VOA) has reported.

Burns has joined the European Union's new special envoy for Kosovo, Pieter Feith, in flatly rejecting any partition of the former Serb province, while also criticizing Serbia's attempts to retain the control over the area.

At the same time, Burns was sharply critical of Serbia's stand against Kosovo independence as expressed by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who said in a New York Times commentary Wednesday "a historical injustice" is being imposed on his country.

The State Department's third-ranking official, said the argument of Jeremic and others is hypocritical and overlooks Serbia's brutal record in Kosovo in the late 1990s. He reiterated that the United States and key allies recognized Kosovo in the interest of Balkans stability, and expressed hope the new state will some day be in a position to seek EU and NATO membership. Similarly, Burns said he hopes to see Serbia's ties with the United States and Europe continue to develop once passions over Kosovo cool.

VIENNA, Feb. 28 (Beta) - EU Special Representative for Kosovo Pieter Feith in Vienna on Feb. 28 stated that there will be no partition of Kosovo, but that special ties will be established between Belgrade and the Serbian minority in the province, which proclaimed its independence on Feb. 17.

"U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan envisages decentralization with the creation of new municipalities in favor of the Serb communities, but there will be no partition, that is not envisaged," Feith told journalists, reported Agency France Presse.

"There will be special ties between Belgrade and Serb communities, and we think that is a very realistic approach, which reflects the present state," Feith added after the inaugural meeting of the International Steering Group, which includes 15 countries that have recognized the new state, and which will be in charge of supervising Kosovo's independence.

The EU Special Representative for Kosovo, who was appointed High International Civil Representative for Kosovo at the meeting, reminded that the advocates of independence will rely on Ahtisaari's plan while establishing the new state of Kosovo.

Feith also said that the authorities in Pristina have agreed "to guarantee minority rights" in the new state and to provide security for the cultural and religious heritage of all communities. "We will not allow any violence, and in order to provide that, the international presence will be spread over the entire country, the freedom of movement must be provided on the whole territory, and we will not accept the formation of any parallel institutions on Kosovo's territory."

Asked about the situation in northern Kosovo, along the border with Serbia, where clashes have taken place after the proclamation of independence, Feith said that "the situation there is difficult at the moment, and that it is not in accord with "the desired state," adding that EU officials are in the field, still searching for a location for their office in the area.

The International Steering Group in Kosovo includes the U.S., France, Britain, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Belgium, Austria and Turkey.

Feith also added that the group will remain "in close touch with Russia" and that, in case Moscow expresses the wish to join the group, its request will be receiving a positive reply.

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - State Department spokesman Tom Casey has said that U.S. troops within NATO would stay in Kosovo until security forces in the province are able to perform their duties. This means that NATO would stay as long as it is necessary, Casey said at a regular press conference at the State Department, responding to the question how long the U.S. troops would stay in occupied Kosovo that is Serbian territory.

Responding to the question why, if U.S. troops are just part of NATO forces in the province, Washington has "illegally taken 400 hectares of land to build Bondsteel," Casey said that the purpose of the base was just to support the NATO mission in Kosovo. That will be the purpose of that base until it is dismantled and removed, once U.S. and NATO forces leave the province, Casey said.

NEW YORK, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Russia underscored at the United Nations (UN) Security Council that the sending of the European Union (EU) mission to Kosovo is an illegal act, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday evening.

The deployment of the EU mission in Kosovo is illegal and in contravention of the articles of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Churkin said after Security Council consultations held behind closed doors, the Itar-Tass news agency reported on Friday. The Russian ambassador specified that this Resolution clearly defines the mandates of the international presence in the southern Serbian province. None of the Council members expressed any disagreement on this point, Churkin said. Churkin also pointed out the numerous statements made by the UN secretary-general that Resolution 1244 remains in force, the Russian news agency said.

BANJALUKA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Russian Ambassador to BiH Constantine Shuvalov said in Banja Luka on Thursday that Russia was urging the preservation of international law that has been violated by the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

Russia supports the position taken by Belgrade, and that position is also supported by Banja Luka with respect to the unilateral decision to declare the independence of Kosovo, Shuvalov said following talks with RS parliament speaker Igor Radojcic. Shuvalov said that in BiH have to be respected Dayton Peace Agreement decisions so as to successfully complete the transition process and preserve peace. RS parliament speaker Igor Radojcic said that the independence of Kosovo was unacceptable and BiH common institutions cannot recognize it.

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - KFOR must strictly comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which defines its mandate, Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday in regard to the tense situation in Kosovo following its declaration of independence.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko made this statement meeting NATO Assistant Secretary General Martin Erdman, the ministry said. The talk also focused on the relations between Russia and NATO in the expectation of their forthcoming summit in April in Bucharest.

MOSCOW, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Russia insists that NATO forces in Kosovo continue to act in accordance with the UN mandate and Security Council Resolution 1244, and not follow any (Martti) Ahtisaari plans, Russia's Permanent representative to the Alliance Dmitry Rogozin has said.

In an interview for the Friday issue of the Moscow daily Vremya Novostei, Rogozin said that the dispute on the issue had reached a very high level. According to him, the recognition of Kosovo independence is a matter of each specific state, above all of the US and its allies in Europe, including the ones that are not part of the Alliance, while NATO, that is the so-called multinational force in Kosovo (KFOR), are in charge of carrying out peaceful operations as defined by the UN.

MOSCOW, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union (EU) Vladimir Chizov reiterated on Friday that the mission the EU was sending to Kosovo and Metohija was illegal, and at the same time denied the possibility that independent Kosovo became a member of the OSCE.

For Russia, there is a principled difference between the United Nations mission which is in Kosovo on the basis of Security Council Resolution 1244 and the European Union mission - the first is legitimate, and the second illegitimate, Chizov told Tanjug through a telelink with the RIA news agency. The Russian diplomat assessed that the chances for Kosovo's admission into the OSCE, where decisions were reached through consensus, were - zero. Chizov warned that tensions had increased after the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence, and that there was a threat of destabilization in the region.

BAKU, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has requested the parliament to vote on withdrawal of the country's troops from Kosovo, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov stated on Thursday.

The parliament is expected to vote on the issue on March 4 and to back the president's proposal. Azimov said that the recent unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo had "drastically altered the political scene." Since 1999, Azerbaijan has deployed 33 soldiers in Kosovo. Azerbaijan is in a dispute with the neighboring Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The two countries are technically still at war, and Azerbaijan fears that independence of Kosovo had additionally encouraged the separatists in the region.

PRISTINA, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Kosovo Police Service (KPS) headquarters decided on Friday to suspend for 48 hours policemen of Serbian nationality in the Gnjilane area who for the third day in a row are protesting against the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, refusing to join the KPS chain of command.

KPS commander Veton Elshani has told Tanjug that policemen who are protesting in the villages Kusce, Pasjane and Ranilug were ordered to return their official weapon and police badge. A group of 129 Serbian policemen are demanding that they be placed under the command of UNMIK police officials. At the same time, Serbian policemen from Kosovsko Pomoravlje are demanding that in three villages of Gnjilane municipality be formed police substations.

Elshani said that in the course of the day KPS headquarters representatives would review the protest of some 150 policemen from Gracanica and other parts of Central Kosovo, who have the same demands as their colleagues from Kosovsko Pomoravlje. The decision not to reject the KPS chain of command was made also by Serb KPS members in Strpce.

After presenting their decision to KPS regional command in Urosevac, some 50 policemen in Strpce are waiting for the response of KPS official representatives. In Kosovo are currently peacefully protesting several hundred of the 710 Serbian policemen members of KPS. Their decision to stop obeying KPS command in Pristina was made following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, opposition to the arrival of the EU mission to Kosovo and the non observance of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. KPS has a total of 7,119 members, 10 pct of whom are Serbs.

VIENNA, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - In Vienna was formed on Thursday an International Steering Group for Kosovo (ISG), made up of representatives of 15 countries, who at their first meeting decided that Peter Feith will be the international civilian representative in Kosovo (ICR).

Feith said at a press conference held in the Austrian Foreign Ministry that ISG was a significant coalition of countries, friends of the independent state of Kosovo and that it is made up of five Contact Group countries - United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as well as of Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Turkey, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Feith said that ISG members instructed the implementation of the Martti Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo and Metohija. The Dutch diplomat, who is the EU's special envoy in Kosovo, said that the period of transition was over, emphasizing that international presence would be in the entire territory of Kosovo. We will not accept any violence, we will demand freedom of movement, and will not accept any parallel security institutions in Kosovo, said Feith and pointed out that privileged ties between Belgrade and Serbian communities in Kosovo were envisaged, but that "there is not partition of Kosovo."

BELGRADE, Feb. 28 (Beta) -Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica stated on Feb. 28 that the creation of an International Steering Group for the implementation of the Martti Ahtisaari plan in Kosovo and Metohija represents "a most brutal violation of international law, U.N. Resolution 1244 and the Serbian Constitution."

"This arbitrary and illegal International Steering Group has appointed Pieter Feith to the nonexistent position of international civilian representative," reads a statement by Kostunica sent to BETA.

He emphasized that it is necessary for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who is responsible for implementing Resolution 1244, to announce who, when, and on the basis of what legal foundation decided to form the uninvited International Steering Group and appoint an international civilian representative for the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan.

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - United Nations Under Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno told Tanjug in Brussels on Thursday that UNMIK will remain in Kosovo on the basis of UN Resolution 1244 and that a decision on the future relations between UNMIK and EU mission in Kosovo (EULEX) will depend on developments in the field.

When asked by Tanjug about on what grounds a transfer of competencies from UNMIK to EULEX is possible and who is competent to make such a decision since the EU mission had been sent to Kosovo without the UN's approval, Guehenno replied that the 'transfer of competencies' is not mentioned at the UN.

UNMIK will continue to carry out its activities in Kosovo based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244," said Guehenno, who met with EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana in Brussels on Thursday. French diplomat Guehenno also said that it is good that the EU wants to get engaged in Kosovo, adding that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will decide on UNMIK's further activities and its relations with EULEX.

NEW YORK, Feb 29 (Tanjug) - Spokesman Brendan Varma of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denied, in New York on Thursday, allegations by European Union (EU) Special Representative to Kosovo and Metohija Pieter Feith that the process of the transfer of authority from the UN mission in the province to the EULEX mission has begun.

The UN mission UNMIK has not entered a period of transition at this time, the spokesman said. UNMIK is still in the field, as they have been since 1999, Spokesman Varma said, adding that UNMIK will continue doing the tasks entrusted to it under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 until the Security Council decides otherwise. The Security Council is the only body that can decide about the termination of UNMIK's mandate, the UN official said, but admitted that there are divisions about this in the most influential UN body.

Accord would be welcome, but the Security Council is currently deeply divided. It is the stand of the secretary-general that UNMIK will be active in Kosovo until the Security Council instructs it to stop, Varma said, speaking for BBC, explaining that the UNMIK mission is unique precisely in the aspect that the end of its mandate was never set.

Varma rejected speculations about a letter that Ban allegedly wrote to Brussels, informing the EU about a lack of accord at the Security Council concerning the sending of the EULEX mission to Kosovo province. BBC also reported, quoting unnamed sources from the UN, that the EU is persistently asking the secretary-general personally to approve the replacing of UNMIK by EULEX.

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Tanjug) - Co-chairman of the expert working group of the governments of Serbia and Russia, Predrag Bubalo and Mikhail Vishegorodtsev, respectively, signed in Moscow on Thursday a protocol which summarizes the results of the two-day meeting and establishes the basic orientation for strengthening of the trade and economic cooperation.

"We have reasons to be very optimistic with what has been done so far and there will be room for more optimism if most of what has been agreed gets realized," Serbian Minister of Trade and Services Predrag Bubalo said after the protocol signing. "We have opened doors to many businessmen, mainly those from the area of the pharmaceutical and food industries, but also for others, such as Ikarbus, Trayal, Simpo," said Bubalo. The working group supported further liberalization of trade between Serbia and Russia, as a basic prerequisite for a significant increase of economic cooperation between the two countries. The Serb side committed itself to intensifying its work on engaging domestic fruit and vegetable producers to sell their products in Moscow.

Czech companies are worried about losing business in Serbia, because of the Czech government's decision to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

"Serbs are very sensitive on this issue, and they closely follow our country's every move. If the Czech government recognizes Kosovo, our companies might have trouble doing business in Serbia," the head of CzechSerbian Chamber of Commerce, Jerzy Maha, told the Lidove Noviny daily.

The state agency for the support of trade, Czech Trade, also warned that, in the large infrastructure projects that Czechs are interested in, the Serbs will give priority to a country that did not recognize Kosovo.

The representatives of Czech companies already doing business in Serbia told the Czech daily that the Czech government's vacillation is certainly harmful for business relations, and that one of the growing problems is also Russia's burgeoning influence on the Serbian economy. In recent times Serbia has managed to decrease its trade deficit with the Czech Republic, and according to the daily's information, in the past seven months its exports to the Czech Republic have been greater than its imports from that country.

The International Tourism Fair opened on Feb. 28 at the Belgrade Fairgrounds, at which more than 850 domestic and foreign exhibitors from 60 countries are participating.

Opening the fair, Serbian Minister for Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said that 27,000 foreign tourists are currently staying in Serbia, and that last year the income from foreign tourists reached USD530 million, which is 30 percent higher than in 2006.

"Tourism is the best opportunity to improve Serbia's image," he said, adding that because of this it is important for Serbs to present themselves as peaceful, hospitable and pleasant hosts.

Dinkic said that the European Song Contest will be held in May in Serbia, tickets for which sold out in two days, but that there is also the media World Congress, when tens of thousands of foreign tourists are expected to arrive.

The minister also stated that in March an international tender will be called for a strategic partner for an investment of EUR220 million in tourism on Stara Planina, while the state will invest EUR50 million over the next three years.

"We will also invest in the promotion of 'Roman Emperor Roads' because many do not know that 17 ancient Roman emperors were born and lived on the territory of Serbia," Dinkic added at the opening of the International Tourism Fair, which will last until Mar. 2.

Tourist organizations from Austria, Dalmatia [Croatia], Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, and even Brazil, India and Thailand, will attend.