Belgrade, 24. 07. 2008.

SERBIA – ICTY INDICTEE KARADZIC ARRESTED / REACTIONS

• TADIC: ARREST IS RESULT OF COMMITMENT TO INTRL LAW
• PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE WILL DECIDE ON INDICTMENT CHANGES
• VUKCEVIC: WE'LL IMPLEMENT LAW ON OUTLAW HARBOURERS
• STATE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT KNOW IF U.S. HELPED IN ARREST
• LAVROV CALLS FOR OBJECTIVENESS IN KARADZIC TRIAL

• EU AMBASSADORS DO NOT AGREE ON IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENT
• REHN: KARADZIC'S ARREST HAS TO BE RECOGNIZED
• TIMMERMANS: NO FULL COOPERATION WITHOUT MLADIC IN HAGUE
• FRATTINI URGES IMPLEMENTATION OF EU - SERBIA AGREEMENT

• NEGOTIATIONS ON UNMIK'S RECONFIGURATION TO BEGIN
• JEREMIC: NO CHANGE IN CIVIL PRESENCE IN KOSOVO WITHOUT SC

• TADIC & KYPRIANOU: EULEX CAN WORK ONLY WITH BELGRADE'S AGREEMENT
• KYPRIANOU: TRANSITIONAL AGREEMENT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED
• CYPRUS WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SERBIA

• JEREMIC: SERBIA COUNTING ON FRANCE'S SUPPORT
• MRKONJIC: CORRIDOR 10 IN TWO, 2.5 YEARS

• UNMIK WILL NO LONGER ISSUE PASSPORTS IN KOSOVO

BELGRADE, July 23 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said that the finding and arrest of ICTY indictee Radovan Karadzic was a result of commitment of new authorities to the observation of international law, laws of Serbia and fact that the individual responsibility for crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia had to be determined. The president's Press Service said that after his talks with Cyprus Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou in Belgrade Tadic said that the ICTY had to hold impartial trials of war crimes indictees regardless of their names, family names, nationality or religious affiliation.

BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) - The Prosecutor's Office of ICTY is now checking whether the indictment against Karadzic issued in 2000 needs to be adjusted or amended due to the elapsed time, ICTY spokeswoman Olga Kavran has stated. The indictment against former President of the Republic of Srpska includes 11 items, and the Prosecutor's Office is now investigating whether it should be brought into harmony with judicial practice of the past eight years, some new evidence and other elements, Kavran said in a statement with the RTS. She also said that the first indictment against Karadzic was issued in July 1995, and was amended in November 1995 by adding charges on genocide. Eight years ago, former chief prosecutor Del Ponte issued an indictment according to which a trial against Karadzic should be conducted. Kavran also said that the Prosecutor's Office is ready for the trial against Karadzic. Karadzic is charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, willful killing, persecutions, deportation, and other inhumane acts against Muslims, Croats and other civilians - non-Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war.

BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) - War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic has stated that the prosecutor's office "will not hesitate to implement the Law on outlaw harbourers" against harbourers of ICTY fugitive Radovan Karadzic. Vukcevic said in a statement published by Vecernje Novosti on Thursday that "it seems that the structures which supported Karadzic in Bosnia and that were linked with the authorities in Serbia at the time" have issued false identification documents to Karadzic. He also said that Karadzic's change of identity was fascinating. "Karadzic lived a new parallel life. That is what makes the success of the services that were supposed to locate him even bigger. When I received the information, preparations for the arrest started and the priority was to carry it out without any casualties," said Vukcevic.

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Beta) -The U.S. State Department has no information that the U.S. provided any sort of assistance in the arrest of Hague tribunal indictee Radovan Karadzic, Acting Deputy Spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told a press briefing, a transcript of which was posted on the State Department's website. Gallegos said the U.S. applauded the Serbian authorities for the arrest. "Karadzic evaded capture for over a decade. His capture is a welcome sign of the Serbian government's commitment to fully cooperate with the Hague tribunal and to move toward a Euroatlantic future," Gallegos said. Asked whether the U.S. helped in the arrest of Karadzic, Gallegos replied that he "did not have any information on any assistance" the U.S. might have provided.Answering to reporters' questions, Gallegos also said he "did not have anything" on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "making a call to" President Boris Tadic, Foreign MInister Vuk Jeremic or any other Serbian official.

MOSCOW, July 23 (Tanjug) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that by arresting former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic "Serbia's authorities fulfilled their obligations" to the ICTY, and pointed out that the Karadzic trial should not be politicized."The main thing is that the process should proceed objectively and those elements of politicization that had been demonstrated in the tribunal's previous activities should not be shown," the Russian foreign minister said and added that in any case the tribunal would complete its work until the date set by the UN Security Council, and that is in 2010. "Hopefully, the investigation and proceedings in the Karadzic case will be impartial," the Russian Foreing Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement issued following the arrest of Radovan Karradzic.Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Andrei Nesterenko stressed that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) more than once demonstrated a biased approach.

BRUSSELS, Jul 23 (Tanjug) - The ambassadors of European Union member-states did not reach agreement at their meeting Wednesday in Brussels on starting implementation of the interim agreement with Serbia following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, but decided to discuss this issue on July 29 after constulations with International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz, European diplomatic sources told Tanjug. EU foreign ministers Tuesday referred this issue to the ambassadors. At the Wednesday meeting, the majority of member-states were in favor of giving Serbia the green light immediately, but decided at the insistence of some countries such as the Netherlands to discuss it further and to delay a decision until after consultations with Brammertz. July 29 will be the last opportunity for giving Serbia the green light before the August holidays.

BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) - EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn stated that Serbia might gain the status of an EU candidate state in the first half of 2009, underscoring that the arrest of Radovan Karadzic was the key step in Serbia's cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, which has to be recognized. We have to acknowledge that and to further encourage Serbia's orientation towards the EU, underscored Rehn in an interview with RTS. Replying to a question on whether the arrest of Karadzic will be enough to "thaw" the SAA, Rehn evaded a direct answer, evaluating that it is very important to have the EU admit that there were new developments which are a turning point in Serbia's cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. The decision is now in the hands of the EU member states, said Rehn. On behalf of the European Commission, I have said that we would now like to start implementing the Provisional SAA, said Rehn, adding that this, however, is in the jurisdiction of the member states. Rehn expressed his confidence that the EU member states will soon discuss it.

NOVI SAD, July 24 (Tanjug) - Dutch Minister of European Affairs Frans Timmermans has stated that the arrest of Karadzic is very important, but an assessment of Serbia's full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal will be made only after Mladic is brought before judges. The arrest of Karadzic is only a successful phase in Serbia's cooperation with the Tribunal, but an arrest of Mladic still remains a key evidence of that cooperation for the Netherlands, Timmermans said in an interview published by Dnevnik. According to him, Holland had not forgotten indictee Hadzic either, and even a positive evaluation of ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on relations between Belgrade and the ICTY will not change this.

BRUSSELS/BELGRADE, Jul 23 (Tanjug) - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini urged immediate implementation of the interim trade agreement between the European Union and Serbia as a positive response to the Serbian government which proved its strong political will and commitment to Europe by arresting Radovan Karadzic. The interim agreement is a document accompanying the Stabilization and Association Agreement signed last April. Unlike some other countries such as the Netherlands, which insist on making SAA implementation conditional on Serbia's full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Italy believes that the government of Serbian President Boris Tadic has demonstrated political determination which needs a speedy and clear response, and that any other stand would constitute a political and strategic mistake, ANSA agency reports.

BELGRADE, July 23 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic agreed with UNMIK head Lamberto Zannier in Belgrade that the process of negotiations on the shaping of the international mission in Kosovo-Metohija begin. Zannier, who arrived in Belgrade after an agreement between Jeremic and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, told the two ministers that the UN Mission in Kosovo-Metohija would work on the basis of full status neutrality only under Resolution 1244, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Zannier said that the most important goal of the UN Mission in Kosovo-Metohija was to preserve peace and stability in the region. Jeremic and Bogdanovic reiterated the Serbian government stand that the reconfiguration of the international civilian presence in Kosovo-Metohija had to be implemented in accordance with Resolution 1244 and with the approval of the UN Security Council. Jeremic and Bogdanovic once again voiced their dissatisfaction with the unilateral move of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and attempt to start reconfiguring the civilian presence in Kosovo without a UN Security Council decision, the statement said. During the talks a special stress was laid on the issue of work of the judiciary and police in Kosovo-Metohija and an agreement was made that both issues be reviewed as soon as possible. Jeremic and Bogdanovic said that a constant concern for the life of the Kosovo Serb population, preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and constant contact with UNMIK representatives were important.

BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic stated that UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier had been informed that the reconfiguration of international civil presence in Kosovo and Metohija may not be carried out without an approval from the UN SC. "We can imagine the European Union as part of the international civil presence (in Kosovo) - its aim may not be implementation of Martti Ahtisaari's plan," Jeremic said in a statement with television Pink. He also said that the SC would not confirm anything that is not fully acceptable to Belgrade and that the Russian Federation had guaranteed this. "We have the Russian Federation guarantees for that. It was the result of may talks with (Foreign Minister) Sergei Lavrov in Moscow last week," said Jeremic. Minister Jeremic and Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanovic agreed with Lamberto Zannier in Belgrade on Wednesday to start the process of talks on the reconfiguration of the international civil presence in Kosovo and Metohija. Zannier will present his report on the situation in Kosovo to the UN Security Council on Friday, and Minister Jeremic will attend the session.

BELGRADE, July 23 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic and Cyprus Foreign minister Marcos Kyprianou reaffirmed on Wednesday the two countries' common stand that the work of the EULEX mission in Kosovo had to be agreed on with Belgrade, with a full observation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, and confirmed at the UN Security Council. "The European Union can have its mission in Kosovo-Metohija, which has gone through the UN Security Council procedure, but this mission cannot implement the Martti Ahtisaari plan," the Serbian president said and urged a dialogue with the United Nations on the reconfiguration of the international presence in Kosovo, the Serbian president's press service said in a statement. Tadic told the Cyprus minister that Serbia's strategy was to request through the UN institutions the International Court of Justice's opinion on the illegality of recognition of the independence of Kosovo-Metohija. The Serbian president said that this would be a clear legal formulation to all countries which were still considering what to do, but also to those which had already made this illegal step by recognising the illegal, unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija, the statement said. The Serbian president thanked Cyprus on the observation of international law, especially on its support to Serbia's preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as to a strong support to Serbia's European integration. The Serbian president and Cyprus minister also discussed bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of economy and tourism.

BELGRADE, July 23 (Tanjug) - Cyprus Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said during a meeting with Serbian parliament speaker Slavica Djukic Dejanovic on Wednesday that his country insisted on an immediate implementation of the Serbian-EU transitional agreement and speedy ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Kyprianou, who is in an official visit to Belgrade on Wednesday, said that Cyprus gave its full support to Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that the future status of Kosovo-Metohija had to be solved through a bilateral agreement with the observation of principle of international law. This is why Cyprus will never recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija and believes that the European Union will have to take a neutral stand on the issue, since this is something on which each individual country should make a decision, Kyprianou said. He said that his country supported Serbia on its path of EU accession and believed that Belgrade should move towards this goal more speedily, which was why Cyprus insisted on an immediate implementation of the transitional agreement between Serbia and the European Union and speedy ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Djukic-Dejanovic thanked Cyprus for its principled support to the preservation of Serbia's sovereignty and strengthening of the state and national identity and speedy EU integration. She also pointed at a lack of principled attitude of the ICTY regarding accused Serbs, because this had a negative effect on the public opinion and made it more difficult to fulfil the obligations taken towards the Tribunal, the statement said.

BELGRADE, Jul 23 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister of Cyprus Marcos Kyprianou said Wednesday meeting Serbian Intrerior Minister Ivica Dacic that his country's support to Serbia on the Kosovo issue is based on respect of international law principles, particularly that concerning the respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. Cyprus will continue to strongly support Serbia's endeavors for integration in European structures, he said quoted by a release of the Interior Ministry. Dacic thanked Cyprus for its principled refusal to recognize the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence. He also expressed Serbia's readiness for fostering bilateral police cooperation in fighting organized crime. A bilateral agreement to this effect will be signed soon, he said.

BELGRADE, July 23 (Beta) -Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has said that Serbia is counting on France's support, and that it will become an EU accession candidate by the end of the French tenure of the rotating EU presidency, i.e. by the end of this year."We are counting on France to support us and to obtain, during its tenure of the rotating presidency, i.e. before the end of the year, EU accession candidate status," Jeremic said in an interview posted on the website of the French daily Le Monde on July 23.Asked whether he was disappointed that the EU was asking Serbia to make an additional effort in achieving that goal, despite Brussels welcoming the arrest of Hague tribunal indictee Radovan Karadzic, Jeremic replied that he was not. He also said that all EU member countries are carefully watching how the situation was unfolding, and that he hoped relations "will soon enter a new phase, when the Stabilization and Association Agreement becomes effective." Jeremic went on to say that Karadzic's arrest shows that there is not a shadow of doubt that the Serbian government wants to cooperate with the Hague tribunal. "Two weeks after its formation, our government is proving that it is serious in implementing international law and its proEuropean orientation," the minister said.He added that on July 24, he will recommend that the government allow the return of Serbian diplomats to the EU countries that have recognized the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.Jeremic also recalled that Serbia is putting together a resolution for the U.N. General Assembly, due in September. Unlike the previous Serbian cabinet, which wanted to file a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, against the countries that had recognized Kosovo, the current government wants the court to investigate the legality of the unilateral declaration, Jeremic added.

Dimitrovgrad, July 23 (Beta) -Serbian Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjic said in the eastern Serbian town of Dimitrovgrad, on July 23, that the highway from Nis to the Bulgarian border, along Corridor 10, will be built in two to 2.5 years. Marking the beginning of preparatory works at the section of the bypass around Dimitrovgrad on that future international road, Mrkonjic described the project as very important for Serbia."The Infrastructure Ministry spent three to four years preparing this project, and it has been a topic of discussion for years. Now the time has come to implement it all," Mrkonjic said, adding that works will begin simultaneously at the section between Prosek, near Nis, and Pirot and Dimitrovgrad. Mrkonjic underscored that regional development depends on that highway. "The highway is very important for this whole region, which is why we started from the border to Belgrade," said Mrkonjic, and stressed that the most important thing is that "the state has decided to go ahead with the project and finish it."

PRISTINA, Jul 23 (Tanjug) - UNMIK has decided to no longer issue passports after Kosovo Interior Ministry announced on July 14 that it will be in charge of issuing passports of the Republic of Kosovo as of this month. The passports issued earlier by UNMIK will be valid until expiry, UNMIK said in a press release. The institutions in charge of issuing passports are now under the jurisdiction of Kosovo authorities, the release says.