Ivanovic: Negotiations on Kosovo's status are inevitable

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, June 4 (Tanjug) - State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said on Friday that the negotiations on the status of the southern Serbian province are inevitable, and that Kosovo Albanians surely realize this.

Negotiations on Kosovo's status are inevitable, and even the Kosovo Albanians realize this now, although their leaders are trying to delude them by saying that the negotiations will be of a purely technical nature, Ivanovic told Tanjug.

“Whatever the topic of our debate may be, we will inevitably come to the question of (Kosovo) status,” Ivanovic said in a phone statement from Kosovska Mitrovica.

Ivanovic believes that for the “talks about the status to really take place and be constructive and yield results, it is necessary that no one is brought to the negotiating table against their will.”

“For this reason I think is not likely that we will have negotiations immediately after the International Court of Justice issues its legal opinion (on Kosovo-Metohija independence),” Ivanovic said.

According to him, the talks will first deal with matters of minor importance, such as technical issues, but status will have to be discussed, “because the status (of Kosovo-Metohija) will not be resolved as long as Serbia does not give its approval.”

This is the way things go, and even the loudest advocates of Kosovo independence are aware of this, said Ivanovic.

Trivan: Declaration to be discussed at one of next sessions

BELGRADE, June 4 (Tanjug) - Democratic Party (DS) spokesperson Jelena Trivan stated Friday that the Serbian parliament will discuss the condemnation of crimes committed against Serbs in the territory of former Yugoslavia at one of the next sessions, upon the completion of the extraordinary session which will begin on Monday, June 7.

"The parliament completed the regular session, but there are procedures for scheduling a session. At this point, we have an agenda that must be urgently discussed and adopted, after which there will be room to debate on the condemnation of crimes against Serbs," Trivan told Tanjug.

Trivan pointed out that it is certain that the declaration will soon be adopted and that its content will be very precise. She added that the ruling majority is hoping that the declaration will result in the condemnation of crimes by other countries in the region and in launching criminal proceedings against the perpetrators.

In the declaration of the draft, which was presented to the public at the end of April, the Serbian parliament strongly condemns the crimes against the Serbian citizens and all the Serbian people during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo-Metohija and during the NATO bombing in 1999.

Ukrainian president does not recognize Kosovo independence

KIEV, June 4 (Tanjug) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych stated Friday that the recognition of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Kosovo-Metohija as independent states violates international laws and norms.

I have never recognized Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Kosovo-Metohija as independent states. That would be violation of international laws and norms, Yanukovych said in Kiev at a press conference organized on the occasion of the 100th day of his presidential office.

Ukrainian president underscored that he has never agreed with the Kosovo solution.

That is the point when everything started. The Kosovo solution put into practice a policy of double standards, and I asked why if Kosovo is recognized, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not, Yanukovych said for the Ukrainian news agency Interfax.

According to international laws and norms, any infringement of territorial integrity of a state is prohibited. We have no right to welcome or even recognize such process in the world in which territorial integrity of a country is violated, Yanukovych underlined.

I have never recognized the legality of activities that violate territorial integrity of a country, there is nothing like that in any of my interviews, the president added.

EULEX: Justice system in Kosovo is under pressure

PRISTINA, June 4 (Tanjug) - The justice system in Kosovo is still under pressure in respect of rendering decisions at all levels, both criminal and civil, reads the second annual EULEX report which is to be presented in Pristina on Friday.

In the document on the condition and functioning of police, justice system and customs, the most stress was laid on the justice system, including its technical problems and indecisiveness to improve the implementation of the rule of law.

The best average mark in the report was given to the Kosovo police, followed by the customs, whereas the justice system is at the bottom.

According to EULEX, a great number of unsolved cases particularly civilian lawsuits shows that the prosecutors and judges were unable to make progress in dealing with the issue, which is urgent.

Furthermore, it was stated that the criminal law capacity in Kosovo remained very sensitive and weak in the transformation process in which the key problem is the cooperation between the prosecution, the justice system and the police.

The NGOs in Kosovo are the only ones that were given an excellent mark in the EULEX report.

During the last twelve months, there have been many analyses, reports and proposals. The NGOs showed excellent capacity to identify the advantages and shortcomings of the law implementation mechanisms in Kosovo, the report concludes.

EULEX seeks dismissal of 3 ministers under investigation

PRISTINA, June 4 (Tanjug) - The (interim) Kosovo government could be hit with a “new wave” of change of ministers, as three of its ministers are under investigation on suspicion of involvement in corruption, organized crime, and abuse of the budget, the Pristina-based daily Zeri reported Friday.

The dismissal concerns three ministers, two from the Democratic Party of Kosovo and one from the Democratic League of Kosovo, the newspaper said, quoting international sources in Pristina.

They say that Prime Minister Hasim Taci has been advised that after the reshuffling of the government, he continues with reforming it by demanding resignations from the three ministers.

The daily adds that Taci knows that unless he makes sure that the three ministers are removed from office, EULEX will repeat the scenario of its recent search of ministries.

So far, the government has not officially denied the possibility of new shifts.

Pristina press reported Friday that Head of EULEX Yves de Kermabon said in the European Parliament that the recent investigation at the Ministry of Transport is only the beginning of a long process.

Speaking before the European Parliament Sub-Committee on Security and Defence, Kermabon and EU Civilian Operations Commander Kees Klompenhouwer pointed out that EULEX is determined to fight against organized crime and corruption in Kosovo and to help establish the rule of law and order, which no political interference whatsoever can prevent.

Ambassador Delfi: Serbia-Iran relations progress gradually

BELGRADE, June 4 (Tanjug) - Good relations between Serbia and Iran are important for the stability of the two important world regions which they are located in, newly appointed Ambassador of Iran to Serbia Abolghasem Delfi has stated, adding that there is great potential for promotion and expansion of cooperation between the two countries.

In an interview with Tanjug, Delfi said that the relations between Iran and Serbia are slowly returning to their previous level and that political relations are developing in a satisfactory way.

Iran, the country in which Shia Muslims make up the majority of the population, does not recognize independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

According to Ambassador Delfi, the Islamic Republic has stands of principle and will wait for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo in order to make a new analysis of the developments relating to Serbia's southern province.

The ambassador commended on the efforts of the Serbian government to create conditions for a peaceful coexistence of the members of all religious communities in Serbia.

“Muslim communities live just like every other religious community in Serbia. After the difficulties that existed in this country in the past, they are gradually getting integrated with other communities,” evaluated the ambassador of Iran.

“Different forms of cooperation with Serbia have been discussed in the areas of energy, industry, agriculture, science and technology and we are entering a phase of an attempt to realize them. Agriculture may be an important factor of our cooperation,” evaluated Dafi, who handed his credentials over to Serbian President Boris Tadic on May 24, officially assuming the post of Iran's ambassador to Serbia.

Greece begins withdrawing troops from Kosovo

PRISTINA, June 4 (Tanjug) - The general headquarters of the Greek army has stated that the Greek army will considerably reduce its presence in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo because Athens is fighting a large debt crisis, the Pristina media reported Friday.

More than 600 soldiers and the accompanying personnel will be gradually withdrawn from Kosovo starting from November, in accordance with the wider plan for the withdrawal of the peacekeeping NATO force, Greek Army spokesman Nikos Bonoras stated.

The planned general reduction of KFOR troops from 10,000 to 2,000 makes the job easier for us, Bonoras said.

Should the security situation allow it, KFOR will reduce its troops in Kosovo to 5,000.

At the beginning of the year KFOR reduced its troops to 10,000 soldiers.

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