Ivanovic: Meetings without key Balkan player less important

BELGRADE, June 24 (Tanjug) - Any meeting organized by the interim Kosovo authorities without the participation of Serbian President Boris Tadic becomes less important without the key player in the Balkans, State Secretary with the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said Thursday.

Commenting on the meeting of the presidents of Montenegro and Albania with representatives of the interim Kosovo government set for Friday in Prizren, Ivanovic assessed for Tanjug that the meeting will focus more "on internal political issues and on strengthening the position of (Kosovo President) Fatmir Sejdiu with the local public."

Ivanovic assessed that the meeting is not expected to produce agreements or principles that would be a foundation for regional cooperation.

Ivanovic reminded that Serbia has proposed a reasonable framework under which Kosovo can only appear on the international scene as part of the UNMIK mission in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 passed in 1999.

"This should be quite acceptable to everyone who wants to contribute to regional cooperation and stability," Ivanovic concluded.

Patriarch seeks apology from EU mission in Belgrade

BELGRADE, June 24 (Tanjug) - Patriarch Irinej of Serbia expressed deep concern Thursday over the incorrect translation of the part of EU Special Representative to Kosovo Pieter Feith's address before the European Parliament in connection with the stance of the Serbian Orthodox Church towards Kosovo, and requested that the EU office in Belgrade apologizes for the grave error.

The patriarch sent a letter to EU Belgrade office chief Peter Sorensen expressing extreme disappointment over the translation of Feith's views on the situation in the southern Serbian province.

In his address in the European Parliament on Tuesday, Feith noted that “the transition of the Serbian Orthodox Church towards a more moderate approach in Kosovo is another positive development,” it is stated in the patriarch's letter.

The letter adds that the same sentence in the Serbian translation distributed by the EU office in Belgrade might be interpreted to mean that the transition of the Serbian Orthodox Church towards a more moderate approach to the Kosovo issue is another positive development.

There is a big difference between “a more moderate approach in Kosovo” and “a more moderate approach to the Kosovo issue”, and Patriarch Irinej of Serbia demanded a public correction and apology from the EU Office for this serious error, it was stated in the letter of the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The statement indicates that the attitude of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the status of the southern Serbian province is clear and that the Church neither changed nor intends to change its stance on the issue which has been clearly regulated by the Serbian Constitution and the will of the country's people.

It is the standpoint of the Church that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and that the self-proclaimed independence of the province by the Kosovo Albanians and part of the international community is an illegal act contrary to international law, it was stated in the letter.

Serbia to continue resisting pressures to recognize Kosovo

BELGRADE, June 24 (Tanjug) - The pressures to recognize Kosovo have become an everyday thing for Serbia and other countries that have refused to do so, but Serbia will continue resisting them and working with its European partners to integrate the country and the entire region into the EU, Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Thursday.

Commenting on the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs recommendation to the remaining five EU members that have not recognized Kosovo to do so as soon as possible, Jeremic told Fox TV that the recommendation did not come from the EU, but "an institution that has no authority in creating the foreign policy."

"EU membership remains our top priority," Jeremic stressed, adding that the speed of EU integration for Serbia and the region has been compromised because of the current economic and political crisis, and not because of Kosovo.

According to Jeremic, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will soon deliver an opinion on the legality of Kosovo's independence, "which will make it clear that Kosovo's status was not resolved by the unilateral declaration of independence, and that another route has to be found."

The minister noted that he expects the UN General Assembly debate after the ICJ decision to come to a logical conclusion, "which is to call on the interested parties to solve this obviously open issue by new negotiations."

Contacts between CoE and Kosovo authorities problematic

BELGRADE, June 24 (Tanjug) - Boris Aleksic, an official of the opposition Serbian Radical Party (SRS), said Thursday that the problem with the resolution entitled The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe, which was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on June 22, is that it establishes special contacts between the CoE and the authorities in Kosovo.

Aleksic told a news conference that the CoE plans to establish special contacts with “the Kosovo authorities that respect neither the United Nations Charter nor the UN SC Resolution 1244.”

He said that SRS representatives voted against the resolution, but that deputies from the ruling coalition supported it, which he finds problematic.

The resolution prioritizes property restitution despite the fact that Kosovo is the hotbed of the most serious forms of crime, which is why human lives are always threatened in the territory, said Aleksic.

An accompanying recommendation of the resolution insists on the preservation of Kosovo's cultural heritage, which is an inappropriate term because it declares Serbia's cultural and historical heritage as belonging to Kosovo, said Aleksic.

Aleksic said that suggestions were put forward at the Wednesday summit in Istanbul to include Kosovo in the process of regional cooperation, which, according to him, is suggestive of a plan to make Kosovo part of some new Ottoman empire.

Lidington: Britain committed to supporting independence

PRISTINA, June 24 (Tanjug) - British Minister for Europe David Lidington said in Pristina on Thursday that his country will remain committed to supporting Kosovo's independence and territorial integrity, dismissing any proposals for partition.

On the second day of his visit to Kosovo, Lidington met with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and pointed out that the new British government will not change the country's policy on Kosovo.

Lidington added that the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Kosovo's independence will move future processes forward and not backwards.

We expect that the ICJ opinion will give us the option of moving forward and not going back to the issues related to Kosovo's independence that have already been settled, he said.

Commenting on the possibility of opening a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Lidington said that the countries that have European integration ambitions must overcome their differences and join the EU.

The British official ruled out the possibility that Serbia could be successful in EU integration without showing readiness to establish good neighborly relations.

He said that the EULEX mission has to tackle corruption, organized crime, as well as challenges in northern Kosovo.

The British minister also visited Prizren, a town in southern Kosovo to which Serbs have started returning with the help of funds provided by the British and Kosovo governments.

Children from Kosovo visit Republika Srpska

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, June 24 (Tanjug) -Primary school pupils from northern Kosovo enclaves will visit Republika Srpska (RS) within the frame of 'Dah Slobode' (Breath of Freedom) action, while 38 children aged 10-13 will arrive in Banja Luka on Friday, where they will spend ten days with the families of Telekom Srpske telecommunications company.

This humanitarian project was organized by the Telekom Srpska Voluntary Blood Donors Association in cooperation with the humanitarian association of the employees of Telekom Srbija telecommunications company.

The project is aimed at enabling the children who are growing up in isolation, difficult living conditions and limited freedom to experience the joys of normal life.

A two-day stay on Zlatibor, a mountain in western Serbia, and a series of appropriate cultural activities have also been organized for the children from Kosovo.

Vukcevic: Serbia's goal is to arrest Hague fugitives

BELGRADE, June 24 (Tanjug) - Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic has stated that it is in Serbia's best interest to find and extradite to the ICTY the two fugitives, former commander of Republika Srpska (RS) Army Ratko Mladic and former RS Krajina president Goran Hadzic.

In an interview for the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti, Vukcevic stated that the assessment of ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on Serbia's cooperation with the Tribunal is "completely realistic."

"Brammertz took into consideration all our efforts. The cooperation and the degree of understanding with him are at a very high level. And what is most important, we all strive for the same goal - the arrest of the last Hague fugitives," Vukcevic said.

Vukcevic said that Brammertz's recommendation that Serbia needs to reexamine its strategy and intensify its search are "technical details" rather than orders.

He said that he does not expect that the First Belgrade Court will declare Mladic dead, adding that Brammertz also believes that Mladic is still alive.

Vukcevic said that he has new information on the case of trade in organs belonging to Serbs missing in Kosovo-Metohija during the war in the southern Serbian province in 1999, adding that the chances of discovering who is behind these monstruous crimes are improving, taking into account the information that he receives every day on the persons from the criminal chain.

"Cooperation with EULEX is very good and we expect that it will yield results. EULEX is investigating the camps in northern Albania, whereas our search is focused on camps, but also on organ trafficking," Vukcevic said.

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