Republika Srbija

REPUBLIKA SRBIJA

MINISTARSTVO SPOLJNIH POSLOVA

GENERALNA DIREKCIJA ZA

INFORMISANJE I KULTURU

Direkcija za informisanje

BROJ: 2/108

23.Mart 2009. F A X

V R L O H I T N O

SVIM DKP REPUBLIKE SRBIJE

REPUBLIC OFSERBIA

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DAILY SURVEY

Belgrade, 23. 03. 2009.

CONTENT:

serbia - CROATIA

- SERBIAN PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH CROATIAN PM

- CVETKOVIC AND SANADER DISCUSS OPEN ISSUES

- SERBIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CONFERS WITH CROATIAN PM

- SERBIA, CROATIA TO FOSTER COOPERATION IN ENERGY SECTOR

- SANADER: COOPERATION NECESSARY IN SPITE OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES

- SANADER URGES UNHINDERED SALES OF SERBIAN GOODS IN CROATIA

SERBIA - ICTY

- SERBIA READY TO COMPLETE COOPERATION WITH ICTY

- COUNCIL: SERVING OF SENTENCES IN FORMER YUGOSLAV STATES

- UNMIK HANDS SERBIAN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR FULL REPORT

SERBIA

- COMMEMORATIONS TO MARK 10 YEARS SINCE NATO BOMBARDMENTS

- JEREMIC CONFERS WITH GUL AND BABACAN

- AMBASSADORS APPOINTED TO US, LIECHTENSTEIN AND IRELAND

- SUTANOVAC: CRISIS WILL NOT AFFECT DEFENSE SYSTEM

- CAPACITYBUILDING PROJECT WITHIN EU INTEGRATION COMPLETED

- OBTAINING OF SCHENGEN LIST PAINSTAKING PROCESS

- TERRAL: SERBIA'S EU MEMBERSHIP GOES WITHOUT SAYING

- LLOVERAS: VISA LIBERALIZATION DOES NOT DEPEND ON REGION

serbia – economy, finance

- KALANOVIC: CORRIDOR 10 WILL BETTER CONNECT SERBIA AND GREECE

- NATIONAL BANK GOVERNOR EXPECTS DEAL WITH IMF BY MARCH 26.

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

- CITAKU: HISENI WILL REQUEST TERMINATION OF UNMIK MISSION

- MEDIA ON WITHDRAWAL OF SPANISH TROOPS FROM KOSOVO

- ICJ TO RETURN KOSOVO ISSUE TO LEGAL TRACK - DUMA OFFICIAL

- DUMA: NEGOTIATIONS ON KOSOVO SHOULD BE RENEWED, ICTY CLOSED

- ITALY URGES PROTECTION OF ORTHODOX MONASTERIES IN KOSOVO

serbia - CROATIA

SERBIAN PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH CROATIAN PM

BELGRADE, Mar 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic and Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader told a joint press conference Friday in Belgrade that bilateral cooperation is crucial for regional stability.

There are open issues on which Serbia and Croatia cannot agree, such as the recognition of Kosovo's independence by Croatia and mutual lawsuits at the International Court of Justice on genocide charges, Tadic said, but noted that the two countries must nevertheless cooperate in the future. Sanader said that the two countries should work together at the time of the world economic crisis, and that Croatia will support Serbia's endeavors for integration in European structures.

CVETKOVIC AND SANADER DISCUSS OPEN ISSUES

BELGRADE, March 20 (Tanjug) - The prime ministers of Serbia and Croatia, Mirko Cvetkovic and Ivo Sanader respectively, said on Friday they had discusses a number of open issues that existed between the two countries, but admitted at the same time that the resolution of some of the matters would take time.

"We expect that some of the issues will be resolved very soon, but that it will not be possible to settle certain matters in the near future, although we will continue to make effort to establish better relations between the two states," Cvetkovic told a joint press conference with Sanader. During the talks, the Serbian prime minister pointed to the major differences that still existed between Belgrade and Zagreb, which referred in particular to the issue of Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, that is Croatia's recognition of the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence, the lawsuit it had filed against Serbia for genocide, and Serbia's counter lawsuit.

"We will not forget our recent past, but we will not live in it either," Sanader said, adding that during the talks, they had also discussed some less complicated issues, such as cooperation in the field of energy. The Croatian premier reminded that his country would be admitted into NATO on April 3, and pointed out that Croatia would continue to support Serbia on its path leading to Euro-Atlantic integration. "When we join NATO we will continue to back our neighbors. We will not behave like Slovenia, but will rather stick to the principle - the better things get for our neighbors, the better will it be for us as well," Sanader stressed.

SERBIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CONFERS WITH CROATIAN PM

BELGRADE, Mar 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic Dejanovic said Friday that her meeting with Croatian Prime Minister and his delegation did not deal with the mutual genocide charges at the International Court of Justice, but with prospects for parliamentary cooperation.

Historians will be the best judges on the past. Fostering bilateral relations is necessary, but must be carried out with sensibility, as the wounds of both Serb and Croat people are still fresh, she told the press. Parliamentary cooperation should be adapted to current inter-state and political relations, she said.

Fostering parliamentary cooperation would constitute a regional stability factor and the future meetings between Serbian and Croatian friendship groups, foreign policy committees and speakers will be very important in this regard, she noted.

SERBIA, CROATIA TO FOSTER COOPERATION IN ENERGY SECTOR

BELGRADE, Mar 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Energy Minister Petear Skundric said Friday that Serbia and Croatia plan to foster cooperation in the power industry sector and in construction of oil and gas pipelines. Both countries are members of the Energy Community and are developing strategies for securing a stable market framework by attracting investments in the oil, gas and power infrastructure, he told the press.

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Labor Damir Plancec said that the two countries exchanged important information on the energy sector and concluded that bilateral cooperation should be fostered. Cooperation can be fostered especially between Serbian and Croatian oil industries NIS and INA and Croatian oil transport company JANAF, he said.

SANADER: COOPERATION NECESSARY IN SPITE OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES

BELGRADE, March 21 (Tanjug) - The visit of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to Belgrade ended on Friday evening after talks with top Serbian officials and with a joint conclusion that there is no agreement on the outstanding political issues in the relations between Serbia and Croatia, but that the promotion of cooperation between the two neighbors is invaluable for the region and necessary both at the present time and in the future as well.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said yesterday evening, after his meeting with Sanader, that there is no accord between Belgrade and Zagren on the lawsuit filed by Croatia and the counter-lawsuit filed by Serbia with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Tadic also said that Belgrade is extremely sensitive on the issue of the Croatian recognition of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo, but that the two countries must cooperate in future, in spite of all this.

Tadic and Sanader announced the continuation of work on the resolving of outstanding issues in the relations between the two countries. Tadic and Sanader underscored that Serbia and Croatia wish to become members of the European Union (EU), and that both states advocate the prosperity and stability of the region of southeastern Europe. The Serbian president stressed that there is no agreement on certain subjects, but that solutions are being sought, including for those "issues on which we will not have a common stand for a long time to come." "For us in Serbia, it was extremely difficult when Croatia recognized the independence of Kosovo, but Serbia will continue defending its integrity by diplomatic and legal means and it will no longer wage wars," Tadic said.

The Croatian prime minister said that "the time has come for the full affirmation of the Croatian and the Serbian policies in the international community," and added that "we can resolve issues by ourselves and we do not always need a tutor for such issues." "As the prime minister of Croatia, I am not too interested in what happened yesterday. I am not trying to escape from the past, but I am primarily interested in what we can do today for the common striving to join the EU," Sanader said.

Speaking about the position of Serbs in Croatia, Tadic pointed out that Croatia is their state and that they should realize their "civil and ethnic rights in it and should take part in the elections." "We are not questioning the integrity of any state. Any ideas about a Serbia that stretches to Karlovac, Karlobag, Virovitica, are a thing of the past and they belong to persons who are political extremists," the Serbian president said, adding that statements coming from Croatia that threaten the lives of Serbs in that state are also dangerous. "Sanader and I are in full accord in that regard," Tadic said. The two statesmen agreed also that the economic cooperation between Serbia and Croatia is very important at this point, in the times of the global financial crisis.

SANADER URGES UNHINDERED SALES OF SERBIAN GOODS IN CROATIA

BELGRADE, March 22 (Tanjug) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has said that there should be no obstacles to the placing of Serbian goods on the Croatian market in future, and rejected allegations that there is a political reason for the absence of significant quantities of Serbian products in Croatian stores.

"Before a Croatian or Serbian product captures the western European market, provided it is of good quality and affordable, it must be made accessible to both Croatian and Serbian buyers, so that they can decide what they will buy," Sanader told Tanjug. The objections by Serbian managers that they are having problems with the placing of goods in Croatian commercial chain stores were one of the reasons why he brought a very strong delegation to his official visit to Belgrade late last week, Sanader said. The delegation was led by the deputy premier who is also the minister of economy and whose mandate includes energy, and it included also leading executives of companies that already at the present time have very developed cooperation with partners in Serbia, he specified. There is an entire series of areas in the economy in which Serbia and Croatia could promote their cooperation, Sanader said.

Speaking along these lines, he announced an imminent meeting of transportations ministers of the two countries, who should prepare the signing of a contract on air traffic, in particular the renewal of the route Zagreb-Belgrade. This was also discussed during his visit to Belgrade, Sanader said. Furthermore, the recent gas crisis has reinforced the stands of the state leaderships of the two countries that cooperation in this area is also imperative, Sanader said.

SERBIA - ICTY

SERBIA READY TO COMPLETE COOPERATION WITH ICTY

BELGRADE, March 21 (Tanjug) - When the Democratic Party (DS) took the helm of the Serbian government, it was an event that significantly convinced top international officials that Serbia is absolutely ready to complete its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Serbian Special Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic in charge of war crimes said on Saturday, underscoring that efforts are under way to apprehend ICTY indictees Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic not only because of Europe, but because of Serbia itself.

"As I have repeatedly said in Brussels as well, we are not hunting Mladic and Hadzic because of Europe alone, but because of ourselves. Every unpunished crime committed by Serbs is a crime against Serbs themselves," Vukcevic said in an interview he gave to the Belgrade daily Politika after talks with European Union (EU) officials in Brussels mid this week. Mladic might be brought before the ICTY by the end of this year, Vukcevic said. He underscored that it is Serbia's interest that the proceedings in The Hague should end and that the judicial truth should be determined about what in fact happened in Srebrenica and in the former Yugoslavia in the 90s.

"That is how we would also remove the collective responsibility of our people, and primarily how justice would be met for the victims and their families," Vukcevic said. Talks are under way with EU representatives on suspected trafficking in human organs in northern Albania and the problems with the Albanian authorities on access to the relevant criminal evidence, Vukcevic said.

COUNCIL: SERVING OF SENTENCES IN FORMER YUGOSLAV STATES

BELGRADE, March 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian National Council for Co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has once again pointed out to Serbia's initiative that persons who have been validly convicted before the ICTY be transferred to former Yugoslav states whose citizenship they have to continue serving their sentences, the Council said in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement, Serbia repeated its readiness to ensure absolute security of the locations in which the convicted will serve their sentences and to provide firm guarantees that they will not be set free without adequate decision of the ICTY or other authorized UN body. The statement underscores that the international community cannot look upon Serbia the same way as in 1993 when the ICTY was established, and when it was decided that persons convicted before the Tribunal cannot serve sentences in the Ex-Yugoslav states. The National Council for Co-operation with the ICTY decided to deliver documentation and to respond to five ICTY requests. Four requests of the indictees, regarding the delivery of documentation necessary to prepare their defence before the Tribunal, were granted affirmative answers, the statement says.

UNMIK HANDS SERBIAN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR FULL REPORT

BELGRADE, , March 20 (Beta) - UNMIK hashanded Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic a full reporton the so-called "Yellow House" case including additional documents onan investigation into allegations of human organ trafficking involvingcaptive Serbs in northern Albania during the Kosovo war in 1999.

As BETA learned at the war crimes prosecution in Belgrade on March 22,UNMIK notified prosecutor Vukcevic that additional material had beendiscovered after a detailed examination of the documents.

Last March, the Serbian judicial authorities began investigatingallegations of organ trafficking involving the organs of missingSerbs, after former International Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte published a book, "TheHunt," in which she said that there were indications that captiveSerbs were being taken to northern Albania for human organ traffickingpurposes.

In the note, UNMIK also said that the investigation into organtrafficking and war crimes was not in the jurisdiction of the EULEXmission.

The Serbian prosecution has so far identified 10 possibleperpetrators, on the basis of photographs, and one of the victims, aKosovo Serb. In addition to the so-called "Yellow House," three othersites in northern Albania are also being mentioned as possible organtransplant sites.

SERBIA

COMMEMORATIONS TO MARK 10 YEARS SINCE NATO BOMBARDMENTS

BELGRADE, March 23 (Tanjug) - The marking of 10 years since the NATO air strikes on the FR Yugoslavia and the commemorating of Remembrance Day for the victims of the NATO air strikes began over the past weekend, and commemorations and other events will be held in many Serbian towns on March 24, when the air strikes on FRY began 10 years ago.

In the entire territory of Serbia, sirens will be sounded at noon tomorrow, and the Serbian government has asked citizens to suspend their activities in public places, companies, institutions, and schools, and to observe a minute of silence for the innocent victims of these bombardments.

JEREMIC CONFERS WITH GUL AND BABACAN

ANKARA, March 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with Turkish President Abdulah Gul in Ankara on Friday, and before that he had talks with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan, the Anatolia news agency and CNN Turk have reported.

The foreign ministers of the two countries discussed bilateral relations which have been complicated by the decision of official Ankara to recognize the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence, as well as other regional and international issues. However, Jeremic assessed at Sabanci University on Thursday, at a lecture entitled "Serbia, Turkey and the EU: Working Together in Balkans and the Middle East," that ways could be found to overcome the present state of affairs, perhaps after the International Court of Justice issued its advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo independence.

"I believe we (our two countries) are strong and confident enough to concentrate on the fundamental benefits that would result from a Turkish commitment to engage in the Western Balkans, through a strategic partnership with Serbia," the Serbian prime minister underlined. At a joint news conference with Jeremic, Babacan assessed that Serbia and Turkey represented an unavoidable factor of peace and stability in the Balkans, and called for an improvement of bilateral relations and cooperation in a number of fields, including defence.

Qualifying the talks with Jeremic as very successful, the Turkish foreign minister added that it was important that Serbia be admitted into the EU, and expressed confidence in the country's determination to achieve that goal, CNN Turk reported. Jeremic arrived in Turkey on Thursday, when he met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and held the lecture at SabanciUniversity.

AMBASSADORS APPOINTED TO US, LIECHTENSTEIN AND IRELAND

BELGRADE, March 20 (Tanjug) - By the Decree of Serbian President Boris Tadic, Vladimir Petrovic has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to the United States, the Official Gazette said in its latest issue.

Milan Protic has been assigned to the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Liechtenstein at a non-residential basis, and he will be seated in Bern (Germany).