Belgrade, 08. 01. 2010.

SERBIA – KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

• TADIC ISUES MESSAGE OF PEACE FROM VISOKI DECANI MONASTERY
• MINISTER FOR KOSOVO AND METOHIJA WISHES MERRY CHRISTMAS
• BRADIC ON CARE OF MEDIEVAL MONUMENTS IN KOSOVO- METOHIJA
• UN SC TO DISCUSS KOSOVO ON JANUARY 22

• TADIC: MESIC'S DECISIONS SPOIL RELATIONS WITH SERBIA
• DJELIC: SERBIA ENVISAGES 1.5 PERCENT ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2010
• SUTANOVAC: HALF OF MILLION DOLLARS FROM EXPORT OF WEAPONS
• SPAIN INFORMS EU AMBASSADORS ABOUT SERBIA'S APPLICATION

VISOKI DECANI, Jan 6 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic issued Wednesday from Visoki Decani Monastery a Christmas message of peace to all believers celebrating this Orthodox holiday as well as to others of different faiths.

Christmas is the time for all who have quarreled to make peace, he said. Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we are sending a message of peace to all people, regardless of their identity, a message of peace to all who are marking this Christian holiday today and tomorrow, and to those who are not, because this is an opportunity also for those who have quarreled or had misunderstandings to make peace, to shake hands and to understand each other better than they did throughout the past year, he said.

Tadic is spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with the monastery fraternity. Thanking the monastery fraternity for their hospitality, Tadic said that the position and status of Serb monasteries, fraternities and monuments in Kosovo-Metohija have a fundamental importance for preserving the Serb national identity. Some of Serb monasteries in Kosovo are a part not only of Serb national and religious heritage, but also a part of world cultural heritage, he said. Serbia is therefore committed to preserving this cultural heritage as the foundation of Serb identity and a part of world cultural heritage, he said.

Visoki Decani Monastery is located in Metohija, and it is the biggest and the best preserved medieval monastery in Serbia, famous, among other things, for its 14th century frescoes. The villages around the monastery are populated almost entirely by Kosovo Albanians, and the monastery facilities, its fraternity and economy are guarded by Italian KFOR units. Tadic last visited Visoki Decani Monastery on Orthodox Easter, on April 17, 2009.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Jan 6 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanovic on Wednesday wished a Merry Christmas to all the believers and the clergy of the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren.

Christmas, as the symbol of joy and life, has once again to remind us all of the importance of mutual understanding, tolerance and trust, Bogdanovic told Tanjug. State Secretary with the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic also sent his Christmas greetings to the flock and the dignitaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church, particularly the believers in Kosovo and Metohija, who as he put it, lived in very difficult conditions, without electricity and in constant fear.

"Unity and life together in such difficult circumstances can help in the search for a constructive solution that would make it possible to overcome the present situation," Ivanovic told Tanjug. Ivanovic underlined that Serbia would remain loyal to the people in Kosovo and Metohija and continue to support its fellow-citizens there, including the ethnic Albanians that accepted Serbia as their own state.

BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - By publishing a book " The world inheritance of Serbia" an important message has been sent to the world's public - that the medieval monuments in Kosovo-Metohija belong to Serbian, i.e. Byzantine medieval culture, Serbian Minister of Culture and Media Nebojsa Bradic has said.

"All the fakes were made because there was a lack of the full initiative on Serbia's side. For that reason, this book, as well as the future projects, will clearly show the origins of this cultural heritage and to whom it belongs," Bradic said in an interview given to the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti. "The world inheritance of Serbia" shows that the state, for the first time now and in accordance with European and world standards, systematically places the values of the Serbian cultural heritage as an inseparable part of European and world's treasure, the Belgrade daily reports.

According to Bradic, this book is an encouragement to continue putting effort into preserving and analyzing our monuments and representing it to broader public. "Our future tasks are the result of obligations we took when we placed Serbian monuments on the list of world's inheritance," Bradic concluded.

NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Tanjug) - The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the issue of Kosovo on January 22, the president of the Council said on Tuesday.

Zhang Yesui, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations who holds the rotating Council presidency for January, told a press conference that the issue of Kosovo remains an important item on the agenda of the Security Council, which will hear the briefing by Lamberto Zannier, the secretary-general's special representative for Kosovo and head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), on Jan. 22.

The last UN SC session on Kosovo was held on October 15, when the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented a report on the situation in Serbia's southern province. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic asked at that session all UN member-states to enable the International Court of Justice to consider the case of unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.

BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has assessed that the move of Croatia's outgoing President Stjepan Mesic to grant amnesty to war criminal Sinisa Rimac represented an anti-European and anti-civilization gesture.

"When an outgoing Croatian president grants amnesty to a criminal who killed Serb children just because they are of different nationality, than such an act has to be strongly condemned as it represents an utterly anti-European and anti-civilization irrational decision," the Serbian president said. Tadic holds that the decision of the outgoing Croatian president is highly reprehensible and regrettable, and underlined that it represents yet another move "in a series of decisions that include the Friday visit to Pristina, by which Mesic, in a very efficient manner, brings harm to the relations with Serbia and leaves a needles heavy burden to his successor."

The Serbian president points out that the task of all the countries in the region is to fully cooperate with The Hague Tribunal, which also implies that the war criminals that have been tried before domestic courts should be given the sentences they deserve, the president's press service released.

BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - Serbia envisages economic growth of 1.5 percent in 2010, three percent in 2011 and five percent in 2012, Serbian Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic announced Friday and said that the country has to continue pursuing a very responsible budget and monetary policy.

Such a growth would be better than in other European countries. Serbia is ahead of a two or three decades long period of approaching to the European standard of life, Djelic, who is attending a two-day symposium dubbed 'New World, New Capitalism' in Paris, told the Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS).

He pointed out that he met with French Minister of European Affairs Pierre Lellouche late Thursday, and added that on this occasion the European reforms were presented. "Serbia expects France to support placing Serbia's EU candidacy on the agenda of one of the spring sessions of the Council of the European Union, during Spain's EU presidency," the prime minister stressed. Reminding that there has been USD 18 billion drawn to Serbia since 2001, Djelic underscored that in talks with the French prime minister and a number of other ministers he presented Serbia's plans in the field of infrastructure, energy, railways and subway.

BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac stated that Serbia could earn between USD 400 and 500 million per year by exporting weapons, military equipment, knowledge and experience in the area of defense.

"In 2009, we reached approximately the same result as the one from 1989, of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ), which was an almost three times bigger country. We consider this a tremendous success, but not the final range we can achieve," Sutanovac said in an interview for the Belgrade-based daily Politika. Sutanovac pointed out that Serbia's export and the number of signed contracts had increased several times in 2009, which showed that the country had no political obstacles, but rather support for selling its goods in the world. He said that, apart from security issue, the expansion of cooperation with NATO should bring Serbia progress in scientific-technological development, as well as the advancement of medicine, energy, environmental protection etc.

Sutanovac expressed his strong belief that the visit of the Serbian Defense Ministry delegation to the US in December 2009, as well as the arrival of US Vice-President Joseph Biden to Serbia in May, had had "multiply positive consequences, the most visible of which are donations received by our defense system from the US."

BELGRADE, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - By publishing a book " The world inheritance of Serbia" an important message has been sent to the world's public - that the medieval monuments in Kosovo-Metohija belong to Serbian, i.e. Byzantine medieval culture, Serbian Minister of Culture and Media Nebojsa Bradic has said.

"All the fakes were made because there was a lack of the full initiative on Serbia's side. For that reason, this book, as well as the future projects, will clearly show the origins of this cultural heritage and to whom it belongs," Bradic said in an interview given to the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti. "The world inheritance of Serbia" shows that the state, for the first time now and in accordance with European and world standards, systematically places the values of the Serbian cultural heritage as an inseparable part of European and world's treasure, the Belgrade daily reports.

According to Bradic, this book is an encouragement to continue putting effort into preserving and analyzing our monuments and representing it to broader public. "Our future tasks are the result of obligations we took when we placed Serbian monuments on the list of world's inheritance," Bradic concluded.

BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (Tanjug) - Spain, which is currently holding the EU Presidency, has informed the representatives of the EU member states about Serbia's request for obtaining the EU candidate status, Press and Information Councellor of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU Ana de Miguel Langa stated for Tanjug.

At yesterday's meeting they discussed Serbia's application, she said. According to the announcements, Serbia's candidacy application should soon be on the agenda of the EU Council of Ministers, which, if the consensus is reached, will forward it to the European Commission and ask for their official opinion. On December 22, Serbian President Boris Tadic handed to Swedish President Frederik Reinfeldt, whose country held the EU Presidency at the time, Serbia's application for receiving candidate status for full EU membership.