Belgrade, April 9, 2010

SERBIA

BELGRADE, April 8 (Tanjug) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg met with Serbian President Boris Tadic Wednesday evening, the Serbian president's press service confirmed to Tanjug.

High U.S. official stated for Tanjug Thursday that he commended the efforts that Serbia and its president are making in order to resolve regional issues and to build Serbia's European future. Prior to his visit to Belgrade, Steinberg stated that the Declaration on Srebrenica, adopted by the Serbian parliament, represents a very strong and important message, and added that he will convey to the Serbian president that the U.S. appreciates the parliament's decision to adopt the declaration.

BELGRADE, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg discussed the political situation in Serbia and cooperation of the two countries in fight against crime in Belgrade on Thursday.

As stated by the Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP), Dacic told the American official that the government of Serbia is stable and that all the coalition partners wish to sustain the government by the end of the mandate. During the meeting, Dacic and Steinberg expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of MUP and U.S. security agencies in fight against organized crime and terrorism, and added that the practice of good cooperation should be continued.

Dacic said that Serbia has good cooperation with the countries from the region, which is the main precondition for successful fight against crime. He also stressed that the MUP wants to have good cooperation with representatives of international community in Kosovo-Metohija, KFOR, UNMIK and EULEKS, because Serbia's goal is to preserve peace and secure the safety of all the citizens in Kosovo .

The two officials also discussed the participation of members of MUP in EU peacekeeping missions and the increase in number of Serbian policemen in the mission in Haiti. Dacic as well thanked the U.S. Embassy, which supports the work of MUP through a number of projects.

BELGRADE, April 8 (Tanjug) - US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Thursday that Serbia is a critical partner for the United States in the region.

The following is the full text of Steinberger's interview with Tanjug: "I had a chance last night to meet with President Tadic and some of his senior advisors and this morning I met with Minister Dacic, and had a chance to meet with the students of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. This is part of my own extended involvement since becoming deputy secretary in this region. On this trip, I began in Ljubljana with Mr. Pahor and Bosnia with all political leaders, then here and in Pristina. I think it reflects the strong commitment that the USA has to building strong ties with the countries of the Balkans and to support the efforts of the leaders here to build a European future for all the countries in the region. This is a good opportunity for us to talk about both expanding bilateral ties and regional ties, since the beginning of the Obama administration, especially with the visit of Vice President Biden here to Serbia, we have made clear that we would like to see enhanced ties between the United States and Serbia. We view Serbia as a critical partner for the United States in this region and want to see Serbia play an active role and support its sound efforts to have deeper integration into Europe. And of course during our discussions here we discussed a full range of bilateral and regional issues, expressed appreciation for the leadership of President Tadic and his progressive vision for Serbia's future and other ways in which we can strengthen our collaboration.

"I think we focused in our discussions here on some of the practical steps that can be taken, in particular this morning, with Minister Dacic, we talked about cooperation with EULEX and some of the steps that can be taken to strengthen the rule of law in Kosovo and, in partnership with Europe and international community, to make sure that, as Kosovo pursues its future, it respects the rights of all of its citizens, and becomes an inclusive and tolerant society. I am looking forward during my visit to Kosovo later today and to Pristina, to meeting not only with the leadership in Kosovo but also a number of the Serb mayors there, and my visit to the Gracanica monastery is just a reflection of the strong commitment that we have to seeing very open and inclusive and tolerant society there. I think that we have seen lots of efforts throughout the region to recognize that there are differences about the political arrangements here but that there are also practical interests in making sure that the situation is stable and that the rule of law is reinforced.

"Our position is well known, which is we recognize the independence of Kosovo...I do not think that it is necessarily just up for the United States to find a common ground. I think that it is important to take a practical view of these questions, there are number of different ways to move forward, I think what is critical here is to focus on the practical day to day needs and issues of economy, of police, security, customs, these are all issues that can be worked out in very practical form, and I think that this kind of pragmatic approach is what is critical, there may be different formulas in different settings and I do not think that it is necessarily for us to negotiate the particular formulas. I think that there needs to be a respect for the fact that many of the countries in the region have recognized Kosovo and have diplomatic relations with Kosovo and I think that this is just a reality of this region, but I think what we need to focus on is the practical ways in which we can move forward. And I was very struck in my conversations here that there is a recognition that even though there may be differences on the ultimate political question, that there are a lot of practical areas where cooperation can take place, in which the interests are all to make sure that all the prospectives of the region are represented in these kinds of discussions.

"I think that the bilateral relations (with Serbia) are excellent. And I think, as I said, the visit of Vice President Biden here set a very strong and positive tone of our commitment to build those relations. This is my second meeting with Minister Dacic, he was in Washington just a few weeks ago, we had an excellent series of discussions in Washington and again here about our very important collaborative work together on issues like combating crime and drugs and cooperation in the security realm, we had good discussions with the defense minister, it has been another important set of ties, we had visits by representatives of President Tadic and all in all I am just very much encouraged by that, that we had a chance to discuss this morning about the steps that we might be able to take to strengthen economic cooperation and enhance US investments here in Serbia, which is something that we place a lot of priority to. It is important to see American firms coming here, creating good jobs for Serbians and creating economic opportunity for all of us. I think if you look accross the board you see a very strong level of cooperation, we are very appreciative of the efforts that the leadership of President Tadic has shown on the passage of the Srebrenica resolution, a very strong signal to the region, it kind of created a new era here. We have worked very closely together in trying to find ways to make progress in Bosnia in terms of promoting Bosnia's integration into Europe and Trans-Atlantic structures, we've been very supportive of the work that we have done in support of Serbia's own steps to deepen its integration into Europe with visa liberalization and stabilization agreement.

The strong efforts we have done together to deal with the problem of cooperation with ICTY, is another example of cooperation where people from the United States and Serbia working together on this common project. So I think that this is a very, very, promising and encouraging picture of accross the board efforts to improve our ties in almost every realm.

"I think what is important is that all the countries in the region work together to try to deal with the very difficult past that this region has focused on and try to build ties and recognize the serious scars that people bear from the past and try to acknowledge the pain that everyone has felt through these experiences and to understand the need to be sensitive to this past but also to turn the page and move towards the future. I think each country needs to find its own ways to express that, but, as I say, what I think is that the efforts here really reflect a very positive signal to the region along with other efforts that President Tadic and the government here have pursued, the steps to build stronger ties with Croatia for example, a very, very encouraging set of developments and we welcome that. There are lots of different ways to build that and to deal with the problems, overcoming the problems of the past, and what I see here is a very strong committement by the government to try to do that.

"I have been very encouraged by our cooperation on Bosnia. I think that President Tadic and the government here sent a very strong signal that we have a common view here, which is that we think that Bosnia's future is as a single state but within the Dayton framework, and those are shared principles that we bring to this. We recognize that there is a political set of arrangements of Dayton, that is the framework for moving forward, but it is important that it be done in a context of the territorial integrity of Bosnia. I think that it is a shared view and we really appreciate the efforts of President Tadic and the government here to encourage all the parties in Bosnia to work together to take pragmatic steps, to make it possible for Bosnia to move forward with its European and Trans-Atlantic integrations.

"We made clear that we think that the door to Serbia should be open in NATO, we would be welcomming it if that is the decision that the people of Serbia want to take. In any event, we have a strong cooperation and we are really grateful for the efforts there. I know the collaboration with the Ohio National Guard, for example, is something that sends a very, very positive signal, really kind of people to people cooperation as well as a government to government cooperation. So I think this, as Serbia moves to its own choices, sends a positive and shared set of interests that are very welcome on our part. We had a chance with Minister Dacic to talk about Serbia's interest in playing a greater role in peacekeeping operations, which is another example of Serbia demonstrating that it is becoming not just a consumer of security but a provider of security to others, and I think that is a real positive indication of the evolution of Serbia and the very positive developments that have taken place over the last decade here," said US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

When asked to comment on the economic relations and whether the United States is supporting Serbia's membership in the WTO, Steinberg said: "I have to ask the ambassador about that, and I guess the answer is yes, I would be surprised to hear otherwise. I think in general when we think that expanding membership and coming under the basic disciplines of WTO benefits everybody. It enhances economic opportunity, it creates a better investment climate here for firms, and benefits the people Serbia in terms of creating greater access to markets and greater investment opportunities for people to come here."

MEDVEDJA, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic arrived in Medvedja, a municipality in the south of Serbia, where he is to meet with students of the Nis-based Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Economics and visit the Lece mine.

The Sabac-based concern Farmakom MB bought the Lece mine near Medvedja for EUR 190 million in 2000, and so far, seven million euros have been invested in its reconstruction. According to the plans of the owner, the total of 300 miners will work in the mine. Farmakom MB is the owner of nine companies and 14 mines in Serbia and Macedonia.

The planned annual production of the Lece mine is 230,000 tons of lead-zinc mineral that should be processed into 450 kilos of gold, three tons of silver, 3.2 tons of lead and 12,000 tons of zinc. The minerals will be processed in Zajecar, eastern Serbia, and Sabac in western Serbia.

MEDVEDJA, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic called on Thursday the members of the Albanian national minority to form their National Council and thus take a share of responsibility for the development of the state they live in.

"I want to encourage Albanians who live in Serbia to take part in their own national institutions in Serbia, since this is their country as well, their home," Tadic said in a talk with students of Faculties of Law and Economics in Medvedja, which are attended by Albanian students as well. Tadic pointed out that he is proud that Serbia is one of few countries that made possible for minorities to form their National Councils and therefore have a direct influence on the country's development. By registering on special electoral roll, Albanians realized their right to direct elections for National Council, which will be held on June 6. This will be an opportunity for the Albanians who live in Serbia to form their National Council for the first time.

According to the president, Serbia makes efforts to provide mother-tongue-based education for all the citizens who want to get an education. The country on the other hand, he put it, is obliged to defend its legitimate interests and integrity, but it does that in a peaceful way. "The greatest fight is for peace, since conflicts and losses arise very easy, which is why the country is devoted to the policy of peace, and without that there is no stability in the region," Tadic underlined.

"In spite of its unsolved problems, Serbia pursues a policy of peace, negotiations and a policy which is constructive. The country is respected in the world for that. It is very important that the citizens of Serbia as well respect their country," Tadic underscored.

MEDVEDJA, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said Thursday that possible abuse of the funds Serbia sets aside for Kosovo and Metohija will be investigated and all perpetrators punished if abuse is uncovered.

"The question, however, is if the funds get to those they are meant for or if there is abuse," Tadic told reporters in Medvedja, southern Serbia, and added that the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, the Interior Ministry and other institutions will determine whether abuse has occurred. If the ongoing analysis proves that some people were payed double salaries and funds were abused, that would be a "tragic fact", the Serbian president said. He noted that Serbia allocates EUR 300 million to 500 million a year for Kosovo, which is sufficient to provide basic living conditions for Serbian citizens and stability of institutions in the province.

Tadic underlined that Kosovo is one of the most important issues in Serbia's national policy and stressed that if certain people abused the funds they will be punished.

MEDVEDJA, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said Thursday that he and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg agreed that some people are unnecessarily dramatizing the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), and added that they "agreed to disagree" on Kosovo and Metohija.

The Serbian president told reporters in Medvedja, southern Serbia, that he assured Steinberg that Serbia wants to cooperate with every country in the region, Europe and the world, but that there are also lines it will not cross. "One of those lines is that Serbia does not recognize nor will it ever recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija. We are keen to resume negotiations on its status in order to find a compromise solution that would satisfy both sides," Tadic said.

Tadic also said that Serbia does not support any division of BiH and remains fully committed to the Dayton Peace Accords. Tadic and Steinberg agreed that speculation that the situation in BiH is dire and a new war imminent is completely unfounded. "There is no threat of war and some are unnecessarily dramatizing the situation in BiH for I don't know what purpose... Dramatizing the situation is neither necessary nor beneficial," Tadic said. The Serbian president said that he thanked Steinberg for U.S. support to Serbia's European integration.

BELGRADE, April 8 (Tanjug) - Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Dragoljub Micunovic stated on Thursday that during a meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenian President Danilo Turk agreed that new talks should be launched in order to find solution for the Kosovo issue so that there would be no side that would lose or gain all.

"There is a deep and true friendship between Slovenia and Serbia in spite of the fact that Slovenia has recognized the independence of Kosovo," Micunovic said at a press conference after the two-day visit to Ljubljana. He added that he agreed with his Slovenian hosts that everyone should wait for the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Serbia's southern province. "Turk agrees that new talks should be launched, that it should not happen that one side loses everything and the other gains all and that a just solution should be found," Micunovic said.

He said that Belgrade and Pristina officials should confer, since without talks nothing can be solved. "Since we have refused to resort to force, talks are all that we have," he said and added that at the moment, there are no conditions for state-level talks that would refer to the status, adding that nevertheless, citizens' problems and practical issues should be discussed.

Micunovic said that Serbia and Slovenia should develop best possible relations in spite of certain incidents that should be put aside. He pointed out that during the meeting with Turk, it was mentioned that presidents of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, Turk, Ivo Josipovic and Boris Tadic respectively, may launch a general, regional dialogue given that they have the same social-democratic ideological background.

Micunovic and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor discussed the forthcoming visit of Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic to Slovenia that should take place in May or September.

BELGRADE, April 8 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defence Ministry and General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces signed an agreement on cooperation at the Military Academy in Belgrade on Thursday.

The agreement envisages professional and practical training in specialized centers, as well as exchange of instructors. Other clauses of the document concern visits by representatives of both armies, schooling at all education levels, exchange of advisors, and mutual help aimed at improving the supply of training accessories and school equipment. The agreement was signed by Chief of the Department for Training and Doctrine in the Serbian Armed Forces Maj. Gen.

Petar Cornakov and Chief of Operations in the Turkish General Staff Lt. Gen. Mehmet Eroz. After the signing, Cornakov said that the agreement provides the cooperation framework and conditions for relations "in which we support each other." Eroz said that military agreements are always important since they contribute to improvements in bilateral relations, it was posted at the Serbian Ministry of Defence webpage.