REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SECRETARIAT GENERAL
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY SECTION
DAILY SURVEY
Nr. 51 / 434 Belgrade, 09. 11. 2010. Prepared by: Goran Drago
SERBIA
Jeremic: SERBIA IS ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS
VALLETTA, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic welcomed in Malta the establishment of the Alliance of Civilizations stressing that durable security and prosperity have never been the product of compulsion. Serbia - as a multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-confessional state - will remain committed to actively participate in all the projects and activities within the framework of the Alliance, and the two Regional Strategies it has helped to craft, Jeremic underscored. The Serbian foreign minister, who took part in the First Regional Conference for the Mediterranean of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, pointed out that the Republic of Serbia, as part of this dynamic initiative, fully supports its goals. Like the Alliance itself, the Mediterranean is a symbol of interdependence and shared destiny - a cultural crossroads that has been successfully blending West and East, North and South, for more than two millennia, the minister said. Only when we embrace diversity as a source of strength and realize that each one of our civilizations genuinely progresses when they come into amicable contact with other civilizations as equals, will we be able to say that the tide has inexorably turned in favor of a culture of lasting peace in our region, the minister added. He expressed belief that the Alliance's Regional Strategy for the Mediterranean, together with the Action Plan designed to implement it, will help us reach these goals. Serbia was actively involved in drafting the documents, and welcomes their adoption. Moreover, the country's contribution was informed by the success of the Regional Strategy for Southeast Europe it also helped to write, Jeremic said.
CVETKOVIC ENDS OFFICIAL VISIT TO EGYPT
CAIRO, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Prime Minister Cvetkovic participated in a round table organized by the largest and most renowned publishing house in Egypt Al-Ahram, and thus ended his two-day official visit to Egypt. Cvetkovic opened the round table meeting that discussed cooperation between Serbia and Egypt, Serbia after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and the ongoing reform process implemented on the country's path to the EU. During the stay in Egypt, the Serbian prime minister conferred with the Egyptian top officials - President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and President of the Egyptian People's Assembly Ahmed Fathi Sorour. The two governments signed three agreements in the presence of both prime ministers - the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology, the Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in telecommunications, postal services and information society, and the Program of cooperation in culture and art. All three agreements will be valid for the period between 2010 and 2013. Cvetkovic opened the Serbian-Egyptian business forum and called on Egyptian businessmen to invest in Serbia stressing that excellent political relations between the two countries should be used in order to promote economic cooperation. Cvetkovic also attended an exhibition entitled 'Tanjug: A View into the Eye of History' opened by Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic and his Egyptian counterpart Farouk Hosny at the Palace of Prince Amir Taz, in Cairo, late on Monday, which at the same time marked the opening of the Days of Serbian Culture in Egypt.
TWO AMBASSADORS RECALLED, TWO APPOINTED
BELGRADE, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Two ambassadors of the Republic of Serbia have been recalled and two appointed, it was published in the Official Gazette. Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Sweden Ninoslav Stojadinovic has been recalled from the post, while Dusan Crnogorcevic was appointed the new ambassador to Sweden. Non-resident Ambassador of Serbia to New Zealand Milivoje Glisic has also been recalled and will be replaced by Neda Maletic, who is currently the Serbian ambassador to Australia.
KOSOVO – METOHIJA
JEREMIC & TADIC ON ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO
BELGRADE, Nov 8 (Beta) -President Tadic said that an opinion on Serbs voting in the elections in Kosovo would be adopted after the Serbian government had made its decision. "The government will form its stance and then I will announce it," said Tadic in response to a question after an official ceremony marking the first working day of the new community police force in Serbia. Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that the right conditions for Serbs to go to the polls in Kosovo had not been created. "The government will adopt an official opinion on this on Nov. 11. Personally, I think that the conditions for Serbs to go to the polls have not been achieved," said Jeremic. Jeremic added, however, that he did not want to prejudice the decision on Serbs participating in the Kosovo elections scheduled for Dec. 12. The foreign minister also said that talks between Belgrade and Pristina, which should help to reduce tensions in Kosovo, were expected to begin soon. The Serbian government should adopt a position this week on possible Serb participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kosovo, Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic told.
DELEVIC: EC QUESTIONNAIRE DOES NOT ESTABLISH KOSOVO'S STATUS
BELGRADE, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Director of the Government Office for EU Integrations Milica Delevic has stated that the EU Commission's questionnaire will not include questions that will be directed towards establishing Kosovo's status but that it will include questions based on which the Commission should be able to establish the status of Serbia's reforms and who and in what way is participating in the process of EU integrations. For Politika today, Delevic thus confirmed the statement by Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert, who has said that the questionnaire Serbia is due to receive from Brussels on November 24 does not include questions about borders or Kosovo. Asked whether Degert's statement perhaps indicates that the stands of 22 EU member states which recognized Kosovo's independence are taken into account more and that is why Kosovo is not mentioned, Delevic denied it, adding that the purpose of the questionnaire is not to establish whether Kosovo is a state or not but to help the EC adopt an opinion about whether Serbia has the capacity to gain the status of a candidate state. "We will answer the questions as they come, keeping in mind, of course, that there is a Belgrade-Pristina dialogue ahead of us," Delevic said, adding that Serbia hopes that many questions will be resolved during the dialogue.
GORDON: US READY TO PLAY CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE
PRAGUE, Nov 8 (Tanjug) - The US is ready to play a constructive role in the forthcoming talks between Belgrade and Pristina, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Phillip Gordon said for Radio Free Europe. "What the UN General Assembly agreed to was EU-facilitated talks between Kosovo and Serbia. We supported that, we voted for the resolution, we think the EU is well placed to facilitate those talks. Both Serbia and Kosovo want to join the EU, we support both of them joining the EU when they meet the criteria", Gordon said. "We've also said we expect to be and are ready to be involved. We have strong relationships with both Serbia and Kosovo, we have something to offer. And while the EU will be facilitating the talks, we are ready to play a constructive role, as well".
BOC: ROMANIA'S STAND ON KOSOVO UNCHANGED
BUCHAREST, Nov 8 (Tanjug - Romania keeps unchanged its stand on the independence of Kosovo and supports Serbia's European route, Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said after meeting Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic. The talk focused on common political issues and the fact that Serbia has been and will remain a reliable friend to Romania, he said. Serbia can count on Romania's support to its endeavors for EU integration, Boc said, and emphasized that Romania keeps unchanged its stand on Kosovo, Romanian agency Agerpres reports. Romania is one of the five EU member countries, along with Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus and Greece, which have not recognized Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. Djelic attended the Danube Summit in Bucharest, at which the Declaration on Commitment to the EU Danube Strategy was adopted.
WORDSWORTH: KOSOVO SERBS SHOULD TAKE PART IN ELECTIONS
BELGRADE, Nov 8 (Tanjug) - UK Ambassador to Stephen Wordsworth said that Kosovo Serbs should take part in the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Kosovo, as the parliament in Pristina takes decisions which concern their lives. This would not mean recognizing Kosovo's independence, that is not an issue for individual persons but for states, he said for B92 TV. Wordsworth, who will be leaving Serbia in a few weeks, said his greatest impression of Serbia is the progress the country has achieved in the past four years, and particularly in the past few months. Asked how long it will take for Serbia to get the status of candidate for EU membership, he said it should not take too long, perhaps in 2011. As regards Kosovo, Wordsworth said that Serbia and the UK disagree on the fundamental issue of status - Serbia is determined not to recognize Kosovo's independence, while the UK has done so. This is something that cannot be overcome at this time, he said. Wordsworth pointed to the importance of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, noting that the EU would like the dialogue to start, but that the situation was complicated by the sudden elections in Kosovo.The idea was for the EU to support that process with its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, Wordsworth said, adding that it would be best if Belgrade and Pristina were to talk directly, without the need for any mediation.
BRADIC: KOSOVO ALBANIANS ARE TRYING TO STEAL OUR HISTORY
BELGRADE, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic said that ethnic Albanians have on several occasions tried to use Serb cultural heritage in Kosovo for creating their new identity and history, and added that Serbia is "pointing at those forgeries at all international meeting." For Vecernje Novosti, Bradic explained that Serbia has been working hard to establish, in cooperation with UNESCO and Committee of Ministers of South Eastern Europe, a regional center for protection of endangered cultural heritage with the seat in Leposavic. For now, the presence of international forces that are safeguarding the cultural monuments in Kosovo-Metohija, particularly those that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, guarantees an unhindered work of our experts on their restoration," Bradic said. Commenting on the fact that Serbia, despite democratic government and laws, has fallen by 23 notches on the list regarding media freedom, Bradic said that his impression is that two major incidents in which journalists were attacked had decisive impact on the ratings."The state is trying at all times to secure the greatest possible level of media freedom. I call on all journalists whose freedom of speech has been threatened in any way, and professional standards compromised, to appeal to the Ministry of Culture and it will react promptly,".
KFOR COMMANDER: BORDER IS POLITICAL AND NOT MILITARY ISSUE
PRISTINA, Nov 9 (Tanjug) - Commander of KFOR German General Erhard Buehler has said that the border between Kosovo and Serbia is a political, not military issue and that it will be discussed by KFOR and military officials of Serbia on Nov 18 only within the framework of cooperation in the area of security, radio Deutsche Welle reported. Buehler said that the upcoming meeting with Serbia's military officials will not go beyond the limits of the Kumanovo Agreement, Kosovo's electronic media reported, specifying that the general made the above statement in Pec, where he attended the handover of the command of KFOR's Sector West. Army Chief of General Staff Lt.Gen. Miloje Miletic has said ahead of the meeting with KFOR representatives that it is a regular meeting under the provisions of the Military Technical Agreement, within which representatives of the Serbian Army and international forces in Kosovo maintain regular communication aimed at safeguarding the administrative line between Serbia and Kosovo. Gen. Miletic underlined the above on November 7, when he denied the reports by some Pristina media that he will discuss border demarcation between Kosovo and Serbia with the KFOR commander, adding that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and that demarcation is not an issue. Gen. Miletic also said that neither he nor KFOR commander are authorized to discuss the demarcation between Serbia and Kosovo.
SERBIA – EU
TADIC: EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT IS POSITIVE
BELGRADE, Nov 8 (Tanjug) President Tadic said that the European Commission report on Serbia's progress in EU integration is positive and contains guidelines on how to proceed with internal reforms. Tadic told reporters at the parliament that Serbia will follow the guidelines, not because it succumbs to pressure easily, but because there is awareness in the country that things which are not functioning properly need to be changed. "The EU is a compendium of the best experiences in state organization. Living standards are higher in the EU because state organization is more efficient, the economy better organized, laws better implemented, the penal system more efficient, and that is why we need to follow their example," Tadic said. According to him, there is no better road for Serbia to take right now than that offered by the EU. We will listen to the European Commission report and act on their suggestions, because we know that will bring us immediate benefit, Tadic said.
TADIC: WE WILL ACT ON EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS
BELGRADE, Nov 8 (Beta) - President Tadic said that Serbia would act on the European Commission's recommendations, to be published in a report on the country, as this was in Serbia's interest. "The European Commission's report is positive and contains instructions," Tadic told, adding that Serbia should avail itself of the experiences of EU members in carrying out reforms and improving the life of its people. "It would be very wrong to create the impression in our public that we are obeying a dictate," Tadic said in response to a question on the European Commission's report on Serbia, due to be published on Nov. 9.