Director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric said today that Serbs in Kosovo and throughout Serbia expect leader of the Citizens' Initiative  'Freedom, Democracy, Justice' Oliver Ivanovic to be released on August 26, when his detention sentence is due to expire.

Ivanovic is tried before the Mitrovica Basic Court for the criminal act of war crime against civilians.

After the meeting with representatives of Kosovo Serbs, Djuric told reporters that Serbs in Kosovo do not see any reason for Ivanovic's detention.

He noted that the Belgrade negotiating team would rank this theme very high during the forthcoming talks in Brussels on August 24 and 25.

Replying to questions concerning the ban on his entrance to Kosovo, Djuric said that the ban constitutes a political move. He noted that even so, he visited Mitrovica last week where he conferred with Ivanovic's defence team.

Speaking about the constitution of the Special court in charge of war crimes committed by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army and the media reports that warrants would be issued for the arrest of certain high officials of the Pristina interim administration, Djuric said that conclusions about these matters cannot be made based on newspaper reports but he noted that it is absolutely necessary for the process to be launched.