LOCAL PRESS

 

Nikolic: No pressure can force Serbia to recognize Kosovo (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Monday that no pressure can force Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence. “I have confidence in the UN, to which Serbia entrusted the care of Kosovo and Metohija in 1999,” Nikolic said at a meeting with new UNMIK chief Zahir Tanin and the new chief of the UN Office in Belgrade, Simona-Mirela Miculescu. Nikolic pointed out that admitting the so-called “Republic of Kosovo” to UNESCO was unacceptable. If it still happens, “by mere outvoting, the Serb cultural heritage would suffer after that, just as it already happened in 2004, and all would hide from responsibility for such a catastrophic decision, and once again the biggest and the only loser would be the Serbian people, and that must not happen,” said Nikolic. New UNMIK head Zahir Tanin said Monday that UNMIK would continue to operate in accordance with the mandate given to it by UNSC Resolution 1244. During the meeting with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic in Belgrade, Tanin expressed support for the Belgrade-Pristina talks and implementation of the agreements aimed at stabilizing the situation in the region, the president’s press office said in a release. Nikolic said that Serbia had met all requirements from the Brussels agreement, while Pristina did not want to meet any of its obligations towards Serbia. He presented arguments against Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO, stressing that the campaign was “an insult to Serbia”. Tanin said he was aware how important was for Serbia to preserve its cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija, stressing that it was equally important to the entire international community.

 

Dacic receives Tanin, new head of UN Mission in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic received today the new Head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Zahir Tanin, to whom he had conveyed the expectation that the mission will continue to work in full capacity based on its mandate and in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The Serbian Foreign Ministry announced that the talks touched upon the current situation in Kosovo and Metohija, UNMIK’s activities and the importance of further engagement of this mission in the fields that are essential for survival, normal and dignified life of the Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Dacic also underlined the importance of the mission in implementing the agreements reached in Brussels and the necessity of overcoming Pristina’s blockage of this process, reads the statement.

 

Djuric: SAA between EU, Kosovo in status-neutral framework (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said that the Stabilization and Accession Agreement (SAA) with the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina had been signed under a status-neutral framework, which was acceptable for Serbia. Article 2 of the SAA explicitly states that EU member-states do not recognize the unilateral proclaimed independence of Kosovo with this document, Djuric told Tanjug. “None of the terms, wording or definitions used constitute recognition of Kosovo by the EU as an independent state,” reads Article 2 of the document. Djuric said he believed implementation of the SAA would significantly improve the position of the Serb community and create conditions for economic prosperity of all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija.

 

Kosovo Assembly amends Kosovo’s SAA document (Novosti)

Pristina amended the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) that it signed with the EU as Kosovo with an asterisk. At yesterday’s Assembly session, they “pushed through” the amendment that mentions “Republic of Kosovo” instead of the footnote and asterisk. Jasmina Zivkovic, the deputy speaker of the Kosovo Assembly from the Serb List, tells Novosti that the text of the agreement with the EU cannot be changed this way, so the disputable amendment of the law is practically hanging in the air: “That amendment cannot become part of the agreement and we voted for the text that was signed with the EU, without amendments. The text states in point 5 that Pristina is obliged to implement everything agreed from the dialogue with Belgrade, which is the key thing for us. Should there be an obstruction of these agreements, the SAA could be suspended. The Serb List MPs abstained from voting on this amendment, but it received the majority of votes.

 

Patriarch Irinej: Our duty is to raise our voice to protect Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug)

Serbian Patriarch Irinej said in Nis on Tuesday we all have to raise our voice to protect Kosovo and Metohija and that “if force is used, we have to get it back by hook or by crook”. “I hope we will not have to defend it this way, but that the consciousness and conscience of those who decide on our fate will speak in a way that an awakened and pure human conscience should speak,” the Patriarch told journalists on the occasion of a UNESCO meeting. Patriarch Irinej pointed out it should not be allowed to put Serb holy sites in Kosovo and Metohija under the protection of those who destroyed them and burned them.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Serbian government arrives in Sarajevo today (Nezavisne)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and ministers will arrive today in Sarajevo, and joint session of governments of B&H and Serbia will be held tomorrow. The Serbian delegation should land at the Sarajevo International Airport at 5.50 p.m. The official reception will be held Wednesday at 9 a.m. and the session is scheduled to begin one hour latter. At 1 p.m. representatives of the two countries will sign several agreements and address media. It is expected that ministers will discuss economic relations, security, cross-border cooperation, projects in energy and transport infrastructure etc.

 

Crnadak: I expect the joint session to confirm that Serbia is a friend of B&H (Klix.ba)

“I am convinced that the joint sitting of the government of Serbia and the B&H Council of Ministers, on 4 November in Sarajevo, will confirm that Serbia is a friend of B&H and that they will put a definitive end to all the problems which existed this year,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of B&H and the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Igor Crnadak in Banja Luka. He also expressed his belief that the attacks on members of the Alliance for Change by the ruling coalition in RS will stop after this session. He announced that the month of November is full of activities and that besides the joint session of the government of Serbia and the B&H Council of Ministers, establishment of the Fund for the Western Balkans is also expected in November, marking of 20 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as ending of the presidency of B&H over the Council of Europe.

 

RS President Milorad Dodik sues himself (Srna)

The RS President Milorad Dodik has filed a criminal complaint against himself. The complaint reads that “Citizen Milorad Dodik sues himself on the basis of the accusations against him for alleged crimes presented by opposition parties in RS”. He said that the prosecution’s witnesses are opposition figures like Dragan Cavic, Mladen Bosic, Vukota Govedarica and others who are bringing the accusations against him. “I want institutions to exam all those claims”, said Dodik. “Although this is unusual, I decided to sue myself because they have not filed charges, although they accused me publicly”, Dodik said. He claims that this will contribute to the stabilization of the situation and encourage others to do the same thing. He expects fast reactions of the relevant judicial institutions. Opposition parties in RS claim that Dodik has stolen millions of KM in numerous cases.

 

Dodik: Republika Srpska will neither accept migrants nor money for the reception centers (Novi.ba)

The RS President Milorad Dodik said that the RS is not going to build reception centers for refugees. “There is no possibility for that. We will not accept the donations either. Let those who are responsible for the things have it. RS cannot accept that”, said Dodik. He said that there is a decision by some institution at the B&H level to use the military compound Zaluzani for that purpose, and explained that no military compound in the RS is going to be a reception center for the refugees. “We did not create these migrant crises and we are unable to resolve them. I think that all that has been preconceived. Not one migrant at the border, and yet they are serving us with the reception centers”, said the RS President.

 

Radoncic: SBB increases B&H’s reform capacity (Bosna danas)

President of the Alliance for Better Future (SBB) B&H Fahrudin Radoncic has met today with Principal Deputy High Representative Bruce G. Berton. They have discussed the current political and economic situation in B&H and the need for reforms in the judiciary, public administration and electoral process. Radoncic stressed that the SBB became part of the parliamentary majority which greatly increased the capacity for the implementation of reform agenda. That will enable B&H to submit a credible application for EU membership, stated the SBB Press Office.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Belgrade and Pristina take their fight to Paris (New Europe, 3 November 2015)

The 38^th session of UNESCO’s General Conference becomes the theater for a battle between Belgrade and Pristina for the recognition or not of Kosovo as an independent state. UNESCO’s Executive Board has recommended Kosovo’s accession to the organization, although it is not a member of the UN as such. Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, is expected to put up a fierce battle in Paris, as the General Conference of the organization convenes on Wednesday, November 4^th. The debate on Kosovo will culminate with a vote on Pristina’s bid on November 9^th. The recommendation of the 58-member Executive Board came at Albania’s request with a 32-to-26 simple majority, with 14 abstentions, and 12 votes against. The General Conference is a 195-member body, and Kosovo’s accession to UNESCO would require 2/3 majority. Of the 195 UNESCO member-states, 111 have recognized Kosovo and 84 have not.

 

NATO Expansion Will Not Provide Stability to Balkans (Sputnik)

The expansion of NATO has nothing to do with providing stability to the Balkans or Central European region, the Serbian ambassador to Russia said Tuesday.

Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over NATO’s growing military presence in Europe, warning that it could be a threat to regional and global stability. "I cannot see the expansion of NATO as any kind of a guarantee of stability for the Balkans or Central Europe. I believe Europe should be free of military alliances, be in peace, in cooperation and in good partnership," Slavenko Terzic said at a press conference held at International Information Agency Rossiya Segodnya. The alliance has been boosting its presence in Eastern Europe, implementing a plan that includes setting up six new command and control units in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic. Last month, the United States announced that it was prepared to extend an invitation to Montenegro to join NATO in December. The announcement triggered a wave of protests in the country. "As for the protests in Montenegro, I do not see any foreign interference there. These are internal protests. It is an expression of the social, economic and political discontent of Montenegrin citizens. It seems to me that the reasons for this unrest are internal," Slavenko Terzic said. It is obvious that the majority of the citizens of Montenegro are against NATO membership, he added. On October 22, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said he believed Russia was supporting the Montenegrin opposition because it wanted to stop the country’s NATO integration. Moscow dismissed the claims saying they were unfounded and "quite strange," according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

 

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.