Belgrade Media Report 19 December 2014
LOCAL PRESS
Vucic and I assumed power together, and we will also depart together (NIN, by Vera Didanovic and Milan Culibrk)
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic recently caused a stir in the public by claiming that recognition of Kosovo will be a condition for EU membership. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic denied that. Who should we believe, was the first question that arose in our conversation with President Nikolic, in the middle of his presidential mandate, in which he announces, exclusively for NIN, his new, final proposal for Kosovo. “I said this for the first time at the press conference after the meeting with Commissioner Hahn. He heard that, and he said nothing against. I reiterated this in one TV broadcast, but there was a slightly wrong, perhaps even malicious, interpretation. Thus, I said – they will request this, but everybody held on to what they already did. They are right in saying that this has not been a formal condition until now, but they are not right if they say it will not become one. Well, we talked with the same person, I heard that this will be a request and I said this in a timely manner so we can agree on an approach to this. This must not make us quarrel but should unite us and I am ready to propose once again to the government what should be our final stand on the province of Kosovo and Metohija. I have been working intensively on this proposal, because we are somewhere on the edge and any yielding on our side in the following period could mean that we have agreed, somewhat tacitly, with many things,” Nikolic tells NIN.
Do you at least have a framework of this proposal?
“This will be my final proposal, which I will first discuss with the Prime Minister and the government. If we don’t reach unity, there is nothing else I can do regarding Kosovo, because I don’t have in my hands either the foreign or internal policy. But, since I won at direct elections, I am expected to always have a stand and I am ready, just as in the case of the previous platform on Kosovo, to propose an initial text and have the government tell me what is possible, what is not, and to reach a joint solution and to seek support for this in international circles as well. The completion of the EU negotiations stands above our heads as the Damocles sword – whether the condition will be recognition of an independent Kosovo and Metohija or will we be asked to behave as if there is a separate state next to us that we haven’t recognized? In many organizations, they are not even asking us anymore – Kosovo is a member of the International Olympic Committee, while there is also enormous pressure on the Council of Europe and, under the mask of human rights protection and democracy, the so-called state of Kosovo can also become a member of this organization, especially since the CoE Development Bank is already cooperating with Pristina.”
Have you discussed this with the Prime Minister?
“I discussed this in outlines with the Prime Minister a long time ago and I expect an identical stand. The issue being discussed is the timing of when we should come out with this solution, because, at least at first, we certainly will not have support for it, especially from those countries that have recognized the secession of Kosovo and Metohija. That will be a great struggle, because this will be our final concession, and for those who have recognized Kosovo, this will be taking away something on which Pristina had absolutely counted. Nobody will be satisfied with this solution, but I have always been searching for a solution that will not satisfy either Belgrade or Pristina, because this is the only realistic thing. Everything else would be contrary to democratic and civil principles of modern society. One should not neglect the UN, where we will have great support for this struggle.”
If you expect that this condition, which is unacceptable for us, will be set in the end, then why are we having negotiations with the EU at all?
“We are not negotiating only the fate of the province of Kosovo and Metohija, but also 34 other chapters, which organize our state, so it becomes the way we all want it, regardless of whether it will be part of the EU. The reality is that most of the EU member states recognize the secession of Kosovo and Metohija while our main goal is EU membership and that we would like to tell them now ‘we don’t want Kosovo independence’. They can hardly wait to hear from us ‘we don’t want’. The EU must demonstrate whether it is sincerely negotiating with us, whether it wants us or not. If the condition for membership really turns out that we need to recognize the secession of Kosovo and Metohija, then that is a sign that the EU doesn’t want us. Besides, the decision on a common foreign policy of the EU is also very difficult, and these are the two things insisted on by Johannes Hahn. The government must have a clear stand on these two issues, whether it is ready for this or not.”
You have said that you discussed with the Prime Minister Serbia’s final position in regard to the issue of Kosovo’s recognition. Still, you have announced your proposal on Kosovo?
“This will be a proposal to the government, because I don’t have the right to make proposals to the parliament, according to the Constitution. I want to share the fate with the government, because if the situation becomes bad, then it is in vain that the president is working well. Aleksandar Vucic and I assumed power together and we will also depart together, if things get bad. But, before that, I want to propose something that is the minimum on which I agree and to the maximum that the government thinks it can implement. There is no purpose in writing something that nobody can implement. That is for youths eager to be famous. Now we are debating a final solution that the EU will request, so if they are already requesting it, then why don’t we propose it? First we should harmonize it, then we should also discuss it with Pristina and the EU, because it is obvious that without a signature on such a paper we will not able to count on EU membership.”
When do you plan to submit this proposal?
“You will find out in due time. That is not a job to be done in order to fail. That job should be done in order to be completed, but the first draft could be finished very soon and I will first present it to the Prime Minister.”
What does soon mean?
“When I say soon, then it is soon. The situation is such that everybody is dreading a world war, relations between our friends in Russia and the EU have become cold. We all know the cause, we don’t know the reasons and how far they wish to go. When sabers are rattling and very serious conflicts are foreboding, and how they will end is unknown, who in the world would think of resolving the future status of the province of Kosovo and Metohija? Thus, for everything, there is the right time. And sometimes one should also look for it in international relations.”
Will you also attach to your proposal a serious area, the common EU foreign policy?
“No. I am representing Serbia, but the government determines and conducts the specific foreign policy. I think that we should all take a joint stand on Kosovo and Metohija, to be together. As far as the common foreign policy with the EU is concerned, the government is completely independent to pass the decision on this, because it also bears responsibility for this before Serbian citizens. There is not a church in which we could pray for forgiveness for introducing sanctions to Russia, because this decision would be a disaster for us. There has already been testing how Serbia would react, are there divisions among us? That is why I said that Serbia could be defeated only by the one who divides it, in order to prevent us from dividing. There are many of those who would like to divide us. Both in our neighborhood and a little further. Serbia bothers many when it becomes a favorite of the EU, Russia, China, the Emirates, and Latin America. We have the best possible position at present, and we will lose it if we start splitting. I understand that the position and the opposition ‘naturally’ quarrel, but when the people in the government start mutually quarrelling, then it is not good for Serbia.”
Reactions to Nikolic’s proposal for a final solution for Kosovo (Politika)
On the occasion of Nikolic’s announcement of his proposal for a final solution for Kosovo and Metohija, the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun thinks that the time is approaching when Serbia should come out with a proposal that would imply its view for resolving that problem. “In the game regarding Kosovo we have mostly been the guided side and solutions were imposed on us. For the first time we have an initiative with the Brussels process and the reaching of this first agreement, and we said not only what we don’t want, but also offered some solution, which has created a real Copernican turn, because those who obviously stand behind Kosovo’s secession have started to respect Serbia’s position. This is now one good preventative idea of President Nikolic, for us to start talking and reaching consensus,” opines Drecun , who agrees with the stand that unity on this issue is necessary, but “not only in the executive power but, generally, in the entire society”, and in order to have a proposal at one point when this arrives on the agenda, and to be able to impose ourselves as a side that voices initiative, to discuss our proposal, “and not for someone else to serve us their proposal and us trying to mitigate detrimental effects of this proposal”. On the other side, the Democratic Party caucus whip Borislav Stefanovic says that the Serbian President has the right to propose changes in the foreign policy and in relation to Kosovo, but that this shows that the “President is thinking increasingly in political terms and is more pronounced on positions that are contrary to Prime Minister Vucic’s”. “That would be another unrealistic, non-implementable initiative by the President on Kosovo and Metohija, which will hardly get support from the government. But this may be the outcome of the relationship between Nikolic and Vucic. The same with the situation where the President says: ‘I am a patriot, but those in the government didn’t listen to me’,” says Stefanovic, who supposes that Nikolic can propose something that would imply an international conference on Kosovo or division of Kosovo. “Both are completely unrealistic and non-implementable. Thus, it will have no effect, except for internal political,” concludes Stefanovic.
Simic: Albanians consider the matter done with IOC admission (Politika)
Asked by Politika whether this was the right moment to compose a proposal for a final solution for Kosovo if one keeps in mind that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was still ongoing in Brussels and that Serbia was not yet at the EU doors, professor at the Political Faculty Predrag Simic didn’t directly answer. “I can’t tell you what Tomislav Nikolic thinks, but I can tell what I heard over the weekend at the (NGO) conference in Budva with the Albanians. The Albanians think that the matter is done and that the beginning of Kosovo’s recognition by Belgrade was the admission in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to which Vlade Divac didn’t react and Kosovo has become an IOC member. Now they are expecting the Council of Europe, while Belgrade expects that they will give consent for the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities. But, at this moment, nobody knows what this means and I am inclined to the opinion that this can be a kind of a ‘fig leaf’ for an overall agreement on good neighborly relations, which is requested by the Germans. It seems to me now that it is only a matter of how the Union of Serb Municipalities will look like,” said Simic.
Dacic: France’s support to Serbian presidency of OSCE (RTS/Tanjug)
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said after meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that Serbia had France’s full support on the European road, as well as the Serbian presidency of the OSCE. “It is very important that Minister Fabius expressed the clear support of France for the Serbian presidency, which they believe we will perform well, and that they have made themselves available to help with all that we may need in the coming period,” said Dacic.
He said that Fabius informed him about the discussions in the European Council and the European Commission, and stressed that France once again clearly demonstrated it strongly supports Serbia on its path of European integration. “Since there was no consensus to open Chapters 32 and 35 at this time, primarily it was the stand of Germany, Minister Fabius informed me that they insisted, and it was included in the conclusions, that the expectation was expressed that first negotiating chapters will be opened very soon,” said Dacic. “This is undoubtedly another sign of our good relations and the full support of France to Serbia,” Dacic concluded.
Djuric: Reliable institutions necessary in Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug)
The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated that serious and reliable judicial institutions are necessary in Kosovo where all national communities will be represented. He said that Serbia continues to support the battle of Oliver Ivanovic for a fair trial. Djuric told a press conference that the political and judicial processes unfolding in Kosovo and Metohija, particularly the judicial proceedings against the leader of the SDP Civic Initiative and his detention, leave much room for skepticism and concern. “We need institutions that will be comprised of Serbs from Serb majority regions where all national communities will be proportionally represented in regions where they live,” said Djuric. According to him, entire Serbia is with Ivanovic, with his battle for a fair trial and battle against political persecution. “All citizens are monitoring the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, they know under what conditions Ivanovic is operating, and all those who care about justice, and rule of law expect Ivanovic to be released, acquitted, for the offered guarantees to be accepted and to enable that proceedings regarding him not to be further instrumentalized for political purposes,” concluded Djuric.
REGIONAL PRESS
SDA Presidency: Zvizdic as a mandate holder for B&H Council of Ministers (Oslobodjenje)
The Presidency of the Democratic Action Party held several hours long session in Sarajevo and elected Denis Zvizdic for a mandate holder of the Council of Ministers. “I think we made a very good choice. Denis Zvizdic led very successfully the government of the Canton of Sarajevo, and at the time when he was prime minister the budget of the Canton has doubled, he completed more than 2,000 projects, and in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), we had more than 400 cranes. Zvizdic has also been successful as a party leader, and every time he was the SDA candidate for the elections, he won the most votes at a level that he was running for, "said after the session of the Presidency of the SDA Bakir Izetbegovic, the deputy president of the party. According to him, Zvizdic was elected with 17 votes in favor and six abstained, while no one was against. Responding to a reporter’s question about second candidate for a mandate holder Adil Osmanovic, Izetbegovic said: “In a large party we always have large selections of quality proposals. Even if we would choose differently I don thing it would have been a mistake, because Adil Osmanovic would certainly be a good chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers, but it is certain that he will get the position that he deserves, the one where he can give his full contribution.” Before the start of the session, Sadik Ahmetovic the SDA Vice-President said that Adil Osmanovic would be his proposal for a mandate holder, because he thinks that this is what’s best for the SDA at this moment.
Economic cooperation improving (Srna)
The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik and Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, concluded that the economic cooperation between the RS and China is improving. During the meeting held in Belgrade, Dodik extended special gratitude to the Chinese Premier for China’s participation in the construction of the Stanari thermal power plant.
President of RS and Chinese premier expressed hope that the cooperation between RS and China in the sphere of economy will be further improved in the coming period, the Cabinet of RS President said in a statement. Dodik reminded Li that talks are already underway with Chinese companies relating to infrastructure projects in RS, which are open for the participation of Chinese investors.
B&H abolishes visas for Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Oman, UAE ... (Oslobodjenje)
The B&H Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, abolished entry visas to B&H for the citizens of ten countries. In addition to the inclusion of six countries from the white (Schengen) lists, in accordance with the regulations of European legislation: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Seychelles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the visa-free regime included Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates due to the developed bilateral relations with these countries and intensification of business contacts.
Thus, in B&H the visa-free regime allows up to 90 days stay for citizens of a total of 72 countries exempted from visa for entry, exit, transit and stay on the territory of B&H.
Fourteen other countries are exempted from the visa regime as well, with which B&H has concluded an international agreement on exemption of visa requirements for holders of certain types of travel documents. The citizens of five countries that have official and diplomatic passports, on the basis of reciprocity and business interests of B&H, are also exempt from visa requirements.
EULEX Court: Radoncic not charged or under investigation in the "Keljmendi" case, his rights are violated (Dnevni avaz)
International Judge of EULEX, at the base court in Pristina, after the hearing that was held on 2nd of December 2014, case no. SSS 86/13 (PPS 42/13), adopted a decision at the request of Fahrudin Radoncic, and the legal team led by a well-known British lawyer John Jones. The Court, decided that Radoncic “is not accused in that case", and that "he has not been charged or under investigation, in Kosovo or in Bosnia and Herzegovina" and that it "in no way was part of the investigation against Naser Kelmendi”. The Court also decided that it is a violation of his rights that “the name of Fahrudin Radoncic was included in the indictment against Naser Kelmendi despite the fact that no criminal investigation was launched against him”, that at no stage during the investigation he was interviewed and that no separate criminal proceedings are being led against him in B&H, although officials from that country actively participated in investigations conducted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office. In addition, the international judge has highlighted that the presumption of innocence was violated with incriminating statements made by public officials and before any proven criminal wrongdoing. The Court therefore ordered legal measure of no mention, verbal or written, of names of persons against whom no charges have been brought, including Fahrudin Radoncic, in a case led against Naser Kelmendi, informs the press center of SBB.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Kosovo’s Thaci: EU’s Mogherini Needed for Serbia Talks to Succeed (The Wall Street Journal, by Laurence Norman, 18 December 2014)
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, must stay directly involved in talks between Kosovo and Serbia if the dialogue is to succeed, Hashim Thaci, the country’s foreign minister, said Thursday. To lock in the reconciliation between the two former foes, Kosovo and Serbia should also start work on a second agreement in the new year, Mr. Thaci said in a sit-down with The Wall Street Journal in Brussels. Mr. Thaci, who was Kosovo’s prime minister for seven years until earlier this month, is still widely considered the country’s most powerful politician. Ms. Mogherini, who took office on Nov. 1, has placed the Balkans at the top of her agenda in her first weeks in Brussels. On Monday, she confirmed she would convene a meeting of Kosovo and Serbian leaders in January, resuming reconciliation talks that have lapsed for much of 2014. However Ms. Mogherini hasn’t said whether she will play the same role as her predecessor — Catherine Ashton — who personally led more than 20 meetings between Serbia and Kosovo leaders. Those talks helped pave the way for a landmark agreement between Pristina and Belgrade in April 2013, which sought to normalize the situation of the Serbian minority in Albanian-majority Kosovo. “I understand Mogherini has a very wide agenda, but the EU’s backyard of Balkans has to be on the top of the priorities for the EU,” Mr. Thaci said soon after meeting the EU foreign-policy chief. “If we want success, Mogherini has to be in the room at the highest meetings. She has to lead the discussions.” The Italian foreign-policy chief has her hands full as she looks to set a different imprimatur on the EU post than Ms. Ashton. While she has been on the road constantly, Ms, Mogherini has been far more involved in the work of the European Commission, the EU’s executive. She hopes thereby to combine the EU’s trade, aid and diplomatic leverage in its relations with non-EU partners. Whereas Ms. Ashton spent huge amounts of personal time on a few files — including the Kosovo talks and negotiations on halting Iran’s nuclear program — Ms. Mogherini has indicated she wants to operate more broadly. In a statement after meeting Mr. Thaci on Thursday, Ms. Mogherini said that “for the EU and for me personally this remains a high priority.” Mr. Thaci said he expects the Serbia talks to resume in Brussels in the second half of January. It is possible that he and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic will attend the meeting along as Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s new premier, Isa Mustafa. While the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue made big progress in 2013 — paving the way for the EU to start membership talks in January this year and for Kosovo to close in on a pre-accession accord with Brussels — progress has slowed this year. Elections first in Serbia and then in Kosovo in June put the dialogue on hold. Kosovo’s six-month political crisis as politicians failed to approve a new government further delayed serious work. Mr. Thaci, who met with the Serbian prime minister in New York for a long one-on-one meeting two weeks ago, said he sees work continuing in parallel on implementing the remaining gaps in the April 2013 accord and on a new agreement. Serbia has vowed never to recognize the 2008 independence of its former province. However the EU has set a normalization of ties as a precondition for the country’s entry into the EU. The EU has also said neither government should block the other on its EU path. Mr. Thaci said it will be for Ms. Mogherini to set out the reference terms for a second agreement. But he said it must include a commitment from Serbia not to block Kosovo’s membership in regional, European and global organizations. “I believe that this will be reached in the new agreement because I think it has become part of conditionality also to the Serbian path to EU integration,” he said. Kosovo is recognized by more than 100 countries, but not by Serbia, Russia and China as well as five EU member states, including Spain and Romania. Serbia insisted the 2013 agreement with Kosovo was stripped of a provision committing Belgrade not to lobby against Kosovo’s admission to global bodies such as the United Nations. Kosovo recently won membership in the Olympics, as it pushes recognition in a range of political, cultural and sporting clubs. Mr. Thaci said he hopes to attend the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, where Kosovo’s flag will fly for the first time. “I was in London, but we had no participants. In Rio, we shall cheer for our team,” Mr. Thaci said. Mr. Thaci said he hopes Kosovo will sign its pre-accession Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU in the “next months.” Brussels has said the country must make progress on rooting out widespread corruption and strengthen the rule of law. He also expressed frustration over the slow pace of talks aimed to make it easier for Kosovo citizens to travel to the EU. “I have no nostalgia for Tito,” he said, referring to the former Yugoslav strongman who died in 1980. “But it’s ironic that Kosovars were able to move more freely more than 30 years ago than today in Europe.”
Serbia Readies for OSCE Role With Russian Visit (RIA Novosti, 19 December 2014)
Ivica Dacic, Serbia's Foreign Minister, will travel to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart and discuss Ukraine on the eve of Serbia assuming the presidency of the OSCE.
As Serbia prepares to take over chairmanship of the OSCE in 2015, Ivica Dacic will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday to discuss European security and the Ukrainian conflict. “The prevailing issues are finding ways out of the European security crisis, promoting settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, creating conditions for the harmonization of integration processes and strengthening traditional values in the OSCE zone," Alexander Lukashevich, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, told RIA Novosti. Lukashevich said Moscow welcomes the "interest shown by the Serbian side to Russian approaches. "We expect from the Serbian presidency [of the OSCE] a balanced policy that would guarantee that the positions of all member states," he said. Following a visit to Moscow, Dacic, who will serve as the OSCE chairman, will travel to Ukraine to meet Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine's Foreign Minister. He stated that he aimed to meet both side, as Serbia was preparing to preside over the OSCE “in the best interest of the whole organisation, overall peace and European stability”. Dacic said that next year will be very important because of the Ukraine crisis, which he described as “the most serious crisis since the end of the Cold War. “Ukraine will be a dominant issue within OSCE in 2015 as well. In that context, the main priority of our mandate will be to encourage overall peace process,” Dacic said on Thursday. Alexander Chepurin, Russia's ambassador to Serbia, said Serbia will have much responsibility in solving the Ukraine issue while chairing the OSCE. “This is undoubtedly a challenge for Serbian diplomacy that will have to demonstrate its qualifications, objectivity and principledness," Chepurin said on December 18. Serbia’s official stance on Ukraine has been ambivalent. While it says it respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, it has refused to join EU sanctions imposed on Russia for its perceived role in fomenting the conflict. Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, told Serbia it should join EU-imposed sanctions on Russia, ahead of his Belgrade visit in late November. Hahn said Serbia's fundamental commitment to the values and interests of the EU was especially important as it is taking over chairmanship of the OSCE.
Russia confirms readiness to develop security cooperation with Serbia (TASS, 19 December 2014)
Moscow plans to develop global security cooperation with its traditional ally Serbia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement ahead of Friday’s talks between Russian and Serbian top diplomats in Moscow. The talks between Sergey Lavrov and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic are expected to focus on cooperation as part of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in view of Serbia’s presidency in 2015. “Moscow is set for close and constructive cooperation with Belgrade on all the issues of the OSCE agenda,” the Foreign Ministry says, adding that one of major tasks is to search for a way out of the European security crisis as part of Helsinki plus 40. A draft declaration of the Helsinki plus 40 was signed in December 2013 in Kiev by the foreign ministers of the OSCE member-states, including Russia. Its aim is to rebuild trust and improve efficiency of the international venue. The document laid the basis for the work on drafting a declaration by 2015, marking the 40th anniversary of the OSCE and the Helsinki Accords. However, talks were suspended for an indefinite period due to a sharp deterioration in Russia’s ties with the West amid the Ukrainian crisis, the Izvestia newspaper reported. Other important tasks are to “contribute to settling the Ukrainian conflict and creating conditions for harmonizing integration processes and strengthening traditional values on the OSCE space,” the ministry said. Foreign Ministry’s official spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia expects from Serbia’s presidency “a balanced line that ensures that all the positions of the member-states are taken into account.” The foreign ministers are also due to discuss joint cooperation in the economic and investment spheres. In January-September, the Russian-Serbian trade reached $1.54 billion, a 15.9% increase compared with the same period of 2013. The sides will also discuss the South Stream gas pipeline project which Russia abandoned on December 1 due to the European Union’s unconstructive approach to cooperation in that sphere. Lukashevich said Serbia understood Russia’s decision to scrap the project, which was aimed at diversifying deliveries of natural gas to Europe, although it “expressed some concerns.” Belgrade has also not ruled out that alternative options could be found for Serbia to be provided with reliable energy resources from Russia, he said.
Bosnia steps up security over fears of possible terrorist threats (Dalje.com, 18 December 2014)
Bosnia and Herzegovina's law enforcement agencies have stepped up security measures following assumptions that the country, being a member of an international coalition against the terrorist organisation "Islamic State", might become a target of terrorist attacks, local media reported on Thursday. The head of the directorate for coordination of police agencies, Mirsad Vilic, was quoted as saying that the directorate had stepped up security for diplomats and embassies that enjoy the protection of local police. "We are closely following all developments," Vilic told the "Dnevni Avaz" daily said. The Bosniak-Croat federation police chief Dragan Lukac confirmed that protection of various institutions had been increased. According to Bosnia's statistics, at least 150 Bosnian nationals have joined extremist forces in Syria and Iraq, and those persons are regarded as a threat to national security if they return to Bosnia.
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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.