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All Serbia has to do is mention Russia to EU, says Thaci (Serbian media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has said that EU officials should not "abuse" the pro-European orientation of citizens of Kosovo.

Beta reported him as saying that this pro-European orientation has been abused by individuals in the EU in order to humiliate Kosovo or delay its European perspective.

"Kosovo needs to move quickly towards a concrete European perspective, not a process that can last five, ten or 20 years," Thaci has told the Klan Kosova broadcaster.

Serwer: Vučić would make an enormous mistake not to opt for the EU chair (EuropeanWesternBalkans)

WASHINGTON – As Hoyt Brian Yee, the deputy assistant secretary of State stated yesterday that Serbia “cannot sit on two chairs at the same time,” referring to Serbia’s relations with Russia and the EU, the statement provoked many reaction.

Daniel Serwer, the director of the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies in Washington DC and former diplomat stated in his Op-ed that he agrees with the Yee’s claim, although he is more interested in the other question.

"Vucic-Yee meeting had two key points" – sources (Vecernje Novosti, Tanjug, B92)

The meeting on Tuesday between President Aleksandar Vucic and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Brian Yee "could be summarized into two key points."

According to the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti, these points are: deep disagreement over the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and continuing pressure on Serbia to abandon its close relations with Russia.

Russian Minister Says Hague Tribunal ‘Should Be Closed’ (BIRN)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia should have been shut down long ago because it is biased against Serbs.

Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, should have been shut down because it has “proved its bias and one-sidedness”, Russian news outlet Sputnik reported.

Zeman on double standards in case of Kosovo (BETA, RTS)

Czech President, Milos Zeman assessed Russian annexation of Crimea as completed act and proposed that Russia pays compensation to Ukraine for the lost territory, either financially or with raw material, BETA news agency reported.

Zeman again said Kosovo is an example of double standards, Serbian media reported.

During debate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council. Zeman quoted former German President, Joachim Gauck who said that giving Crimea back to Ukraine would cause a war in Europe.

"We won't be persuading anyone RSHC is not military base" (Sputnik, B92)

The new Russian director of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center says he has no intention of persuading anyone that the facility is not a military base.

The arrival of Viktor Gulyevich, "a Baikal commander," to Nis, a town in southern Serbia, has stirred spirits when it comes to the Center (RSHC), Sputnik said.

Gulyevich is described as a world-class rescuer and an expert on avalanches, who earned his PhD from the University of Irkutsk and worked for over 20 years in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Russia is Raising Fears of War by Sending Jets, Tanks and Armored Vehicles to Serbia (AP)

Fearful of NATO and European influence, Russia made its first promised delivery of fighter jets to Serbia this week. More military-grade vehicles and anti-aircraft defense is expected to head to the longtime Russian ally in the near future as tensions increase in the Balkans region, according to the Associated Press.

Joining the EU is a marathon, says Serbian PM (Euractive)

EXCLUSIVE / Serbia and Montenegro are seen as the two Western Balkan frontrunners to join the EU but Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić told EURACTIV.com in a wide-ranging interview that joining the soon-to-be 27-country bloc is a matter of endurance and not a competition.

“For Serbia, joining the EU is like a marathon,” Brnabić told EURACTIV. “When you run a marathon you are not competing against anyone else but yourself. In that sense, I don’t think any country should be bothered by who is the front or second runner.”

"Anti-Russian hysteria in West; Serbia under huge pressure" (Tanjug, Beta, B92)

No decision has as yet been made on diplomatic immunity for the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center (RSHC) in Serbia's southern town of Nis.

Serbian First Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said this in Moscow on Friday, and added that Serbia was under huge pressure over the issue but that it would decide in line with its own interests, Tanjug reported.