Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has said that Belgrade is committed to normalizing relations with Pristina, but recognizing the independence of Kosovo, proclaimed unilaterally by ethnic Albanians, has never been a topic of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels.

We have taken on commitments regarding Pristina that we have honored, Vucic said in an interview for the German daily Die Welt, adding that the pledges from Brussels had not been easy to communicate politically to the Serbian people.

FRANKFURT - Activities of Kosovo's privatization agency undermine the foundations upon which the Serb community in the province is built, Director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric said Friday.

For that reason, one of the priorities is to resolve the matter of privatization agency's actions which judicial bodies in the province have characterized as criminal, Djuric said in an interview to the Serbian-language daily Vesti, published in Frankfurt.

PRISTINA - A groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday in the village of Ugljare, situated between the municipalities of Kosovo Polje and Gracanica, marked the beginning of construction of the Pristina-Djeneral Jankovic-Skopje highway.

Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci said at the ceremony that this is one of the most important projects that connects people and boosts economic development.

The highway will bear the name of the prominent Albanian intellectual and politician from Macedonia, Arber Dzaferi, said Taci.

BELGRADE - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Serbia will continue cooperating with state institutions on the issues of refugees and displaced persons, Head of Mission Peter Burkhard said in talks with Director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric.

Djuric and Ambassador Burkhard considered ways for overcoming the problems facing refugees, including cooperation with the OSCE on ensuring the return and sustainable stay in the province, the Office for KiM said.

The return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo-Metohija has been overshadowed by political events in the recent period, and the rate of returns is unsatisfactory, the head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija Marko Djuric has said.

At Monday's meeting with Peter Due, a representative of the UN Secretary-General and the head of the UN Office in Belgrade, Djuric said that the return of IDPs should be approached in a new way.

Archimandrite Sava Janjic said that whistling of the "Zavetnici" members during the speech of the President of Serbia in Gazimestan, is an organized provocation by those "who mostly did not show respect for the holy place and the moment."

Janjic said that members of the organization "Zavetnici" were chanting during speech of the Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic at Gazimestan, not the people who gathered to hear his speech.

BELGRADE -- Dejan Pavićević says the fact he was banned from entering Kosovo constitutes "serious obstruction of the implementation of what has been agreed in Brussels."

Belgrade's liaison officer in Priština, who was prevented from entering the province by the Kosovo authorities, "urged the EU and international community to solve the issue as soon as possible."