25 February 2010.

The countries of the region do not partake with same intensity in the battle against organized crime, but Serbia is the leader in that endeavor, stated President Boris Tadic in an interview to the VREME weekly. He assessed that the nationality plays not decisive role in crime, so all countries of the region must joint the systematic struggle against it. Sandra Pekic has prepared the Press Review.

Speaking of the Kosmet issue, the Serbian President has repeated that a solution needs to be found, acceptable for both sides, which can only be reached through negotiations, so he stressed that Serbia will do everything to resolve that problem before joining the EU. “We do not wish for an eternal conflict that would again jeopardize our national and civil interests”, said Tadic, while announcing new initiatives after the decision of the International Court of Justice, aimed at reaching the compromise solution. Tadic told the VREME that it would have been ideal to reach a consensus in the Serbian Parliament regarding the resolution on Srebrenica. “It is very important part in the transformation of our society into a civil one, and the condemnation of the horrible war crime that has become a symbol of suffering in the wars of 1990s will also mean the distancing from the perpetrators who had been claiming to do it on behalf of the Serbian people”, concluded President Boris Tadic.

The BLIC daily writes that Spain supports the Serbian policy towards Kosmet and its participation in the regional gatherings. This paper reports that the pressure on  Serbia and testing of its stances in this regard, including whether Serbia is ready to give up on leaving all the gatherings where representatives of the Pristina authorities are appearing in their full capacity, is growing in awaiting for the opinion of the International Court of Justice. During the meeting of heads of diplomacy in Madrid, Vuk Jeremic from Serbia and Miguel Angel Moratinos from Spain, as BLIC finds out, Serbia was guaranteed that there would be no official gatherings in the organization of the EU, chaired by Spain, nor as part of the regional cooperation, where the previously established rules will not be adhered to, in view of the participation of Pristina representatives only under the sign UNMIK-Kosmet.

Italian Ambassador to Serbia Armando Varricchio has announced for the DANAS daily a strong support of Rome to the Serbian candidacy for the membership in the EU. Serbia is a natural part of the European family, due to our common history and its regional importance, underlined Varricchio. He also added that the EU is not asking Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosmet, while reminding that five other EU member-states have not done it. The Italian Ambassador expressed satisfaction over the fact that his country is the first of EU members to have signed the Agreement on Strategic Partnership with Serbia, which demonstrates that the two countries wish to expand their cooperation in the fields of economy, politics and culture.