Veljko Odalovic

"Property in Kosovo should be topic during dialogue"

BELGRADE -- During the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Trepca should not be a topic - instead, Serbia's property in Kosovo and Metohija should be discussed, says an official.

BELGRADE - The fate of 1,655 people gone missing in Kosovo during the clashes in 1998 and 1999 remains unresolved, the Working Group in charge of missing persons stated at its 38th meeting on Tuesday.

BELGRADE - Seputy Prosecutor for War Crimes Dragoljub Stankovic said on Wednesday that the investigation concerning 14 cases against members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspected of committing war crimes had been completed, and that Interpol arrest warrants had been issued on 95 people, but that the authorities in Pristina were doing nothing regarding their extradition.

BELGRADE - Elections for the members of national minority councils will be held at 881 polling stations in Serbia, including one in Northern Kosovska Mitrovica, said Veljko Odalovic, Deputy Secretary of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) on Thursday.

BELGRADE - Representatives of EULEX and the Serbian government's commission on missing persons have exchanged the remains of three Serbs and 12 ethnic Albanians, Veljko Odalovic, chairman of the Serbian commission, said on Tuesday.

BELGRADE - Members of the Serbian parliament Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and representatives of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) called on representatives of national minorities in Serbia on Thursday to register in special electoral rolls and vote in the elections for national minority councils on October 26.

BELGRADE - Serbia is absolutely committed to the search for a solution to the missing persons' issue and not a single body or individual has ever done anything to prevent it, President of the Commission on Missing Persons of the Government of the Republic of Serbia Veljko Odalovic said ahead of the conference on the matter due to take place in Mostar on Friday.

RUDNICA - The bodies of 16 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), recovered at Rudnica, near Raska, were transported on Friday to the Merdare administrative crossing to be handed over to EULEX officials.

Serbia's Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, said that Serbia is about to appoint 20 new ambassadors, including to US and China, in the next four months.

The initial plan was to appoint ten new ambassadors to posts in July. However, Dacic told the daily newspaper Danas on August 8 that there had been a delay after the ministry realised the number needed to be doubled.

RASKA - The search for the bodies of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo has continued on a third location in the Rudnica quarry near Raska, central Serbia.

The chairman of the Serbian government commission on missing persons Veljko Odalovic said on Thursday that two other locations there will be searched as well.