Independence of Kosovo

BRUSSELS - It is a historical fact that NATO did not have the approval of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to bomb Serbia but the action was carried out in keeping with international law, Tanjug learnt in the NATO seat in Brussels.

Serbia "hopes to open chapter 35 by June"

VIENNA -- Tanja Miščević has stated that the accession talks with the EU may begin in June by opening Chapter 35 on normalization of relations with Priština.

After this step, chapters on the judiciary and rule of law will be opened, Miščević explained in an interview for the Vienna-based daily Kurier.

VIENNA - Chief Negotiator for Serbia's accession negotiations with the EU Tanja Miscevic stated that the accession talks with the EU may begin in June by opening Chapter 35 on normalisation of relations with Pristina.

After this step, chapters on the judiciary and rule of law will be opened, Miscevic explained in an interview for the Vienna-based daily Kurier.

President Atifete Jahjaga said she would ask the EU to set up a special court outside Kosovo to deal with war crimes committed in the 1990s, having secured all-party consent.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - Representatives of Serbs in north Kosovo called on EULEX to stop arresting Serbs until Serb judges and prosecutions are included in the Kosovo judiciary, member of the Kosovo parliament Aleksandar Jablanovic has said.

The EU rule-of-law mission said it had assisted local police in the arrest of the 32-year-old in Zupce/Zupc on Friday.

“The arrested suspect was taken to EULEX Mitrovica Logbase for further questioning. The arrest warrant was requested by UNMIK in 2011,” EULEX noted.

BELGRADE - Greece, which currently holds the EU presidency, will do all in its might to help Serbia on its EU pathway, Greek Ambassador to Serbia Konstantinos Ikonomidis stated on Friday.

Ikonomidis said at a debate held at the Belgrade Youth Center that he is honored to serve in Belgrade at the time when Serbia has engaged in the official talks on the EU accession.

On a visit to Belgrade on Thursday, Gerhard Schroeder said he believed that Serbia could join the EU by 2020, as its government was ready to undertake reforms “despite all difficulties on the pathway [to membership]."

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said during a meeting he had with ambassadors of African and Arab countries to Serbia on Thursday that he wants Serbia’s foreign policy to get back to old friendships after two decades of neglect of these relationships.

BELGRADE - Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS), Lt.Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic, and Kosovo Force (KFOR) Commander, Maj. Gen. Salvatore Farina, met in the southern Serbian city of Nis on Thursday to discuss the current situation on the ground in Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) and in the Ground Safety Zone in southern Serbia.