Independence of Kosovo

Serbia to "move toward EU, foster ties with Russia"

JAGODINA -- Ivica Dačić says Serbia’s national and state priorities are its road to the EU, along with fostering good relations with traditional friends at the same time.

The Serbian prosecution will investigate a police spokesperson who called on football hooligans to “fight” Belgrade peace group Women in Black after they commemorated wartime killings in Kosovo.

BELGRADE / BRUSSELS - The 23rd round of the EU-facilitated dialogue on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, expected to deal with the issues of judiciary and the setting up of the Community of Serb municipalities (ZSO), will be held in Brussels on Monday.

JAGODINA - Prime Minister of the outgoing Serbian government Ivica Dacic has said that Serbia’s national and state priorities are its road to the EU together with fostering good relations with traditional friends at the same time, adding that the position to be taken on the Ukraine crisis will have to include both these two assumptions.

BELGRADE – The Kosovo parliament declared the independence of Kosovo from Serbia in a legitimate democratic process under UN administration, after all other options were exhausted, the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade said Friday in a comment on a recent statement by U.S. President Barack Obama that an independence referendum took place in Kosovo in 2008.

MOSCOW - The authorities in Moscow are astonished by U.S. President Barack Obama’s claim that the decision to declare Kosovo independence was taken in a referendum held with the approval of the United Nations and neighboring countries.

Russia "astonished" by Obama's version of Kosovo UDI

MOSCOW -- Russia said on Friday it was "astonished" by a statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama concerning the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.

Ahead of the next round of Kosovo-Serbia talks in Brussels on normalising relations, government and opposition parties have exchanged barbs on whether last spring's accord with Serbia is delivering results.

Glauk Konjufca, a lawmaker of the opposition nationalistic Vetevendosje movement accused the government of failing to integrate the Serb-dominated northern part of Kosovo.

Serbs protest against changes to election law

GRAČANICA -- Vladeta Kostić, leader of the Citizens' Initiative Srpska Vladeta Kostić urged on Friday all Serb members of the Kosovo assembly to walk out in protest.

Olexandr Kirichenko, the chargé d'affaires of the Ukraine embassy in Serbia, told TV Nova that Ukraine is disappointed that Serbia had not taken a clear stance on the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.