Serbia

The Serbian Supreme Court (VSS) has rejected the Croatian Justice Ministry’s extradition request for Željko Milovanović, the court announced on Tuesday. Milanović is suspected of killing weekIy Nacional owner Ivo Pukanić.

Croatia will testify before the International Court of Justice on behalf of Kosovo in December, a move daily Novi List believes will sour relations with Serbia. Croatia’s appearance before ICJ will not be taken lightly by Belgrade, and that Zagreb is steeling itself for a negative reaction. 

Serbia’s security agencies say that the fact that Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić have still to be arrested is a “relative failure”. The security services (BIA) and military security services (VBA), which are in charge of locating the Hague indictees, say that it is a “relative failure” that Ratko Mladić …

Republic of Srpska (RS) PM Milorad Dodik said that Bosnia-Herzegovina could fall apart if the international community continues pressuring its institutions. Dodik said that the international community is “constantly working on violating the sovereignty of Bosnia and the two entities, as well as their institutions”.

President Boris Tadic will spend Monday and Tuesday on an official visit to Hungary. There, he will meet with the country’s top officials and ethnic Serb community representatives. Tadic will hold meetings in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Solyom, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai and Speaker of the Parliament Bela …

Serbia’s Justice Ministry has announced that the Constitutional Court will be relocated from Belgrade to the town of Sremski Karlovci in 2010. In an interview with Tanjug news agency, the ministry’s state secretary, Slobodan Homen, explained that the decision comes as part of a wider effort to decentralise the state …

Kosovo is an independent country and Serbia should accept that, said spokesperson of Kosovo government Memli Krasnici, referring to the question whether over the practical benefits, which the regional co-operation brings, the official representatives of Belgrade and Pristina should stop insisting on forms and symbols at international level.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says that all the Balkan states should become EU member-states. “Hurdles remain, but our political position is very clear,“ Kouchner said, adding that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had said as much, “also unambiguously,“ to Serbian President Boris Tadić.

EU Special Envoy to Kosovo Pieter Feith has called on Serbs to participate in the local elections in Kosovo scheduled for November 15. Feith expects higher turnout in this election, adding that the results will have to be honored. “According to polls, we expect higher turnout this time round. The …

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić says that the countries of the Western Balkans have not a second to waste now that the Irish have adopted the Lisbon Treaty. After meeting with a number of foreign ministers in Budapest, Jeremić said that a summit of the European Union and Western Balkan countries …