SERBIA

DACIC AND GERMAN AMBASSADOR: VERY GOOD BILATERAL RELATIONS

BELGRADE, 9 January 2019 (Beta) - Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and the German ambassador in Belgrade, Thomas Schieb, concurred on Jan. 9 that bilateral relations were very good and characterized by developed cooperation in all fields. Dacic and Schieb recognized that there was the constant upward trend in high- and top-level dialogue, the Serbian Foreign Ministry has stated. They concurred that good relations between Serbia and Germany were reflected in economic cooperation, indicating that trade in 2018 exceeded EUR4.5 billion, the statement reads. They also stated that the two countries had very good cooperation on the multilateral plane and that they were convinced this would continue in the next two years, during Germany's membership in the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member. Schieb conveyed to Dacic the invitation of the German ministers for foreign affairs and commerce, Heiko Maas and Peter Altmeier, to participate in the Berlin Energy Dialogue on April 9 and 10.

PM: SERBIAN NATION NEEDS MUCH POLITICAL WISDOM AND COURAGE

BELGRADE, 9 January 2019 (Beta) - Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Jan. 9 that much political wisdom and courage was required for the Serbian nation not to live as the wind blew, but to live as it wished - in peace, stability and freedom and with independence to make decisions in its best interest. Speaking at a festivity marking Republika Srpska (RS) Day, Brnabic cited Serbian politician Stojan Novakovic as saying that the life of a nation must not develop in the way the wind blows, noting that the winds in this region had always been "strong winds coming both from the East and the West, which have never been naive and have somehow always been colliding and breaking here." "Today, for us there is no better warning than this sentence and our past," Brnabic noted. She further said that regardless of "the winds in this region," citizens required peace, stability, freedom, and independence in decision-making. "It is only peace and stability that will make it possible for the entire region in the future for all citizens, regardless of their nationality or confession to live more freely, have happier lives and be more sheltered from all winds," Brnabic stressed. She added that therefore Serbia would "wisely and patiently honor all its international commitments, primarily those stipulated under the Dayton Peace Accords, while not losing the sense for the required justice, independence and freedom enjoyed by RS." "For us, international law is not only a dead letter and it is not difficult for us, it has never been nor will ever be, to respect others while staying true to ourselves and to what we have inherited from the past," she noted. Brnabic said that Belgrade would honor any decision made in consensus by the three peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H), but that it would always take special care of RS citizens. Brnabic also said she would work on strengthening ties between RS and Serbia through intensified cooperation in the fields of culture and education.

DODIK: FREEDOM OF SERBS DEPENDS SOLELY ON WHETHER WE HAVE A STATE

BANJA LUKA, 9 January 2019 (Beta) - The head of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, stated on Jan. 9 that the Serbs had suffered much without their own state in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that, because of it, their freedom depended solely on whether they had their own state. During the ceremony on the occasion of Day of Republika Srpska (RS), Dodik said the creation of Republika Srpska was a decision made by people who knew how to move into the unknown and who had "sacrificed their personal well-being for the freedom of the people." He stated that those who had undermined the Dayton agreement had attacked the foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina was "not the wish of the Serbs" in that country. Dodik announced that, as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he would insist on the jurisdictions prescribed to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Constitution - not by what has been imposed. The president of RS, Zeljka Cvijanovic, said that RS was marking its 27th birthday in a stable and peaceful state and that the celebration of RS Day should not be insulting to anyone. She pointed out that the day "demonstrated the joint spirit and unity of the people" and that RS showed it was "an open society." The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, said that RS had justified its existence and wished for it to live and develop. The ceremony to mark the Day of Republika Srpska was held under the slogan "Proud and Eternal". The ceremony was attended, among others, by the officials of Serbia - Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, by Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Petar Ivancov and the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic.

VULIN: WHILE VUCIC IS PRESIDENT, RS WILL BE PROTECTED AND PRESERVED

BELGRADE, 9 January 2019 (Beta) - Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Jan. 9 that Belgrade considered Republika Srpska (RS) as its foreign policy priority, noting that while Aleksandar Vucic was Serbia's president, Republika Srpska would be protected and preserved. Speaking at a festivity in Banjaluka marking RS Day, Vulin said that as Vucic's policy "has strengthened Serbia, it will also strengthen and preserve RS," according to a release from the ministry. "Any action we take and any decision we make always takes into account how it will relate to RS," he said. Vulin also said that the Serbs were facing the threat of "a Greater Albania," which was why the resolution of the Serbian national issue must not be abandoned. "The Serbs must think in the way to include a resolution to the entire Serb national issue, regardless of where they live, but they must have a common center and must have a common political path and common political decisions. Those decisions must be made in Belgrade, must be made together by all Serbs and must be made, taking into account all the territories where the Serbs live," Vulin said. He stressed that RS had been created to prevent any possible recurrence of "the genocide in Jasenovac (Ustashi concentration camp) and the existence of RS guarantees that the Serbs will live in that region peacefully and freely as they should and as they deserve." Serbia's delegation at the festivity in RS was headed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, while the central events at Banjaluka's Krajina Square and in the Borik Sports Hall were attended by Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Serbian Army Chief-of-Staff Milan Mojsilovic.

KUBUROVIC: WE SENT PRISTINA RECORDS OF QUESTIONINGS IN IVANOVIC CASE

BELGRADE, 9 January 2019 (Beta) - The Serbian Justice Ministry has just sent to Pristina an extensive report and corresponding written records of the questioning of certain individuals in connection with the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic stated on Jan. 9. She told Television Pink that this was performed on the basis of Pristina's latest request for the questioning of certain persons in connection with the investigation of the murder of the leader of the Civic Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice, Oliver Ivanovic. "This proves that Belgrade is still prepared to cooperate and ready to respond to all requests coming from Pristina. We have no such two-way communication from Pristina's side," Nela Kuburovic stated. She said she believed this was why more substantial results in the investigation have not come about. "Had we had all the data available immediately, as was requested by the prosecution for organized crime through our requests for international cooperation, sent in January and February last year, I believe the results of the investigation would have been better today," she stated. She recollected that Belgrade sent the requests one year ago and that there had been no reply from Pristina. The minister stated there had been speculation about Belgrade never having sent such requests, stressing that there was incontestable evidence that they had been sent to Pristina. She stated that it was important that the prosecution for organized crime in Belgrade was working on this matter, as well as the Bureau for National Security, the Interior Ministry and the line services, and that this proved the state's readiness to discover both the perpetrators and those who ordered this crime.