Kosovo

BRUSSELS - Representatives of Belgrade and Pristina have managed to bring their positions closer on the judiciary, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has said, announcing that an agreement will be finalised in the coming days.

LEPOSAVIC - Around 200 workers of the Lola forging factory in Lesak, Kosovo-Metohija, gathered in protest on Wednesday near the Jarinje crossing in the north of the province after their company's bank account has been blocked.

The workers want the bank account to be unblocked.

BRUSSELS - A new round of talks between Belgrade and Pristina, facilitated by European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, commenced in Brussels Wednesday.

Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for Ashton, said the European foreign policy chief is currently having a joint meeting with Serbian Prime minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci.

BELGRADE - The arrest of Kosovo Serb political leader Oliver Ivanovic - whom the Serbian government wants to be released pending trial - will be one of the topics of Wednesday's round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the head of the government press office, Milivoje Mihajlovic, has said.

BELGRADE - The Bosnian scenario is not looming over Serbia, and the elections will not affect the negotiations with the European Union, said Hannes Swoboda, president of the faction of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (EP).

BRUSSELS - The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina facilitated by European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will resume in Brussels on Wednesday.

Heading the Serbian delegation will be Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

BELGRADE - Solving the cases of the 351 unidentified remains in the Pristina morgue constitutes a priority in 2014, officials stated at the Tuesday meeting of the Working group in charge of cases of people gone missing during the incidents in Kosovo in 1998-1999.

The working group established that as few as 45 cases were solved in 2013.

BRUSSELS - Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, called on Belgrade and Pristina on Tuesday to find effective ways to resolve the fate of missing persons from Kosovo-Metohija (KiM).

BELGRADE - Certain progress has been made in calming the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, Milivoje Mihajlovic, the head of the Serbian government's press office said on Tuesday, adding that he expects Oliver Ivanovic and Dragoljub Delibasic to be released pending trial.

BELGRADE - The New Democratic Party (NDS) set up initiative committees in all Serb-populated areas in Kosovo-Metohija which will consistently support protection of interests of the Serb community in the area and creation of conditions for establishment of inter-ethnic trust, reconciliation and co-existence of Serbs and Albanians.