Pristina

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).

BELGRADE - The activities in the examination of the Rudnica gravesite near Raska should continue in late March or early April depending on weather conditions, said Veljko Odalovic, head of the Belgrade delegation in the Working group in charge of cases of people gone missing during the incidents in Kosovo in 1998-1999.

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.

NEW YORK - In the meeting on Kosovo held at UN Headquarters in New York late on Monday, Serbia's outgoing Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said that any debate referring to potential change in the scope and mandate of EULEX should not bypass the UN Security Council, having in mind that UN serves as an umbrella organization for the international presence in KiM.

NEW YORK - The elections in northern Kosovska Mitrovica will go ahead and its mayor will be elected despite the fact that the recent murder and arrest of mayoral candidates contribute to an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in New York late Monday.