Kosovo

THE HAGUE - David Schwendiman, lead prosecutor at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers - set up to try crimes committed by the "Kosovo Liberation Army" - held in The Hague on Thursday his first press conference since his appointment.

He declined to speculate on the number of future indictments and on when they will be raised.

The chief prosecutor at the new special court set up to try former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters for crimes during and after the war promised he would conduct his investigations fearlessly and independently.

BELGRADE - The deputy head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija, Dusan Kozarev, on Monday presented to Chaloka Beyani, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, the concept of the Sunny Valley returnee settlement in Kosovo-Metohija and the obstacles to a greater sustainable return of IDPs.

BELGRADE - Ensuring a sustainable return to Kosovo-Metohija calls for greater engagement on returnee safety and security, as well as on the internally displaced persons' exercise of property rights, Chaloka Beyani, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, said Monday.

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic on Monday received Indian Ambassador Narinder Chauhan to discuss further improvement of all forms of cooperation, in particular in the economy.

Bilateral relations are registering a positive development, a statement released by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted them as saying.

BRUSSELS - Meeting with Kosovo FM Enver Hodzaj at the European Commission (EC) headquarters in Brussels on Monday, European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn noted the significance of progress in the process of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Belgrade's delegation said it was satisfied with an agreement reached in Brussels on Thursday during a technical round of the EU-sponsored Kosovo dialogue.

According to them, the deal "prevents the abolition of Serbian license plates in Kosovo."

BELGRADE - The director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija, Marko Djuric, will head a delegation that will participate in the continuing expert-level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels.

The technical dialogue will resume on Tuesday and continue on Wednesday, the Office announced in a statement.

BELGRADE - Kosovo has granted the rights to search for coal over one-third of its territory to a company linked to retired US General Wesley Clark, an investigation by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) partner the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) has found.

BELGRADE - Serbia will never accept Kosovo-Metohija's independence, and it meets the conditions for EU accession as long as a recognition of Kosovo is not required, Serbian presidential adviser Stanislava Pak said in a comment on a statement by German Foreign Office official Michael Roth, who said that, before Serbia's EU accession, everything must be clear regarding Kosovo.