Balkans

BECICI - Head of the Serbian team for the accession talks with the EU Tanja Miscevic has said that the screening regarding chapter 23, which refers to the judiciary and basic rights and will probably be the starting point of the talks next year, can be expected in late June or early July, and that the Serbian team is already working on a plan for that chapter.

BELGRADE - Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubisa Dikovic and KFOR Commander in Kosovo-Metohija Major General Salvatore Farina conferred in the South base near Bujanovac on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation.

BELGRADE - Head of the Delegate Office of German Industry and Commerce for Serbia Martin Knapp invited German investors on Friday to invest in Serbia, adding that the country had the potential to be in the same category as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia.

The Delegate Office of German Industry and Commerce for Serbia will help them in that, he told Tanjug.

The UN refugee agency called on the authorities to ensure that people who fled Kosovo during the 1998-99 war have places to live and security if they choose to return home.

BECICI - Cedomir Backovic, president of Serbia's negotiating team for Chapter 23 and assistant to the minister of justice, said on Friday that the talks with the EU on the chapter referring to the judicial system and fight against corruption could start in spring next year.

BERLIN - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told the German daily Bild that the relations between Serbia and Russia are quite regular, but that Serbia's most important goal is to join the European Union (EU) as soon as possible.

Vucic also ruled out the option of Serbia recognizing Kosovo as an independent state, and left the possibility of Serbia's NATO membership open.

BRUSSELS - The EU Council extended on Thursday the mandate for the EULEX mission in Kosovo until June 14, 2016, upon the exchange of letters between Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Asthon.

BELGRADE - The visit by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to Berlin and his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel shows a new foreign policy activity of Germany, which wants to become more involved in matters concerning the Western Balkans, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Belgrade Henri Bohnet said Thursday, adding that Germany is interested in the stability of the region.

Lawyers for members of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s ‘Drenica Group’ cell, accused of assaulting prisoners during the late 1990s war, told a court hearing that their clients were not guilty.

Serbian, Belarus presidents issue joint statement

BELGRADE -- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko continued his official two-day visit to Serbia on Thursday by meeting with the country’s president, Tomislav Nikolić.

Lukashenko was welcomed in front of the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade with full state honors.