Independence of Kosovo

BELGRADE - The head of the Office for Kosovo-Metohija Marko Djuric will meet with European Commission officials in Brussels on Monday to discuss topics relevant to the situation in Kosovo-Metohija following the recent elections there.

BELGRADE - United States Vice President Joseph Biden has congratulated Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on being elected to the post, adding that the US will continue to back his government's efforts to make Serbia a factor of stability in the Balkan region and beyond.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia Eldar Hasanov called on Friday for further improvements in the relations between the two countries in all the areas of mutual interest.

The two discussed the current issues regarding the cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan.

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.

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.

Serbia "respects Russia, but wants to join EU"

BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vučić has told German and Swiss newspapers that Serbia "respects Russia as a great power and a partner, but that its goal is to join the EU."

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.

Ambassador appointed to Serbia's mission to NATO

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić has appointed Miomir Udovički as Serbia's ambassador and head of the country's mission to NATO in Brussels.

The decree on Udovički's appointment was published in the latest edition of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.

Ivo Viskovic, a former Serbian ambassador to Germany, says Vucic's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday will focus on Serbia's EU integration process.

According to him, Serbia can expect German help on its path to EU membership. "This help would be mainly of an advisory and economic character through stimulating German investment in Serbia," Viskovic told BIRN.

BELGRADE - Vladeta Kostic, head of the electoral headquarters of the Serb list in Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), has said that he and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic have agreed that a meeting should be held between representatives of the list and the prime minister to decide about the participation of Serbs in the Kosovo government.