Headlines
- Prime Minister Dodik yesterday received Mrs. Elizabeth Rehn, the UN SG SR for BH
- The White House and Kremlin assess the Yeltsin-Milosevic meeting as a step forward and as the best agreement possible at the moment
- The German Government donates 22 vehicles to the RS Ministry of Interior
Following yesterday’s session of the RS NA, Mrs Elizabeth Rehn today met with Prime Minister Dodik on the reconstruction of the RS police. The meeting focused on the formation of a multi-ethnic police force in BH. Rehn claimed that a multi-ethnic police force was an obligation deriving from the Dayton Agreement, and that the conferences in London, Bonn and Luxembourg all discussed the issue. Mrs Elizabeth Rehn assessed yesterday’s session of the RS NA as “interesting.”
1:08
SRNA quotes news reports form Greek media assessing the ongoing visit of the RS President to this country as very successful and noting that not many statesmen have so far had the opportunity to meet with the entire Greek political leadership during one visit alone. The meetings so far expressed a high level of understanding between the two countries on a number of issues, including Kosovo. President Plavsic is now expected to meet with the Greek Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister tomorrow and with Greek religious leaders the day after.
2:06
World media today heavily report on yesterday’s meeting between Slobodan Milosevic and Boris Yeltsin and on the contents of their joint statement issued after the meeting in Moscow. State and independent media in Belgrade today stress that out of the nine articles of the joint declaration, the most important are those pertaining to the commitment of the Yugoslav leadership to continue with political dialogues on Kosovo and their refusal to withdraw police and military forces from the area.
2:13
The Russian Foreign Minister, Primakov, today described the Moscow declaration on Kosovo signed between the FRY and Russia as the best agreement possible at the moment. On the presence of police and military in the area, Primakov stressed the commitment voiced by President Milosevic to withdraw not only the military forces, but also the police after the cessation of terrorist acts in the area.
0:33
Members of the Russian House of Commons today accused NATO of preparing an invasion against Kosovo assessing that the recent NATO air manoeuvres in Albania and Macedonia represented a violation of the agreement that had been signed between Russian and NATO last year.
0:15
The Spokesperson for the U.S. Ministry of Defense, Bacon, described yesterday’s meeting between Yeltsin and Milosevic as “an important step forward but not the end of the road”. American officials claim that the U.S. and its allies will continue considering the adoption of a UN resolution allowing the use of all means to end the Kosovo crisis.
0:27
The NATO Council today assessed that while President Milosevic had made certain positive promises in Moscow yesterday, he had, however, failed to meet the clear request by the Contact Group to withdraw police forces from the area. This is why NATO is continuing to plan exercises and possible military actions there.
0:18
The Montenegrin Parliament today adopted a resolution asking for the withdrawal of Montenegrin troops from Kosovo and condemning the policy of President Milosevic on the issue.
0:38
Dietmar Schle, the representative of the German Government for the return of refugees, today officially delivered 22 vehicles to the RS Ministry of Interior as a donation of this country.
3:05
The Spokesperson for the RS Socialist Party, at a press conference today, stressed that the election of a socialist, Petar Djokic, as the Speaker of the RS Parliament was a great honour for the Party which would make the SP RS even more responsible for the future of the RS. Radojcic welcomed the recent declaration by the HR on the establishment of special relations between BH and the European Union.
2:56
A donation agreement worth DM 1 million was signed between the RS Ministry of Finance and the German Government in Banja Luka today. The donation money will cover the expense of necessary technical equipment and personnel training within the Ministry.
0:29
A Spokesperson for the High Representative, Duncan Bullivant, today described protests by citizens of Srbinje against the arrest of Milorad Krnojelac as politically harmful. Bullivant voiced the High Representative’s satisfaction over the operational part of the work of the RS NA and spoke about the activities of an OHR official, Andreas Herdina, aimed at ensuring the normal functioning of local authorities in Drvar after the incident of 21st May. On the common passports issue, Bullivant expressed OHR’s disappointment over the new postponement of the start date for issuing common passports.
1:36