REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT WEXLER VISITS BELGRADE
Representative Robert Wexler (D- Fla.), a member of the House of Representative's Serbia Caucus, paid an official visit to Belgrade November 30-December 2, 2004. Congressman Wexler was the first member of the Serbian Caucus to visit Serbia since the caucus’s forming in September 2004.During the visit, Representative Wexler met with high level officials from the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia, including Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, Minister of Defense Prvoslav Davinic, President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Speaker of the Parliament Zoran Sami and other officials. Discussions focused on numerous current issues in Serbia and Montenegro-U.S. bilateral relations as well as those of regional interest.
President Boris Tadic and congressman Wexler, underlined that Serbia's accession to Europe-Atlantic integrations would have been much faster if it respected the international rules and its obligations, primarily, if it cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Serbia would thus enable its friends in the United States to act more efficiently, said Wexler. Tadic stressed that a better cooperation would provide Serbian friends in the U.S. Congress with stronger arguments in their search for support to Serbia's ambition to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.
During the meeting with Prime Minister Kostunica, Congressman Wexler said that he was a friend of Serbia and that he wanted to became the member of Serbian Congressional Caucus and thus help the people of Serbia. The Serbian Caucus has both substantial and symbolic importance for the promotion of bilateral relations between Serbia and US, said Wexler. Prime Minister Kostunica reiterated the importance of preservation of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, saying that this is in the best interest both of the region and Europe as a whole. He also expressed the Serbia’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integrations.
Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic talked with Wexler about fulfilling of Serbia-Montenegro's obligations toward the ICTY and about Kosovo and Metohija. Placing emphasis on Serbia-Montenegro's obligations toward the tribunal in The Hague, Wexler confirmed that this issue was indirectly connected with future talks about the status of Kosovo, because the position of Serbia is different as a state, which is on the path toward European integration.
Serbia-Montenegro Defense Minister Prvoslav Davinic talked with Wexler about the reform of the security sector, the state union's cooperation with the ICTY and its accession to the NATO Partnership for Peace Program.
FIVE U.S. SENATORS VISIT SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
A five member delegation from the U.S. Senate, headed by Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, arrived on Nov. 9 on a visit to Serbia and Montenegro, in the course of which they met with top state union officials and with the business community and the nongovernmental sector. Aside from Senator Smith, the delegation members were Republican senators George Voinovich of Ohio, Charles Grassley of Iowa, Michael De Wine of Ohio and Michael Enzi of Wyoming. The U.S. senators discussed issues of bilateral and regional importance with officials in Belgrade and Kotor. The delegation's visit emphasized the continuation of the partnership between the U.S. and Serbia-Montenegro and was an opportunity for dialog on key bilateral and multilateral issues.
During the meeting with President Marovic, Senator George Voinovich made it known to the authorities and people of Serbia-Montenegro that the country was at a turning point, and that it would miss its chance for improving the economy and life in general if it did not overcome the problem of cooperation with The Hague Tribunal.
"If the problem of cooperation with the Tribunal is not overcome, the people of Serbia-Montenegro will miss an opportunity for improving the economy and for a better life," Voinovich said. He stressed he would like to see Serbia-Montenegro become a member of NATO, as well.
President Marovic said Serbia-Montenegro must meet its obligations in cooperation with The Hague Tribunal so that it can receive support from the U.S., which, as he said, has been suspended at present and stalled at all levels.
Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic informed the US senators about our country's problems, the tragic position of the Kosovo Serbs and his "three Es" formula for the resolution of the Kosovo problems (the first E is the European level of the protection of minority rights in Kosovo, the second E is the European model of decentralization, including self-rule for the Serbs, and the third E is European status and quality of the region states’ borders with Serbia and Montenegro).
Smith pointed out that the participation of the Kosovo Serbs in the political processes in Kosovo is of crucial importance for the resolution of the problems in the province. He noted that following talks with Serbia and Montenegro officials he realized that the people in Serbia and Montenegro aspire towards prosperity and security, which, as he said, "goes along" with European integration.
The US senators told Minister Draskovic that Belgrade can count on the support of the international community and the United States if Ratko Mladic and the four generals appear before the tribunal in The Hague and if the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs get involved in the province's politics. If the generals go to The Hague and if the Serbs get involved in the processes in Kosovo, then Serbia and Montenegro will have the support of the international community, including the United States, and if not - then it will be very hard to achieve the desired progress, Smith warned.
Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica repeated the government's resolution to cooperate with The Hague Tribunal, adding that it was necessary to take into account the stability in the country during the process.
In conversation with the delegation of senators, who pointed out that it was necessary for Belgrade to cooperate with The Hague Tribunal, Kostunica said the best way would be the voluntary surrender of indictees.
Kostunica underlined that Serbia and Montenegro was dedicated to European integrations, and that the Feasibility Study should be completed in the spring of next year.
During the talks, Prime Minister Kostunica laid special emphasis on the difficult position of the Serbian and non-Albanian inhabitants of Kosovo, stating that they were deprived of their fundamental human rights, above all, the right to freedom of movement.
During the meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic, the U.S. senators declared that there were two key conditions for Serbia-Montenegro's Euro Atlantic integrations - full cooperation with The Hague Tribunal and resolution of Kosovo’s status.
"The two main obstacles to the progress of the Serbian and Montenegrin people are four indicted generals and a very real need for Kosovo Serbs to take part in the processes in Pristina," Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon said.
Senator George Voinovich of Ohio said he was well acquainted with the circumstances in the Balkans, that he frequently stayed in the region and was personally interested in economic prosperity and progress in Serbia and Montenegro.
Speaking of Kosovo, Voinovich criticized the behavior of UNMIK and KFOR during the March outbreak of violence in Kosovo, saying he had personally followed the events in Kosovo and appealed to the then UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri to resign.
As part of the visit by a Senatorial delegation to Belgrade, a group of senators’ spouses, led by Mrs. Sharon Smith, the wife of senator Gordon Smith, accompanied by Mrs. Hallie Polt, the wife of US Ambassador to Belgrade, and Mrs. Jelica Vujacic, the wife of the Serbia and Montenegro ambassador to Washington, visited the Mosa Pijade orphanage in Belgrade.
The delegation presented a collection of books for the orphanage's library as well as other gifts for the children.
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO AND U.S. SIGN AGREEMENT ON THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
On Sept. 24, 2004, representatives of Serbia Montenegro and the U.S. Commission for International Cultural Property Protection signed an Agreement on the Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties.The agreement was signed in New York by Serbia and Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and the Chairmen of the Commission Ambassador Warren Miller.
The Commission has signed similar agreements with 20 European states. The Commission's goal is the protection of memorials in states where minorities were persecuted during WWII.
In his remarks after the signing ceremony, Ambassador Miller said that concluding of this agreement reaffirmed to the world that there was a “New Serbia” that was eagerly engaging with the world, and was taking steps to recognize and protect the rights of all of its cultural minorities.
The Agreement signed committed the US governments to protect, assist preservation efforts, and prevent discrimination with respect to the cultural sites of all ethnic and religious groups.
The Agreement set forth a commitment by two respective governments to work together on cultural matters, particularly with respect to the protection and preservation of sites associated with groups that were victims of genocide during World War II. It stressed that two nations were dedicated to the preservation of their cemeteries, places of worship, Holocaust memorials and other sites of importance. It also provided the framework for the protection of a broad range of other cultural and historic sites.
Earlier on, Miller said that the Commission, in association with the Belgrade government, would chose locations and projects that fit the requirements for reconstruction.
WWII VETERANS DELEGATION VISITS SERBIA
Four American veterans, Clare Musgrove, Art Jiblian, George Vujnovich and Robert Wilson, visited Serbia on the invitation from Foreign Minister Draskovic on the occasion of the marking of the 60th anniversary of Operation "Halliard" in which members of the Royal Yugoslav Army in the Homeland under the command of General Dragoljub Mihailovic rescued more than 500 U.S. airmen, brought down over Serbia by the German occupier on return flights from bombing missions against oil installations and German garrisons in Romania. The rescue of the U.S. airmen involved small unit actions against German troops and put at risk entire Serb villages that sheltered the U.S. personnel. U.S. airmen bear testimony to the significant sacrifices of local Serb villagers who fed, cared for and protected them, in some cases up to six months.On September 12, 2004, the war veterans attended the unveiling of the commemorative plaque at the village of Pranjani where General Mihailovic's forces built an airfield to evacuate the rescued Allied airmen. Because of the Operation, as well as the overall contribution to the Allied victory in World War II, President Truman posthumously awarded General Mihailovic the "Legion of Merit", the highest war decoration awarded by the United States to foreigners.
In addition to Foreign Ministers Draskovic and Defense Minister Davinic, U.S. veterans and their Serbian comrades-in-arms/rescuers also spoke at the ceremony.
U.S. RELIGIOUS LEADERS CONDEMN DEMOLITION OF CHURCHES IN KOSOVO
On Aug. 9, 2004, members of a delegation of religious communities from the U.S. visiting Belgrade condemned the destruction of Christian churches in Kosovo, and expressed solidarity with Christian and other minorities expelled from Kosovo and Metohija. The delegation – which included Reverend Robert Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Reverend Michel Faulkner, Senior Pastor, Central Baptist Church (New York City); William J. Murray, Chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition; Colonel Fred Peterson, USMC (Ret.) and Father Keith Roderick, Christian Solidarity International – had visited number of damaged and destroyed religious sites in Kosovo.
Members of the U.S. delegation, who arrived in Belgrade upon the invitation of Serbia-Montenegro foreign minister Vuk Draskovic, said much had to be done in the building of a multiethnic and pluralist Kosovo and announced that, upon their return to the U.S., they would organize the collection of aid for the reconstruction of demolished churches.
The leader of the Baptist Church in the state of New York and activist for civil rights of African Americans Michael Faulkner, said the attacks against the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 could not be compared with the destruction of churches in Kosovo, expressing concern and explaining that attacks on churches were attacks on the Christian religion.
"Freedom of religious confession must exist. Upon returning to the U.S., we will organize the reconstruction of destroyed churches, not out of solidarity, but as a message to the world that such acts shall not be tolerated," Faulkner said at a press conference, held at the Foreign Ministry.
Members of the U.S. delegation said they would actively observe the situation in Kosovo and pass information about it to the White House and the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.
The delegation also met with Serbian president Boris Tadic and the head of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic.
After the meetings in Belgrade, the members of the delegation, headed by the president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy Joseph Grieboski, visited Kosovo, where they met with the representatives of Kosovo Serbs as well as with Albanian officials, discussing the overall situation on the ground and the destruction of U.S. Delegation at the Gracanica Monastery religious sites during the March riots of 2004.
Baptist minister from New York Michael Falkner said that during the walk he took in Prizren he had felt for the first time in his life racism among people of the same color. “For the first time during my walk in Prizren last night I saw racism among people who have the same color of the skin, who have the same physiognomy, who look very much alike”, said Falkner. He also said he could not understand the reason for the negative attitude towards the delegation of high-ranking religious leaders from the United States visiting the province until he saw the ruins and the destroyed Orthodox temples. Masses started to surround us and it was something unforgettable, because for the first time I saw racism among white people, said Falkner, adding that he was deeply hurt when he observed fear on the faces of his friends. The U.S. delegation had visited the burnt Monastery of Devic near Srbica, Osojane, the Visoki Decani Monastery, Prizren and the Monastery of Holy Archangels.
PRESIDENT OF SERBIA VISITS THE USA
Washington, July 21, 2004 – In his first tripl abroad, the newly elected President of Serbia Boris Tadic visited the United States July 16-21. – During his week long stay in Washington, Chicago and Aspen, the President of Serbia had meetings with top US officials, prominent members of Congress and the business community. In Washington, Mr. Tadic conferred with US Vice President Richard Cheney, US Secretary of State Collin Powell, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He met over twenty Congressmen and Senators including Senate Majority and Minority leaders senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschale respectively, senators Voinovich and Biden, prominent members of the House International Relations Committee, as well as members of the Helsinki Commission. President Tadic also had talks with the President of the World Bank Mr. James Wolfenson.
The talks with the US administration officials and Congressmen focused on a wide range of bilateral and other issues. President Tadic conveyed a message that the people of Serbia are fully committed to a democratic and Euro Atlantic future. At the same time, Serbia recognizes the importance of complying with its international obligations, he added. Referring to Kosovo and Metohija and the precarious situation of the non Albanian minorities there, Tadic pointed to the plan for decentralization adopted by the Serbian parliament as a possible framework for resolving problems in the province. His country supports the dialogue with Kosovo Albanians, Tadic reiterated.
“We have received strong support for further development of democratic processes in Serbia and Montenegro”, said Tadic after his meeting with US Vice President Cheney.
US Secretary of State Collin Powell and Serbian President Boris Tadic discussed a series of topics, including Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, Kosovo and Metohija, regional stability in the Balkans, and the economic cooperation between the two countries. Addressing the reporters after the meeting, Powell said that it was a pleasure to welcome Boris Tadic and to congratulate him on his impressive victory at the recent presidential elections. “It was a win for the people of Serbia, as the people of Serbia clearly have now stated through this election that they want reforms to continue”, Secretary Powell said. The US would do everything to help Serbia on its way to the EU and the Partnership for peace, he stated. The two top officials agreed that Serbia’s cooperation with the International criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia is important for the country’s future and political stability. With regards to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, Powell repeated the US position that certain standards have to be met before launching any dialogue on the future status of the province. 
After the meeting with the US Secretary for Defense Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, the President of Serbia praised the support of the USA in the process of military reforms in Serbia and Montenegro. The two countries now have several joint programs including the cooperation between the National Guard of Ohio and the armed forces of Serbia and Montenegro. “I would also like to say that the support of Admiral Johnson during the March ethnic violence against the Serb minority in Kosovo was very helpful to us” Tadic added. “As former Minister of Defense, President Tadic made good progress on defense reform in his country and we certainly are anxious to continue our cooperation and to work closely with you and your country” Secretary Rumsfeld said.
The meeting with U.S. Ambassador for War Crimes Pierre-Richard Prosper focused on finding and transferring general Ratko Mladic to The Hague. Ratko Mladic is the key to everything, said Prosper, adding that if he gets transferred to the Hague Tribunal some trials may be transferred to domestic courts, including that against four generals. "Our meeting focused on Ratko Mladic's transfer, which is the prerequisite for cooperation with the European Union and the international community in general”, underlined Tadic following his meeting with Ambassador Prosper.
President Tadic began his stay in USA by attending the World Business Forum in Aspen. Introduced by the Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson as “the best news in politics this year”, Tadic called on leading global companies to invest in the Serbian economy. During his stay in the US, President of Serbia also visited Chicago where he met top state officials including the Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich and members of the large Serbian community.
In an interview with U.S. network CNN, President Tadic said that the aim of his visit to the United States was to secure new business projects in Serbia. "We want support for direct investments in our country," said Tadic. Recalling that U.S. companies are currently the biggest investors in the Serbian economy, Tadic said that during his visit to the United States he had successful meetings with representatives of a number of U.S. companies. Responding to a direct question of whether former commander of the Republic of Srpska Army general Ratko Mladic will be located, arrested and transferred to the International Criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Tadic said that Mladic will be transferred to the Hague Tribunal and that Serbia has to face war crimes determinedly. “Serbia has to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal. There is a consensus among political parties on the issue and there is no longer a problem there”, said Tadic.
GREGORY RUSOVICH OF NEW ORLEANS NAMED HONORARY COUNSEL OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
May 31, 2004 - In a fitting tribute to a family with long and historic roots in New Orleans, Ambassador Ivan Vujacic has appointed New Orleans businessman Gregory Rusovich honorary counsel of Serbia and Montenegro. Rusovich is chief executive and president of TransOceanic Shipping Co., the freight-forwarding company capable of literally moving mountains.
We are honored to have such a distinguished businessman and civic leader as Gregory Rusovich represent Serbia and Montenegro in the region, Vujacic said.
The appointment humbled Rusovich, who said it's a tribute to his late grandfather and father.
His grandfather, Basil Rusovich Sr., was an 1890s-era immigrant from Montenegro who served as honorary general counsel for the kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1945. His father, the late Basil Rusovich Jr., served as personal envoy in New Orleans of the exiled King Peter II of Yugoslavia until the monarch's death in 1970.
Gregory Rusovich, a 1981 graduate of Tulane University, is a board member of the World Trade Center and vice president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission in addition to a long list of civic contributions. He received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000 and was featured in CityBusiness' Le Grand Executif series in October 2003.
DELEGATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS OF THE US CONGRESS VISITS SERBIA
April 14, 2004 - Delegation of professional staff members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, headed by Mr Patrick Prisco, professional staff member in the House International Relations Committee - Subcommittee for Europe visited Serbia and head meeting with Serbian top officials, as well as the NGO representatives.
Serbian Parliament President and Acting President of Serbia Predrag Markovic discussed with a delegation of staff members the political situation in Serbia, the drafting of a new constitution, presidential elections and the situation in Kosovo. Markovic expressed his expectation that Serbia will have a democratically elected president by the end of June, that the situation in Kosovo will get stabilized, with a full understanding and cooperation of the international community, and that the country will get a new constitution. This way, said Markovic, Serbia would become a factor of stability in the Balkans and an even better partner of the United States, the press release said.
The main topic of the talks of US Congress Staffers with Serbia and Montenegro Minister of Human and Minority Rights was the project of decentralization in Kosovo and Metohija ."Decentralization is not a demand for the division of Kosovo and Meothija along ethnic lines, but the implementation of international democratic standards, which are aimed at making possible a safe life for all living in the territory, as well as the return of refugees from the region," Lajjic told the US delegation. "If there are no institutional guarantees for members of all the communities living in Kosovo and Metohija, it will soon become monoethnic," Ljajic cautioned.
NEW GOVERNMENT OF SERBIA APPOINTED
Belgrade, March 2, 2004 – A new government of Serbia was formed today, led by former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, after two months of negotiations between the parties elected to the Serbian Legislature on Dec. 28, 2003.
Miroljub Labus of G17 Plus was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of the country's European integration efforts.
The Democratic Party of Serbia, of which Kostunica is the president, got nine posts, G17 Plus can count on four of which one will go to the Social Democratic Party, and the Serbian Renewal Movement New Serbia coalition got another four seats in the government.
In his keynote address (full text) to the Serbian Assembly, the Prime Minister said that his government's priorities would be the resolving of Serbia's status as a republic and a member of the union of Serbia-Montenegro, the building of institutions, establishing the rule of law, and stepping up the process of joining the EU.
In his speech to the Serbian Legislature, Kostunica said that Serbia's status as a state was in jeopardy because it no longer had authority in one of its parts - Kosovo, which is being governed by the international community.
“If the formula for Kosovo-Metohija's autonomy within Serbia stipulated by the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 represents substantial autonomy, then substantial autonomy for the Serb community in Kosovo-Metohija would be in this new formula that would ensure basic conditions for survival in today's Kosovo-Metohija, given the predominant discrimination of Serbs in both the interim institutions and by the majority population” the Prime Minister said.
He said that the second task was to determine Serbia's status within the union with Montenegro. According to him, the Serbian government will do all in its power to strengthen the state union and will first harmonize the Serbian Constitution with the Constitutional Charter.
"The new government will focus on EU membership and will immediately start harmonizing all laws with EU legislation," Kostunica said.
He added that the new government's economic priorities would be maintaining a stable dinar exchange rate, creating a competitive economy and increasing exports. The government will protect farmers and domestic resources through financial stimulation, the Prime Minister said. He also announced that privatization would continue and laws on preventing the conflict of interests and the ombudsman institution introduced, as well as laws on political parties and NGOs.
He added that the government would do everything to make cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) work both ways, as to enable that the inductees stand trial before local courts and the people sentenced by the Hague tribunal serve their sentences in Serbia and Montenegro jails.
U.S. SENATOR WARNS OF KOSOVO SERBS' POSITION
Washington, March 17, 2004 - U.S. senator from Kansas, Sam Brownback, has sent a letter to U.S. President George Bush warning him of the difficult position of the Kosovo Serbs. "For the Serbs, the Christian people in Kosovo, Milosevic's tyranny has only been replaced by another tyranny. The local Serbs, who did not participate in Milosevic's crimes, have been exposed to attacks and expulsion only for being Serbs. Their churches and monasteries are still being destroyed, because they are the symbol of multiethnicity," Brownback said.
He also said that "monasteries and churches from the 13th and 14th century are under constant threat," stressing that none of the destroyed cultural and religious heritage has been rebuilt since 1999.
"In addition, none of the 3,000 murders and abductions of Serbs, who are Christians, without whom a multiethnic Kosovo is impossible, have been solved. The Kosovo Albanians do not have the political will to implement the existing laws, but allow the suffering of the Serbs to continue," the U.S. senator said. He also recalled that around 800,000 Kosovo Albanians were driven from their homes during the war, adding that they returned several months later.
According to Brownback, two thirds of the local Serbs were driven out of Kosovo, and only several hundred have returned, despite the promises of the U.N. and the U.S. mission in Pristina.
Brownback underlined that lawlessness had caused such a situation in the human rights sphere in Kosovo, and he therefore suggested that aid, technical assistance, positive diplomatic contacts, and loans be made conditional on respect for human rights.
CELEBRATION OF THE BICENTENNIAL OF MODERN SERBIAN STATEHOOD
Washington, March 5, 2004 - More than three hundred and fifty guests, including US administration officials, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, US media, think thanks and Congressional staff, attended the celebration of the Bicentennial of Modern Serbian Statehood, organized by the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro on Friday evening in Washington. The reception and a concert performed on this occasion by renowned Belgrade violinist Stefan Milenkovich were held in the elegant premises of the Organization of the American States.
Welcoming the guests, Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro Ivan Vujacic highlighted some of the main currents in the 200 hundreds years of the building of modern Serbia, from the times of the First Serbian uprising in 1804, the first challenge against the mighty Ottoman Empire, through the building of institutions and civil society in the 19 Century, the two World Wars in which the heroic struggle of Serbia wrote its name into the history of free nations, to today’s Serbia that is recovering its history after years of communism, during which its intellectuals again stood at the forefront of the struggle for political freedom, and the dark years of the Milosevic regime.
“That history, like those of other nations, is not free of dark spots that need to be faced frankly and honestly. But there always was and there is today another Serbia, a Serbia whose whole nineteenth century was devoted to the pursuit of internal freedom and external liberation; a twentieth-century Serbia of the constitutional monarchy, of parliamentary parties and of the free press; and a heroic Serbia whose resistance to foreign occupation and Nazi totalitarianism in two world wars took an enormous toll on the nation. Today, despite all its unresolved problems Serbia is once more on path of the conquest of liberty. This path, as I tried to convey is deeply rooted in Serbia’s modern history, indeed it is the dominant motif of that history. What better way than to celebrate two hundred years of Serbia’s statehood than to celebrate its freedom and, indeed, the idea of freedom itself”, ambassador Vujacic said.
In the second part of the evening the guests were treated to a concert by Stefan Milenkovich, one of the finest Serbian violinists and a professor at the Julliard School of Music, who in his remarkable career played for such distinguished audiences as US President Ronald Regan, Soviet president Michail Gorbachov and Pope John Paul II and whose soloist appearances in well known concert halls all around the world are too numerous to mention. Milenkovich featured works by Serbian composer Vasilije Mokranjac, Beethoven, Wienawsky and Paganini and was rewarded by a standing ovation. The excellent Steven Beck a pianist who also teaches at Julliard accompanied Stefan Milenkovich.
U.S. UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC, BUSINESS AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ALAN LARSON VISITS BELGRADE
The U.S. Undersecretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, Alan Larson, said in Belgrade on Feb. 11, 2004, that the U.S. government was ready to continue its assistance to Serbia-Montenegro. Larson, however, stressed that it was crucial for the country to overcome instability and shake off the legacy of the past.
"I came to Belgrade with a very simple message. The U.S. is a strong partner of Serbia-Montenegro and we want to expand and strengthen relations, especially in the domain of economic cooperation," Larson said. "But to do this, it is essential for Serbia to emerge from this period of political uncertainty," Larson stressed in a speech to the Belgrade-based American Chamber of Commerce.
Larson met with Prime Minister Zivkovic, Minister of finance Bozidar Djelic and Minister of privatization Aleksandar Vlahovic, and International Economic Relations Minister Goran Pitic. Larson held separate meetings with the leaders of the Democratic Party of Serbia and the G17 Plus party, Vojislav Kostunica and Miroljub Labus.
Larson gave the US administration's support for the Serbian government's reforms. Voicing his concern with the reaffirmation of political forces from the Slobodan Milosevic regime, the senior economic advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell said he hopes that Serbia will soon form a stable, democratic government which will resume reforms and efforts to integrate the country into European institutions.
The two sides agreed that they have significantly improved bilateral cooperation over the past three years, particularly with the restoration of normal trade relations.
The meeting also focused on Serbia's cooperation with the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which the participants described as satisfactory. The Serbian delegation, however, expressed concern with the international community's growing demands and conditions.
Larson is the highest level US economic policy official to visit Belgrade since October 5, 2000.