European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin expressed surprise over the invitation by Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac to provide assistance in closing the case of NATO bombing of the building of the Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS), which left 16 people dead, and added that the documents regarding this issue are in the Serbian Defence Ministry.

In an interview for the Radio Free Europe, Kacin said that the invitation was preceded by official correspondence between the minister and himself, as he called on the minister to make public the entire documentation regarding the bombing of the RTS building.

He said that Sutanovac's invitation for participation in the closing of the case comes as an even greater surprise because, as he said, the Serbian Defence Ministry has at its disposal the diplomatic network, military attaches, liaison officers, and even direct contacts in NATO.

I do not have the right or the mandate to interfere in the case, but there is no need for me to do so, Kacin said and added that all documents relevant to the case of murder of 16 RTS employees on April 23, 1999 should be sought and found in the services of the Serbian Defence Ministry, Kacin said and added that the documents came as a result of investigation conducted by officers of the Yugoslav Army and they were preserved in the Ministry's archives.

It is hard to believe that the services of the Defence Ministry forwarded the documents to NATO and the EU, Kacin said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sutanovac stated in Nis that the Defence Ministry put all the documents regarding the NATO attack on the RTS building at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office and the public, and is very interested in closing the case completely.