KIEV, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko criticized domestic and foreign detractors on Monday and said Ukraine needed strong institutions to parry threats to its future prosperity. Yushchenko, whose standing is at rock bottom as he seeks re-election in January, was marking the 18th anniversary of independence from Soviet rule as Ukraine’s …

MACEDONIA Essential progress has been achieved in the Athens-Skopje UN talks over Macedonia’s official name, but a final resolution is still a long way off, Macedonia’s president says. Greece and Macedonia responded last week to the latest set of ideas on the naming dispute put forward by UN mediator Matthew …

BiH The Bosnian Serb political scene was shaken up over the weekend by the news that prominent former politician Dragan Kalinic may return to public life, after being given permission to do so by Bosnia’s High Representative Valentin Inzko. Kalinic may provide the biggest challenge yet to undisputed Bosnian Serb …

SERBIA An IMF mission arrives in Belgrade on Monday to review whether Serbia has met the requirements of a €2.92 billion IMF standby loan approved in April. The IMF delegation, headed by Albert Jaeger, is set to meet Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic and Labour and …

ROMANIA Fostul subsecretar de stat în MAE afirmă că despre un parcurs normal de aderare a Chişinăului la spaţiul comunitar s-ar putea vorbi, cel mai devreme, peste 20 de ani. Este România pregătită să-şi regândească relaţia cu Rusia? Dar Moscova este interesată de o dezgheţare a legăturilor cu Bucureştiul? În …

MOLDOVA None of the three main positions in the state will be ceded to the Communists. They will be held by the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), the Liberal Party (PL) and the Democratic Party (PDM). The statements were made by the PL leader Mihai Ghimpu. “The Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) …

RUSSIA Moldova’s president Vladimir Voronin discussed regional problems and methods of overcoming the economic crisis with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev at a bilateral meeting in Sochi on Friday. “Regardless of the political seasons in Russia or in Moldova, our relations are an important factor that unites our countries,” the …

BELGRADE The government has appointed Branislav Milinković as Serbia’s ambassador to NATO. The Belgrade newspaper explains that this was done on Monday, and that Milinković has been Serbia’s special envoy to the western military alliance since 2004. Milinković was sent to Brussels five years ago as representative of the then …

PRISTINA EULEX chief Yves de Kermabon says a protocol between the EU mission and Serbia’s MUP is not related to the so-called six point plan. He met in Priština yesterday with the Kosovo Albanian leaders, President Fatmir Sejdiu and PM Hashim Thaci, to discuss the signing of the police cooperation …

TURKEY Turkey has begun restoring names of Kurdish villages and is considering allowing religious sermons to be made in Kurdish as part of reforms to answer the grievances of the ethnic minority and advance its EU candidacy. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said his government will push democratic reforms to …