Kosovo’s President has expressed readiness to meet her Serbian counterpart – in the context of a meeting between ‘presidents of two sovereign and independent states’.Arber Vllahiu, President Atifete Jahjaga’s spokesperson, told Balkan Insight that the two leaders would meet “as presidents of sovereign and independent states” to support the EU-led …

The president of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity said it would not allow the country to recognise Kosovo as independent.Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, RS, said he had been personally subjected to “enormous pressure in order for Bosnia to recognise Kosovo in the euphoria surrounding the acknowledgment of Kosovo’s …

Ivica Dacic and Zoran Milanovic are expected to meet soon, ‘on neutral ground’, with a view to bridging the widening divide between Zagreb and Belgrade.Serbia’s Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, says he expects to meet his Croatian counterpart, Zoran Milanovic, in the first half of 2013. “I believe it is important …

Following announcements that Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to French actor Gerard Depardieu, Bozhidar Dimitrov, former Diaspora Minister and a famous nationalist historian, has urged Bulgaria’s Cabinet to move quickly with citizenship legislation. “The amendments to the Bulgarian Citizenship Act and the Foreign Investment Act connected with …

Political crisis continues in Macedonia as Social Democrat-led opposition says it will boycott local elections in March.Opposition parties led by the Social Democratic Party, SDSM, said they will not take part in the March local elections on the grounds that the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, plans to rig the polls. …

Zagreb has sent back Serbian indictments for war crimes against three top Croatian military officials, saying they aren’t valid.The Serbian war crimes prosecutor’s office issued the indictments against former Croatian interior minister Ivan Vekic, his top adviser Tomislav Mercep, and Vladimir Seks, the head of the war crisis headquarters in …

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic says if local authorities in south Serbia don’t remove a memorial dedicated to ethnic Albanian fighters, the state will do so “by force”.Dacic ordered the authorities in the mainly Albanian towns of Bujanovac and Presevo in South Serbia to remove a monument dedicated to ethnic …

As Kosovo Serbs lend support to Serbia’s ‘platform’ on Kosovo, the document is to go before parliament by January 7.After several hours of discussion, 150 representatives from the Serb-run north of Kosovo on Tuesday offered to support the Serbian government’s official platform for Kosovo. The platform demands a high level …

Pakistan became on Monday the 98th state to recognize Kosovo’s independence, moving the country a step closer to its strategic goal of achieving 100 recognitions by the end of 2012.“Pakistan has decided to accord recognition to the Republic of Kosovo. The decision has been made in accordance with the aspirations …

The International Monitoring Operation, which oversaw Bosnia’s test census, has recommended delaying the April census for at least six months.The external body monitoring Bosnia’s 2013 census has advised the authorities to postpone the headcount planned for April on the grounds that the country is insufficiently prepared. Andy McGuffie, of the …