Balkan News

Former Bosnian Serb army commander Gen. Ratko Mladic has slammed the United Nations’ Yugoslav war crimes tribunal as a “satanic court” and refused to testify as a defence witness for his former political master, Radovan Karadzic.

The Belgrade-Priština dialogue will resume in Brussels on Monday. EU foreign policy Catherine Ashton will mediate the meeting. 

Initiation of Serbia’s EU accession talks opens new possibilities for comprehensive deepening of the partnership between Serbia and Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is ready to offer technical and expert assistance to Serbia in its path towards EU integration, revealed the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin. On Thursday, he met with his Serbian counterpart Ivan Mrkic, who is on an official visit to Sofia.

The UN Security Council will discuss on February 10 the latest UNMIK report on the situation in Kosovo. The meeting will focus on the next report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The next European Commission report on Bulgaria’s progress will be issued in about a year, the EU executive has decided on Wednesday morning, its spokesman confirmed. 

EC Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed in Brussels on Tuesday the Serbian delegation led by Prime Minister Ivica Dacic. The delegation has begun negotiations with the EU on the country’s

Belgrade will have to remain fully committed to normalizing relations with Pristina, outlined EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele. Fuele was present in Tuesday’s meeting in Brussels, where Serbia’s EU accession talks were officially given a start.

Upon Greece’s invitation, Interim President Adly Mansour on a one-day visit to Athens on Monday aims to consolidate bilateral relations in various fields between the two countries. The trip is Mansour’s first to the European Union.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is on an official visit to Albania where he is to meet with Lulzim Basha, mayor of the capital city Tirana.