Balkans

Tirana – Albanian President Bamir Topi rejected the option of Kosovo’s partition along ethnic lines, in a joint press conference with his Kosovo counterpart on Monday in Tirana.

Pristina – Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu has left for Albania in his first trip as a head of state to the country.

Podgorica – Neither Montenegro nor Serbia should close the door on their European future because of Kosovo, Svetozar Marovic, Montenegro’s ruling party vice-president says.

Pristina – Egypt will very soon recognise Kosovo’s independence, says Abdullah Al Eshal, Cairo’s former deputy foreign minister and counsel to President Hosni Mubarak.

Sarajevo – The government of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, has hired a US law firm to deal with the Office of the High Representative and upcoming key reforms.

Belgrade – Serbia will not develop a nuclear power plant for at least another decade, Petar Skundric, the country’s Mining and Energy Minister says.

Zagreb – Croatian police are bringing murder and conspiracy charges against five suspects in the high-profile killing last week of a newspaper editor and his murder chief.

Bucharest – Campaigning for seats in Romania’s parliament officially kicked off this Friday, with 2,965 candidates competing in the November 30 elections.

Sarajevo – A man was arrested in northwestern Bosnia in relation to last week’s assassination of Croatian newspaper editor Ivo Pukanic and his marketing chief, Niko Franjic.

Skopje – Macedonia’s banking system remains stable and continues its dynamic growth, the National Bank of Macedonia said on Thursday, pointing to a rise in banks’ assets and profits in the first months of this year.