Balkans

A two-count indictment was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging Vladimir Jovancic, 52, a Bosnia and Herzegovina national who resides in Serbia, with obstructing justice and assisting escape from custody. Jovancic was arrested on Dec. 4 in the Republic of Croatia. In a related operation, Italian …

Trotsky, once a close friend of Lenin, is believed to have said: “You may not be interested in the war, but the war is interested in you.” This is the situation in South-Eastern Europe which the West had neglected for a long time, tolerating Serbia to weave illusions about the …

Civil society organisations in Bosnia’s mainly Serb-populated Republika Srpska entity are counting down the days until lawmakers begin debating a bill to restrict the work of non-profit organisations that receive foreign funding. Critics of the bill, which appears inspired by similar legislation in Russia, say it smacks of authoritarianism and …

Aleksandar Vučić will defend and protect Milan Radoičić from being extradited to Kosovo and Metohija according to the Interpol warrant, until his authority is threatened in any way, say Danas interlocutors, commenting on the international search for the former vice-president of the Serbian List and Vučić’s closest associate on the …

While Russia’s near monopoly on the oil and gas market in Southeast Europe looks secure for now, there will be less and less Russian gas and oil sold on the local market going forward, as Balkan governments and companies look elsewhere for supplies. Russia may have largely lost its sway …

Two political parties expressed surprise and anger on Wednesday (6 December) when they learned they had been included in a coalition led by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) without their knowledge. To increase its political influence in the EU’s poorest country, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which is part of …

On December 17, 2023, the Republic of Serbia will hold extraordinary parliamentary elections, elections for the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and local elections for the capital city of Belgrade, along with an additional 65 local self-governments. According to the proportional representation system employed for parliamentary elections to …

Pressure is building on the Karlovac region of Croatia, situated on the shortest route between Bosnia and Slovenia for refugees and migrants trying to reach western Europe. On September 10, two Turkish citizens arrived in Sarajevo by plane from Istanbul. Prior to leaving Turkey, they had arranged for smugglers to …

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and deploy them along the country’s border with Serbia, saying that illegal activity, including arms and narcotics smuggling, is currently “out of control” at the frontier. Speaking on November 22 after a meeting in …

SWI swissinfo.ch: Often using military force, Russia has imposed pro-Russian separatist movements in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria and, of course, in eastern Ukraine. However, Putin has always defended himself against criticism, claiming that NATO intervened in Kosovo in 1999. Is that comparison fair? Oliver Jens Schmitt: No, they’re two completely …