Balkans

An eventual escalation of tension in Bosnia might result in intervention of EU forces, a high official warned Sunday. Valentin Inzko, High Representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told Austrian media that the situation in the country will be analyzed next Tuesday. “Austria will increase its troops there, but if it comes to escalation we would …

Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu held phone talks on Saturday with his Greek counterpart, Evangelos Venizelos and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-membered presidency council’s Bosniak member, Bakir Izetbegovic. Venizelos and Davutoglu discussed the recent developments on the Cyprus dispute.

The U.N. hopes to relaunch talks next week on ending the four-decade division of Cyprus after the island’s Greek and Turkish communities agreed on a roadmap, a spokesman said Feb. 8. “We are hoping to hold a meeting at the beginning of next week… we are hoping for a meeting as soon …

Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Rodić conferred in Belgrade with NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Richard Shirreff. According to a statement from the Serbian MoD, they spoke about “regional cooperation and Serbia’s role in the creation of a secure environment in the Balkans.”

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin has expressed hopes that the issue of Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen will be resolved by end-2014. Vigenin, as cited by the BGNES news agency, told journalists Friday that no decision on Bulgaria’s Schengen

Greece supports the resumption of talks for a “viable and fair” solution to the Cyprus issue, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Friday. A joint declaration that will pave the way for restarting the stalled talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders is likely

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu cancelled his visit to Bulgaria because he will be attending the Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday in Sochi.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić received on Tuesday the letter of credence of newly-appointed Macedonian Ambassador in Belgrade Vera Jovanovska Tipko. The diplomat said during the ceremony that “the two countries and nations share traditionally friendly ties.”

Bulgaria’s Partnership Agreement with the European Commission for the 2014-2020 period is unlikely to be signed by April, according to former EU Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev. In a Wednesday interview for Bulgaria on Air TV, Donchev, MP from center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), claimed that there were three main problems

Azerbaijan and Serbia discussed cooperation in the defense sector, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend on Jan. 30. On January 30, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov