Balkans

Μέχρι σήμερα η Τουρκία προσπαθεί να εκμεταλλευθεί όπως μπορεί τη συμμετοχή της στο ΝΑΤΟ, δίχως η ίδια να προσφέρει ό,τι απαιτείται για τους συμμάχους, υποσκάπτοντας μάλιστα τη συνοχή του συνασπισμού, με τη συμπεριφορά της απέναντι στην Ελλάδα. Τώρα, η Άγκυρα αισθάνεται πως η παρασιτική της σχέση με το ΝΑΤΟ μπορεί …

While Europe shows compassion to refugees from Ukraine, those from outside Europe face the same obstacles to get to the West as before – as BIRN found out on a nighttime visit to a forest in northern Serbia. If you didn’t know the context, it might look like a rave …

With political will and the right incentives, a number of Balkan states could provide Ukraine with significant Soviet-made weaponry in its fight against Russia. From T-72 tanks to BMP infantry fighting vehicles, Mi-24 gunships to Strela anti-aircraft missiles, the countries of the Balkans have a lot to offer when it …

Moscow is busy selling its own version of the war in Ukraine to Bosnian citizens – cynically using analogies with the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica to justify its invasion and destabilize Bosnia at the same time. “There were literally bodies on the streets. Some of them had just been shot, …

If government instability, public polarisation and a Russian gas cut-off was not enough, 2022 has also brought Bulgaria a new political party sympathetic to the Kremlin. usted as defence minister for refusing to call Russia’s Ukraine war a ‘war,’ on May 5 Stefan Yanev unveiled Bulgarian Rise as Bulgaria’s third …

Our Homeland won six per cent of the popular vote in Hungary’s April election; experts say it represents both a risk and an opportunity for Viktor Orban. In calling for the 1920 Treaty of Trianon – which stripped Hungary of two-thirds of its territory and half of its population – …

A new minority government in Montenegro offers the Democratic Party of Socialists a change to re-establish itself as a force to be reckoned with ahead of elections in 2023. Not even two years since it lost power, the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic senses a …

The police takedown of encrypted communications provider Sky ECC has led to a spate of new arrests across the Balkans, notably that of notorious drug boss Darko Saric and the former head of Montenegro’s top court. Whether justice will come is still in doubt. They arrived in force at around …

As Belgrade feels the heat over its warm ties to Moscow, Beijing’s stake in the country is likely to grow. Serbia is coming under significant pressure over its policy towards Russia due to current events in Ukraine. A country on track to EU accession, with European values enshrined in its …

It was billed as a promising breakthrough — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting last month and agreeing to try to resolve their countries’ age-old differences, keeping, at least, a lid on tensions as the conflict in Ukraine rages. But on Thursday, as armed …