Balkans

Only a quarter of Bulgarians trust Russian President Vladimir Putin as support for him has continued to decline since the start of the war, a nationally representative survey by Alpha Research has found. The drop in Putin’s rating in Bulgaria in just one year is remarkable – a year ago, …

Following another overwhelming victory for the ruling Fidesz party, Viktor Orban continues his ‘peacock dance’ while the joint opposition, like Saturn, starts devouring its children.Hungary is coming to terms with the fourth consecutive landslide victory for the prime minister, Viktor Orban, and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party. For the opposition, the …

Elections in Serbia are all about the Leader, the “boss.” The Party comes a distant second.Basking in the glow of another election win on April 3, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Serbs he was “the proudest man in the county.” The reason for such pride was the 59.3 per cent …

Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region. Media and military experts said Sunday …

What’s left of Turkey’s presidential system may be further eroded if Erdogan follows in Hungary’s “illiberal” footsteps. Diplomacy has been termed “the art of deceit,” but few doubt that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was anything but sincere when he phoned Hungary’s Viktor Orban today to congratulate him on his …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said the United States would send a contingent of troops to the country to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank amid the war in Ukraine. Petkov made the announcement after holding talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Sofia on Saturday. The US Stryker army contingent …

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed in talks on Sunday (13 March) to improve ties, despite the long-running disagreements between the two NATO members, Ankara said. The Turkish and Greek leaders met Sunday in Istanbul mindful that the burgeoning conflict in Ukraine looms larger than …

Der russische Präsident will seinen Überfall auf die Ukraine zu einem grösseren Kampf stilisieren. Umlackierte polnische Jets wären genau das, was Wladimir Putin sich wünscht. Es ist verständlich, dass der ukrainische Präsident Wolodimir Selenski alles versucht, um an Waffen zu kommen, mit denen sein Land sich gegen den russischen Überfall …

Appeals for volunteers from Bosnia and Serbia to join pro-Russian forces in Ukraine are getting a strong response on social media – but how many are actually going is less clear.One day before Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine, on February 24, the self-styled Serbian Chetnik warlord Bratislav Zivkovic told …

Some pro-Russian groups in Bosnia have expressed support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Others are still silent.Following a month of social media silence, in late February the ‘Night Wolves of Republika Srpska’ published a series of posts expressing support for Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. Goran Tadic, deputy leader of …