Balkans

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has alleged mercenaries from Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been recruited and transferred to Donbas in Ukraine to fight against Moscow-backed rebels, something vehemently denied by local governments. The Russian embassy in Tirana however, did not respond to requests for clarification. During an …

The fragile geopolitical nature of the Balkans has allowed Russia to consistently undermine Western integration attempts in the region. While foreign interference is nothing new in Europe’s underbelly, it has historically been limited to regional powers and the U.S. But China’s recent collaboration with Russia in supporting ethnic separatism in …

With efforts by Bosnian Serb separatists to trigger a secession gathering pace, the UK has several options to help maintain peace in the country. As the crisis in Bosnia enters its seventh month, tensions continue to flare in this corner of Europe. What began as a boycott of state-level institutions …

Military veteran Zdravko Ponos, an opposition candidate for president in an election in April, tells BIRN that Serbia will struggle to recover from five more years of Aleksandar Vucic. As a candidate for Serbia’s highest office, Zdravko Ponos could hardly have a better biography: a highly-educated military man, former head …

Hungary’s flirtation with the Russian president did not start with Orban, but it is the current premier who has turned it into an unequal marriage. How did a politician who launched his career on the back of anti-Russian slogans end up becoming Putin’s main ally in the EU? In June …

The defining characteristic of Albania’s brutal communist regime was its morbid fixation with borders – and the memory of that claustrophobic world helps explains why, today, so many Albanians want to escape. Icrossed Albania’s borders on a cold day of January 1991, for the first time of my life. It …

At a moment of deep polarisation in Montenegro, authorities are being urged to address online extremism in the country’s new counter-terrorism strategy.Montenegro’s new counter-terrorism strategy must focus more on young people and the dangers of extremist content online, civil society groups say. Montenegro’s new Strategy for Preventing Radicalisation and Violent …

Greek-Turkish relations are not moving forward. The (Greek) prime minister may have started his administration believing that progress could be made, but today the impasse is obvious and no light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. Greece, Turkey and Cyprus have entered a pre-election trajectory. It has …

Hungary’s nationalist prime minister warned Saturday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could send hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing across the border into his country. Right-wing populist leader Viktor Orban, speaking in an annual address that this year kicked off his political campaign for Hungary’s parliamentary election on …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other NATO defense ministers are slated to review plans for increasing allied troop numbers in southeastern Europe, the alliance’s top official said Friday. Among the moves on the table is the creation of a multinational battlegroup to be stationed in the Black Sea region, …