Balkans

Attempts to re-energise long running peace talks between leaders of ethnically-divided Cyprus do not seem to have produced the firm results Ban Ki-moon was after, but at least there appears to be goodwill on both sides. Flanked by Greek Cypriot President Demetrius Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, …

Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said that voting on the resolution on the Srebrenica massacre will show who on the Serbian political scene behaves and thinks like a responsible person, and who remains in a past era that should be long behind the country. In an interview with the Tanjug …

KFOR downsized from 14,000 to 10,000 troops effective, the peacekeeping force announced. KFOR — made up of troops from 32 countries — will continue to provide security and stability for all Kosovo communities. The downsizing is being implemented in accordance with a NATO decision from July 2009 amid improving security …

A Bosnian Serb wanted by Republika Srpska (RS) authorities for war crimes against civilians has been arrested in Georgia. BiH Justice Ministry official Jusuf Halilagic said that Sasa Lipovac, 40, is in custody pending extradition. The RS Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Lipovac in 2008 after he failed …

Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said  that defining maritime borders with Greece is a priority for Albania. Last week, the Constitutional Court in Tirana decided that an agreement on the border delineation violates the constitution and must be renegotiated. The opposition Socialist Party (SP) asked the court to for the …

Serbia’s decision to join NATO would have negative effects on its relations with Russia, Konstantin Kosachev said. “For us, such a decision would be inexplicable and would have a negative effect on relations between Russia and Serbia,” the Chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs said. “A possible decision …

The interim trade agreement between the European Union and Serbia officially comes into force on February 1st. The Chief of EU delegation in Serbia, Vincent Degert told the press in Belgrade that the economic significance of a full implementation of the Interim Agreement is that Serbia will be more attractive …

The trial against former Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic and his assistant, Ivo Bacic, began in a Zagreb court Friday (January 29th). The anti-corruption office, USKOK, charged them in late October with abuse of power over a 2004 procurement deal involving military trucks. Prosecutors say the contract cost the state millions …

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Saturday (January 30th) that Western Balkan countries have made significant progress and are moving fast along their road to EU integration.Bildt acknowledged some open issues in the region, but said the situation is nevertheless much better than in the last six months of …

Persons who are convicted in Bosnia and Herzegovina will no longer be able to escape to neighbouring countries, and criminals who flee to Bosnia will not be able to dodge justice, according to an agreement adopted on Thursday. The agreement was adopted by the Bosnian tripartite Presidency on January 28 …