Balkans

The United States has welcomed “establishment of relations between Priština and Skopje and successful completion of the border demarcation”. “The U.S. warmly welcomes the establishing of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia as well as successful completion of the demarcation of their joint …

The Pentagon is spending more than $100 million to build new military bases in Bulgaria and Romania after Obama’s administration scrapped plans for missile-defense shield in eastern Europe. “Both of these bases illustrate great commitment to eastern Europe,” said Col. Gary Russ, Commander of Joint Task Force-East said.

Italian ambassador to Kosovo Michael Giffoni was officially appointed as EU representative for Northern Kosovo. At his new post, Giffoni’s will focus mainly on increasing of the EU activities in the part of Kosovo where the Serbs comprise majority of the population.

Serbia hopes to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) next year, the country’s economy ministry said. Vesna Arsic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, said it is realistic to expect that Serbia will join the WTO in 2010 if it completes the negotiations for admission into the organization by …

Three former envoys to Bosnia have issued a joint statement critiquing the latest EU-US effort to end the country’s political crisis and proposing a new international approach. The statement was issued by Wolfgang Petritsch, Paddy Ashdown and Christian Schwarz-Schilling, who served as high representatives to Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1999 …

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic says that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Serbia on Tuesday is historically significant for both countries. The visit will see the joint celebration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade during World War II and the signing of a number of …

Macedonia and Kosovo have established full diplomatic ties by deciding to exchange ambassadors, both countries’ foreign ministries confirmed in Sunday press releases. The US and EU have praised the move, while Serbia, which strongly opposes Kosovo’s independence declaration, protested. The agreement was inked by Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and …

Serbia will welcome Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday with a concert by 100 trumpeters in Belgrade’s Trg Republika Square. Medvedev will be accompanied by a circa 100-strong delegation of associates, ministers and significant businesspeople. The delegation will include: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Extraordinary Situations Minister Sergei Shoigy, Gazprom President …

Egypt and Croatia agreed to bolster cooperation over the weekend, according to a Croatian government communiqué, released to mark the visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Zagreb. According to the statement, the sides “agreed to achieve closer cooperation” in the energy and tourism sectors, AFP reports.

The current situation in the Balkans reveals a worrying trend of political and security developments that may lead to renewed round of brinkmanship, even of conflict, between different countries and ethnic groups. Although, for the time being, the Balkan issues have not attracted the eye of the global media, it …