Turkey has long pursued a policy of soft-power diplomacy in the Balkans. More recently, the defence sector has come to the fore. When, in the midst of a reignited war over the Caucasus mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh, President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia was considering buying Turkish armed drones, it was …
Read More »Kosovo Truth Commission’s Future in Doubt After Thaci’s Indictment
President Hashim Thaci set in motion the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Kosovo – but after he was charged with war crimes, it’s unclear whether any other political leader has the will to push the idea forward.
Read More »Balkan States Race to Secure COVID-19 Vaccine Supplies
As the countries of the Balkans strive to secure sufficient supplies of COVID-19 vaccine, many questions remain unanswered – how much will there be, when will it start and what will it all cost? With UK grandmother Margaret Keenan becoming the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech …
Read More »BUDAPEST AND WARSAW MAYORS PUSH FOR EU TO SIDESTEP RECALCITRANT GOVERNMENTS
The mayors of the Polish and Hungarian capitals have written to the European Commission urging it to fund municipalities directly if their governments insist on maintaining the veto of the EU recovery fund.
Read More »Vlado Buckovski, North Macedonia’s Ice-Breaker With Sofia
North Macedonia’s former PM is entering into the crossfire of the bilateral historical dispute with neighbouring Bulgaria with dangerously high expectations on all sides. t is his fate in life to enter wars after important battles have already been lost.” This was how one colleague journalist portrayed North Macedonia’s former …
Read More »Sofia to Moscow: ‘We’re not going to fight Russia, there are no nuclear weapons here’
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on Saturday denied statements by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, that his country and Romania are stocking offensive weapons, including nuclear weapons, that could be used against Russia. There has never been a nuclear weapon in Bulgaria, he stressed.
Read More »North Cyprus leader pushes for two-state solution, agrees to informal summit
North Cyprus President Ersin Tatar reiterated support for a two-state solution as the island’s two leaders agreed to participate in an informal summit during talks with UN envoy Jane Holl Lute Tuesday. The newly elected leader of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ersin Tatar, reiterated his stance on …
Read More »US confirms Greece is seeking to buy F-35s amid tensions with Turkey
The US acknowledgment follows a report earlier this month that Athens formally requested to buy as many as 24 of the advanced fighter aircraft. The United States’ ambassador to Greece confirmed in a statement today that Athens has sought to purchase Lockheed Martin’s advanced F-35 fighter jet amid tensions with …
Read More »Murky Bosnian Charity Appeals for African Wells Raise Concerns
Millions of euros have been raised through appeals in Bosnia and Herzegovina to build wells and mosques in Africa, but concerns persist about suspect fundraising methods and claims that photographs documenting some charity-funded wells were faked.
Read More »In Spending on Serbs Abroad, Serbia Looks to Maintain Influence
Most of the money Serbia spends on Serbs in the rest of the former Yugoslavia goes to those in Bosnia and Montenegro, where Serbian influence is greatest.
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