Balkans

The Parliament of the Maldives has suspended an investigation into allegations of a $2 million bribe, allegedly accepted by the government of this small chain of Indian Ocean islands to recognise Kosovo’s independence. A parliamentary committee that was investigating the allegation, after concerns raised by Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, said …

Greece hopes the new Macedonian President will cooperate in finding a compromise to the long-standing name row between the two countries, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Athens hopes that Georgi Ivanov, the President elect from Sunday’s poll, “will work on settling the name row in line with NATO …

A deal guaranteeing immunity for Bosnian war-time leader Radovan Karadzic was agreed by US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, it has been claimed. Gojko Klickovic, who is indicted for war crimes, said he was present when an agreement was made and signed by Radovan Karadzic and Richard Holbrooke in 1996, he …

Macedonia’s budget needs to be urgently revised as the country spends more than it receives, the International Monetary Fund’s representative to the country, Bert Van Selm, said in the local media. He said this year’s first trimester shows a forecasted 13 per cent growth in revenue, on which the budget …

On Wednesday, Slovenia and Serbia signed a bilateral agreement in the field of defence. The agreement defines their cooperation up until now in that field, and it enables the implementation of more interesting projects this year, said the Slovenian Minister of Defence Ljubica Jelusic at a joint press conference with …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – High Representative Valentin Inzko met with the Collegia of both houses of parliament Tuesday (April 7th) to call for a faster legislative process. At its last session, the Peace Implementation Council blamed sluggish parliamentary work — in part — for the disappointing pace of …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – The Hague war crimes tribunal announced on Tuesday (April 7th) that its judges denied an appeal by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for immunity from prosecution, based on a deal he allegedly had with former US envoy Richard Holbrooke. According to Karadzic, Holbrooke promised …

BUCHAREST, Romania – A Romanian Army officer died and four others suffered injuries in a blast in Afghanistan on Tuesday (April 7th), the defence ministry announced. Captain Iuliu-Vasile Unguras was leading a patrol on a highway linking Kandahar and Kabul. One of the vehicles ran over an improvised explosive device …

Bulgaria’s two biggest opposition right-wing parties have called for a moratorium on moves that would secure the country’s dependence on Russia after the current government steps down. The statement was triggered by the Socialist-led ruling coalition’s last minute efforts to negotiate a new contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom and …

Former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari is optimistic Moscow will recognise Kosovo’s independence, now relations between the US and Russia are thawing. The man who devised the blueprint for Kosovo’s supervised independence told Voice of America that it may take “some time in order for this to happen”. “I hope that …