Eurasia News

French diplomat Philippe Lefort was named Friday as the European Union’s new special envoy to the South Caucasus and the three-year-old row between Georgia and Russia. A former French ambassador to Georgia and deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Moscow, Lefort takes over the Georgia crisis job from …

On occasion of the 3rd anniversary of recognition of its independence by Russia, South Ossetia has closed the border with Georgia to avoid any escalation of the situation, Georgian media reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is traveling to Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina this week to discuss regional issues and attend Ramadan feast celebrations. Davutoglu will begin his tour with a stop in Kosovo’s capital Pristina Friday. He will meet with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj. The Turkish …

The demand for Serbia to abandon its institutions in Serb areas of Kosovo, described as “parallel”, is not acceptable, Serbian President Boris Tadić says. The demand was heard from visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week, and was made in the context of Serbia’s further EU integration. But he …

Kosovo MP Fatmir Limaj has pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes committed during the 1999 Kosovo war. Limaj and another nine others pleaded not guilty at the first day of the trial which started on Wednesday.

Wartime Bosnian Serb commander general Ratko Mandic was given six days by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on Thursday to answer prosecution’s demand to split his indictment in order to speed up the trial.

Serbia will on Monday ask the UN Security Council to condemn the unilateral use of force by the Kosovo Albanian authorities in northern, Serb areas of Kosovo. This is according to Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, who spoke in Banja Luka, RS, on Thursday.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Serbian President Boris Tadic will attend together the joint anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) drills of the Bulgarian and Serbian armed forces in Shabla.

Hague indictee Ratko Mladić should on Wednesday appear before the Hague Tribunal for the first time with recently appointed defense counsel Branko Lukić. It is expected that Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz’s proposal to hold two separate trials will be discussed. According to the proposal, the former Bosnian Serb commander would …

Croatian PM’s first visit to Kosovo on Wednesday sees warm words and two agreements signed on European integration and transport. Leaders of Kosovo and Croatia pledged to deepen ties between their two countries on the occasion of the visit to Pristina of the Croatian Prime Minister, Jadranka Kosor.