Eurasia

Georgia and Russia said Thursday they had agreed to re-open their land border to traffic, in the first sign of a thaw in relations after their bitter war last year. The two countries reached a deal under Swiss mediation to re-open the Upper Lars checkpoint, which was closed in 2006, …

As of January 1, Montenegrin nationals up to 14 years old who intend to travel to Serbia will require passports, while those aged 14 to 18 will need to present either a passport or ID card. The decision was made by the Serbian Interior Ministry, according to a statement released …

Macedonia’s Constitutional Court has decided not to launch a procedure following an initiative put forward by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, to review the constitutionality of the recent Macedonia-Kosovo border ratification agreement. The judges decided that the bilateral agreement involved only a demarcation deal and did not changed the …

After a meeting with representatives of the Serb minority in Kosovo, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced on Thursday the gifting of a 400,000 euro grant to the community of Gracanica. Berisha held a joint meeting with Slobodan Petrovic, head of the Serbian Liberal Party in Kosovo, where he expressed …

Moldova’s parliament has approved a decision on the country’s withdrawal from the Economic Court of the CIS. The Economic Court of the CIS does not play a decisive role in resolving legal disputes of the republic on the CIS space, Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Efrim said on Wednesday.

European Union countries on Tuesday agreed to start negotiations with Russia on nuclear energy cooperation, the bloc’s executive said. The move is part of a broader push to secure stable energy supplies long-term, after the EU struggled in recent winters to guarantee gas supplies from major energy exporter Russia.

Visiting European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek Monday called on Ukraine to hold “a free, fair and transparent” presidential poll. “The European Union does not support any presidential candidate. But we are very interested in a free, fair and transparent election in Ukraine,” Buzek told a press conference after talks with …

Bulgarian Prime Minister (PM) Boyko Borisov has discussed issues on bilateral relations of Bulgaria with Macedonia and Serbia. In a telephone talks he has wished the two friendly countries on their path to the integration in European structures and has welcomed the official Serbia’s application for EU accession, the government …

Bulgaria could add up to 100 troops in Afghanistan in 2010 and will consolidate its military contingent there in Kandahar, Defense Minister Nickolay Mladenov said Tuesday. “In the beginning of January 2010 the Ministry of Defense will request the Council of Ministers our mission in Kandahar to be increased with …

The leader of the Transnistrian region Igor Smirnov threatens the official Chisinau with the introduction of a visa regime for the Moldovan citizens, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the website of the radio station “Golos Rossii”.