Eurasia

SERBIA DS leader Boris Tadić told his party’s main board meeting in Belgrade on Saturday that the end of the economic crisis is at hand, but that it is “not over yet”. However, he warned against complacency. Serbia is looking at a long and hard economic recovery and serious reforms, …

KOSOVO The United States and the EU have welcomed the signing of a police cooperation protocol between MUP and EULEX. EU representative in Kosovo Pieter Feith was quoted as saying this morning that he is convinced the agreement does not violate “Kosovo’s sovereignty” and that the Ahtisaari package allows the …

SERBIA Interior Minister Ivica Dačić announced on Friday a declaration on joint fight against terrorism and organized crime in Southeast Europe. According to him, the declaration “will be signed in the coming months”.

KOSOVO EU representative in Kosovo Pieter Feith says he supports the establishment of full EULEX customs control across Kosovo. A statement from his cabinet on Friday in Priština said that this included the EU mission’s activities to establish control over customs points of Jarinje and Brnjak, in the north of …

KOSOVO Some 200 Serbs attended a dedication ceremony in Velika Hoča of a memorial honoring the kidnapped and murdered Serbs. The gathering on Friday, commemorating the Serb victims from the Kosovo municipality of Orahovac who perished or disappeared from 1998 until 2000, was attended by representatives of the International Committee …

SERBIA It is time to apply the Interim Trade Agreement of the EU with Serbia, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger said. After Slovenia and Croatia reached a deal about a border dispute, Spindelegger said that this positive period should be used to finally make some progress regarding Serbia. …

RUSSIA Russian PM Vladimir Putin has given the clearest indication yet that he might run again for the Russian presidency. Putin did not commit himself, but hinted that he is thinking of coming back in 2012 when President Dmitry Medvedev’s current term expires. The two leaders would not compete, but …

TURKEY The International Monetary Fund’s goal of reaching agreement with Turkey for a possible loan to the country doesn’t have to be achieved at the lender’s annual meeting next month in Istanbul, an IMF spokesman said. “Both the Turkish authorities and the IMF would like to reach a conclusion regarding …

CROATIA The Swedish Presidency over the EU welcomed today the agreement between Ljubljana and Zagreb for unblocking of the Croatian pre-accession talks, emphasizing that the Croatian entrance is of interest of the entire Union.

BALKANS Although the United States is not focused on the Balkans as it was in the 1990s, the challenges in this region are still reviewed at a very high level in Washington, a prominent US political expert said. John Stilides, a political strategist of the Republican Party and chairman of …