Eurasia

ALBANIA Albania’s President Bamir Topi decreed on Monday that the new parliament will convene on September 7, despite ongoing ructions concerning the contested June 28 parliamentary elections. After the new parliament takes its seats, the president is expected to mandate the Democratic Party, PD, of Prime Minister Sali Berisha to …

SERBIA UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will meet with Serbian senior officials to discuss the refugee problem in Serbia and the region. Before arriving to Belgrade, Guterres was in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he said that it would be ideal if all of the open questions regarding refugees …

AUSTRIA Serbia has received clear approval from the U.S. to have Serbia citizens convicted by the Hague Tribunal transferred to serve their time in Serbia. According to Justice Minister Snežana Malović, this approval has nothing to do with the so-called “secret deal” to have convicts from Guantanamo Bay transferred to …

SLOVENIA Slovenia is expected to sign the agreement for constructing a part of the South Stream gas pipeline on its territory soon, Prime Minister Borut Pahor said. Pahor added that the details regarding the agreement will be confirmed soon at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to …

RUSSIA Russia has accused Kyiv of attempting to seize property belonging to its Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, in a further sign of escalating tension between the ex-Soviet neighbors. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet said it had barred Ukrainian court bailiffs as they tried to seize navigation equipment on August 27 …

TURKEY U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler has met with Turkish officials to discuss all aspects of bilateral ties, regional developments and Turkey’s European Union bid. Wexler held meetings with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin late Wednesday and met with Foreign Minister Ahmet …

GREECE NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen will visit Athens for talks with Greek officials. NATO chief will meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and Defense Minister Evangalos Meimarakis. Details will be announced at the press conference, which will be hold by Karamanlis and Rasmunssen. …

ALBANIA Albania is the only country that didn’t feel the impact of global economic crisis, the country’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha said. In his address to the Committee on National Strategy Planning, Berisha stressed that there have been pay cuts in all countries except for Albania, where salaries surged significantly, …

TURKEY Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkey and Romania, the two most important countries in Black Sea region, were determined to turn the region into one of the most powerful and developed economic basins in the world. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu …

ROMANIA Romania’s National Defense Minister Mihai Stanisoara stressed on Wednesday that his ministry is in no way involved in the contracts of the deliberation of ammunition. Stanisoara was referring to an operation for the neutralization and safe disposal of the military ammunition that has become unusable and dangerous.