Eurasia

BELGRADE, Serbia Serbia rejects any partial implementation of the interim trade accord it signed with the EU, as proposed by the Netherlands and Belgium last week. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic insisted late on Saturday (June 20th) that such a solution would be “inadequate” and warned it is dangerous …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana voiced full support Sunday (June 21st) for High Representative Valentin Inzko’s decision to annul a resolution passed by Republika Srpska’s (RS) parliament. It obliged entity institutions and officials to oppose any future transfer of power to BiH.

PRISTINA, Kosovo UNMIK will keep its legal office operating despite the staff reduction due to the reconfiguration process, local media reported on Sunday (June 21st). Before the February 2008 declaration of independence, the legal office supervised all laws approved by parliament.

The Obama administration on Monday reaffirmed support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while it pursues better relations with Russia — Georgia’s adversary in last year’s military conflict. The White House says Vice President Joe Biden will visit Georgia next month after President Barack Obama’s summit visit to Moscow.  

WASHINGTON US Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Georgia and Ukraine next month for talks on boosting the former Soviet republics’ economies and supporting democratic reforms, his office said Monday. Both trips involve political sensitivities with Russia, and the visit would come shortly after US President Barack Obama travels …

BEIJING Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin met here Monday with Mircea Geoana, the visiting president of Romania’s senate, and called on both sides to take cooperation to a higher level. 

Bulgarian immigrants in Germany, who will face huge obstacles if they want to vote in the upcoming general elections of their home country, did not receive a satisfactory explanation from the Foreign Ministry. In a letter to the country’s ambassador in Berlin, the Bulgarians asked last week for more information …

Leading figures at the European Union and NATO have warned politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina that the country cannot progress towards NATO and EU integration in the present political climate. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a key topic at a meeting between NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop …

Bosnia is facing growing criticism from the EU and its neighbours over a new protectionist law that would tax agricultural products, media in the region reported over the weekend. Despite strong advice and warning from the EU, neighbouring countries and its own government, the Bosnian parliament adopted the controversial law …

The Croatian-Slovenian border dispute must be resolved bilaterally by the countries concerned, according to the future president of the European Union, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. “This is a bilateral dispute and a solution lies with those countries,” Bildt said in Brussels. “It is time for them to reflect and …