Eurasia

Tbilisi, Georgia – About 20,000 demonstrators Friday kept up the pressure on Georgia’s president to resign, with some pelting his residence with cabbages and carrots on a second day of protests. President Mikheil Saakashvili rejected their demands and called for talks. The crowd was smaller than on Thursday, a national …

CHISINAU, Moldova Moldova has “proof” of Romanian involvement in the riots this week against the Communist victory in legislative elections, President Vladimir Voronin said Friday. He said liberal opposition parties had held talks at the highest level with the Romanian embassy while Romanian “citizens and combat specialists” had taken part …

Moldova’s president on Friday ordered a recount of disputed elections won by the Communists that sparked bloody riots by their opponents and a diplomatic crisis with Romania. The Communists cemented their eight-year dominance of Moldovan politics in the weekend polls, gaining 60 of the 101 seats in the new parliament …

The US Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, has congratulated Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kalfin on Bulgaria’s stable economy and banking system. Kalfin completed his two-day visit to the USA with a meeting with Locke, thus becoming the first high-ranking foreign official that the US Secretary of Commerce has welcomed since assuming …

The prime minister of Moldova said on Thursday that authorities in the former Soviet republic were prepared to use all means including weapons, if new opposition protests turn violent. Zinaida Greceanii, in a television address to the nation, said the opposition was planning to stage new rallies on Friday and …

Bosnia must speed up European integration reforms to catch up with neighbours and unite political forces against the economic crisis, the EU presidency chairman said on Thursday. Foreign ministers of the current Czech, previous French and future Swedish EU presidency visited Bosnia this week to review reform progress and tell …

BUCHAREST, Romania Lawmakers chose Mihnea Constantinescu as new ambassador to Moldova on Wednesday (April 8th) after the expulsion of the previous ambassador, Filip Teodorescu. The move came after Chisinau accused Bucharest of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs by backing the riots that broke out on Tuesday following Sunday’s elections.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia During a meeting in Ljubljana on Wednesday (April 8th), Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said Belgrade has no plans to apply for NATO membership. The issue was raised in light of neighbours Croatia and Albania joining the Alliance last week.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Denmark is lifting labour restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians effective on May 1st, the Romanian Employment Agency announced on Wednesday (April 8th). That means Bulgarians and Romanians will have the right to work in the country without the permits currently required and under equal terms with Danish citizens …

ANKARA, Turkey The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) intends to hold talks with the opposition on possible constitutional amendments, Burhan Kuzu, the head of parliament’s Joint Constitution-Justice Commission, told Reuters on Wednesday (April 8th).