Eurasia

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told the Austrian Ö1 Radio that Croatia has offered an agreement on accessing the open sea to Slovenia, which Ljubljana has been demanding from the start, Slovene Dnevnik reports. Mesic explained that he meant the option of Slovene ships passing through Croatian territorial waters to the …

Supplies of Russian natural gas to southeastern Europe are under control following a pipeline explosion this week, European Union gas experts said on Thursday. The blast on a 30-year-old pipeline in a separatist region of ex-Soviet Moldova caused a drop in deliveries on Wednesday. “After hearing reports of the countries …

`I am pleased to announce that from February 1, payment for gas has been proceeding in timely fashion,` Tymoshenko said to the press. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pledged on Thursday that Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz would make timely, full payment for gas shipments in March by Russian giant Gazprom. …

ANKARA, Turkey – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday (April 1st) that he is mulling changes in the government after his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered its worst election result in seven years. The AKP won 39% of the votes in Sunday’s local elections, falling well …

ATHENS, Greece – Greece is being paralysed by a 24-hour national strike Thursday (April 2nd) organised by the two largest trade unions in the country — the General Confederation of Workers of Greece and the Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council.

ANKARA, Turkey – President Abdullah Gul hosted the third trilateral meeting among counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday (April 1st). Gul, Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari discussed ways to strengthen relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, joint economic projects, and the fight against terrorism in the context …

PRISTINA, Kosovo – The Ombudsperson Institution published a report Wednesday (April 1st) that blames UNMIK for rights violations the Roma have suffered in camps in northern Mitrovica since 1999. The report concludes that UNMIK has continuously violated international standards for human rights and it urges the government to intervene by …

MOSCOW – Russia sent a strong warning to the United States Thursday about supporting Georgia in the U.S. ally’s efforts to rebuild its military following last year’s war. The Foreign Ministry said helping arm Georgia would be “extremely dangerous” and would amount to “nothing but the encouragement of the aggressor.”

Russia has accused Georgia of planning revenge against pro-Moscow separatists and warned the US against arms sales to Tbilisi. Georgia’s US-trained armed forces were routed by Russian troops during a five-day war last August when Tbilisi tried to retake its rebel South Ossetia region by force. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili …

Bulgarian MPs have passed a new set of punishments for anyone found to be involved in ‘vote buying’ after the second reading of a new bill Thursday. Anyone found to be involved in vote rigging or buying will now receive a jail term of 1-3 years and a fine of …