Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan spoke out on Monday against a court ban on a Kurdish party that caused angry protests and plunged the country into political uncertainty. The court ruling drew criticism from the European Union, dealing a new blow to Turkey’s faltering hopes of EU membership.

Republic of Moldova residents having the Ukrainian citizenship, including those living in Moldova’s Transnistrian region, will be able to take part in the January 17, 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections only at the two polling stations that will be opened at the Ukrainian Embassy in Chisinau and at the Ukrainian Consulate …

Montenegrin Deputy PM Svetozar Marović says his country “most sincerely wants to have the best possible relations with Serbia”. Podgorica will not establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules on the legality of the unilateral Kosovo Albanian proclamation, he said.