Slovenia is pushing for NATO to extend its membership in the Western Balkans, Defence Minister Roman Jakicas said on Thursday. Jakic said that the stability of the Western Balkans was a strategic point for Slovenia.

The European Union (EU) on Friday signed association agreements with Georgia and Moldova, but failed to ink a landmark deal with Ukraine in its drive to boost ties with six ex-Soviet states, according to news reports reaching here.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will pay an official visit to Moldova in early December, the State Department said on Wednesday. He will be the first secretary of State to visit Moldova in more than twenty years.