June, 2009

• 9 June

  Turkey lifts visa regime for Kosovo citizens

  PRISTINA, Kosovo As of Saturday (June 6th), Turkey lifted its visa regime for Kosovo citizens holding newer passports, not those with older ones issued by UNMIK. Foreign ministry officials say it reflects a new phase of bilateral co-operation.

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• 9 June

  Turkey bombs PKK targets in northern Iraq

  ANKARA, Turkey Warplanes have bombed hideouts of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, media reported on Sunday (June 7th), citing military sources. Turkish military jets conducted the bombings on Saturday evening after PKK militants were spotted on Iraqi territory, as ground forces shelled PKK targets near the …

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• 9 June

  Georgia’s Saakashvili orders formation of constitutional commission amid political turmoil

  MOSCOW – Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has issued an order to set up a constitutional commission in an effort to end a two-month political stalemate, news reports said on Monday. According to the order, the president, the government and the parliament can nominate three representatives respectively to the new body, …

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• 9 June

  Franco Frattini: EU and Nato integration successful in Bulgaria

  Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini met Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ivailo Kalfin in Sofia on June 8. During the meeting, Frattini assured his hosts that Bulgaria is still viewed as an excellent place for investment despite the global economic crunch.

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• 9 June

  New US ambassador to Bulgaria expected

  The US will have a new ambassador to Bulgaria after current ambassador Nancy McEldowney was asked by the Obama Administration to return to Washington and assume the position of principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, a US embassy statement said on June …

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• 9 June

  507 UN Personnel to Remain in Kosovo

  The United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, will be keeping 507 personnel in the country, the world body’s spokesman in Kosovo announced on Monday. “UNMIK has been undergoing a reconfiguration process since last year, and the new budget, which is being debated by the General Assembly, calls for the presence …

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• 9 June

  NATO to Reduce Kosovo Troops to 10,000

  NATO is expected to cut its troop numbers in Kosovo by one third because of the improved security situation, US sources have said. “NATO is working towards the next phase of its operations to a deterrence presence,” the US official told journalists in Brussels. NATO’s Kosovo Force, or KFOR, entered …

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• 9 June

  More Kosovo Serbs Wish to Return Home

  Serbia’s Deputy Minister for Kosovo, Bojan Andjelkovic, announced yesterday that 450 Kosovo Serb families have expressed their desire to return to their homes in Kosovo. “By Friday, there were 450 families registered [to return to their homes in Kosovo]. Since the campaign will continue until the end of June, I …

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• 9 June

  Italy, Romania Back Serbia EU Bid

  Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu told Serbian officials in Belgrade yesterday that they supported Serbia’s European integration and visa liberalisation for Serbian citizens traveling to the EU. The Italian and Romanian foreign ministers issued a joint statement recommending that the interim agreement between Serbia …

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• 9 June

  UNMIK Prepares for Two More Years in Kosovo

  UNMIK is making preparations for at least two more years in Kosovo, despite calls from the Kosovo Government to end its presence in the country. The timeframe emerged in a tender from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, which is ordering in two years of fuel, with the option to …

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