June, 2009

• 24 June

  Erdogan criticises EU countries over Turkey’s bid

  ANKARA, Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday (June 22nd) criticised unspecified EU member states for using Turkey’s membership bid for domestic politics, media reported. Speaking at a luncheon for the EU ambassadors to Ankara, Erdogan said it is “absolutely wrong” to exploit Turkey’s accession process.

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• 24 June

  Krajisnik visits relatives in Pale

  SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Former Bosnian Serb leader Momcilo Krajisnik arrived in Pale on Monday (June 22nd) to see his family. The Hague war crimes tribunal granted him three days to visit his ill mother. In March, Krajisnik was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed …

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• 24 June

  Russian FM holds talks with Swiss on Georgia

  GENEVA Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday for talks with his Swiss counterpart that will include the situation in Georgia, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said.

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• 24 June

  Chinese Vice President, Romanian senate head vow to boost ties

  BEIJING Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met Mircea Geoana, the president of Romania’s senate here Wednesday. Xi pledged to step up cooperation and boost ties. Xi hailed the traditional relationship and the development of bilateral ties since the two states established diplomatic relations 60 years ago. 

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• 24 June

  Tadic Visit Strains Bosnia-Serbia relations

  The recent visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic to Banja Luka, the seat of the Bosnian Serb leadership, continues to draw strong criticism from other Bosnian leaders. “Tadic is reneging on the Dayton agreement,” leader of the strongest Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) Party of Democratic Action, SDA, Sulejman Tihic, said in …

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• 24 June

  Kosovo: EULEX condemns Serb roadblocks

  The EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo has condemned the use of roadblocks by local Serbs, who are attempting to stop EULEX custom officers from working in the north of the country. Roadblocks were erected on Monday and Tuesday on the roads leading to Gates 1 and 31 in northern Kosovo, …

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• 24 June

  Slovenia Blocks Croatia’s EU Accession Progress

  in Croatia’s EU accession negotiations, leaving Zagreb with a total of 13 blocked chapters. Slovenia failed to give Croatia the green light for closing a chapter on statistics, citing the two countries’ unresolved territorial disputes, Croatia’s HINA news agency reported.

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• 24 June

  Serbia War Crimes Court Sentences Croat Serb

  Serbia’s war Crimes Court on Tuesday sentenced a Croatian Serb to 20 years in prison for killing Croat prisoners of war in the eastern Croatian city of Vukovar in 1991. Damir Sireta, alias Sico, was indicted for taking part in the killing of some 200 Croatian soldiers and civilians at …

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• 24 June

  War Criminal Ends Gotovina Defence Testimony

  Former Yugoslav Army general and convicted war criminal Mile Mrksic has concluded his five-day-long testimony as a witness for the defence of Croatian General Ante Gotovina, accused of deporting Serbs from Knin Krajina in 1995 under Operation Storm. Mrksic had initially refused to testify, but was subpoenaed by the court, …

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• 24 June

  Kosovo Welcomes Japanese Diplomat

  The first Japanese ambassador to Kosovo, Akio Tanaka, is preparing to take up his post in the newly independent nation. In a Wednesday letter to Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Japanese diplomat Akio Tanaka said he was honored to assume the post and vowed Japan’s continued support. Serbia’s Beta news agency …

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