MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he saw no need to hang his successor’s portrait in his office once he steps down as Russia’s president.

BELGRADE – Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica went on national television on Thursday to tell Serbia to brace for the imminent secession of Kosovo province, which their government would never accept.

MOSCOW – The near 100 percent support for the Kremlin’s United Russia party in parliamentary elections last year in the North Caucasus were legitimate and vindicated Kremlin policies, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.