Balkan News

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his visit to Serbia that he shared Belgrade’s concern over Kosovo’s intention to form an army, which he called a violation of UN Resolution 1244.

All manner of political bets and diplomatic calculations seem to be in the focus of this week’s selection of premium stories as politicians, parties and governments jockey for positions, or, in some cases, survival. 

As Vladimir Putin visits Belgrade, BIRN journalists have used the occasion to call on the Kremlin leader to release imprisoned journalists in Russia and respect human rights.

Serbia's appeal court has acquitted those convicted of trying to set fire to the US embassy in Belgrade in 2008 in a protest against US support for Kosovo's declaration of independence.

At a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Croatian counterpart both agreed that the 1995 agreement which ended the 1992-5 war in Bosnia is not working.

War crimes prosecution, ethnic tensions, threats to journalists and minority and immigrants’ rights remain the key problems in the field of human rights in the Balkans, Human Rights Watch's World Report 2019 noted.

The castle built by Romania’s first king at Peles remains a tribute to Carol I’s many achievements – and his love of the arts.

Under diplomatic pressure and in violation of its own conditions, Bulgaria’s parliament has given the green light to negotiations on the purchase of eight US fighter jets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting his Serbian counterpart on Thursday, when they will sign a series of agreements and memorandums, highlighting the warmth between the two Slavic allies.

Serbs who have been protesting against the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic for the past six weeks on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic’s murder.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime said it is waiting for more expertise before deciding whether to pursue the case of a man arrested on January 13 and suspected of planning terrorist attacks in the name of ISIS.

Deutsche Telekom's subsidiary in Greece, OTE, is selling its shares in the second-largest mobile operator in Albania to the Bulgarian investor Spas Roussev and the Albanian-Bulgarian investor Elvin Guri for 50 million euros.

The UN court in the Hague granted early release to Valentin Coric, one of the six leaders of the unrecognised Bosnian Croat statelet of Herzeg-Bosnia who were convicted for war crimes during 1992-1994.

The main ruling and opposition parties in Macedonia are both tempted by the prospect of early legislative elections – but for very different reasons.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Rrustem Mustafa said after being interviewed in The Hague that he had been asked 'very serious questions' after being invited as a 'suspect witness'.

A Russian trade embargo on Ukraine is hurting Moldovan exporters and undermining the pro-Russian Socialists’ platform for elections in February.

American historian Max Bergholz tells BIRN how the 1941 massacres in the Bosnian town of Kulen Vakuf show that upheavals caused by outbreaks of violence can transform ethnic identities and relations.

Kosovo's expectations that the EU will abolish visa requirements are fast fading – and a feeling betrayal is damaging the country’s confidence in its European perspective.

Exiled Kremlin critic Ilya Ponomarev says Serbia’s affinity for Russia plays well for Putin domestically, but its EU accession prospects are the real attraction.

The short film In Between has been selected to appear at the Berlinale International Film Festival, a first for Kosovo cinematography.