Balkans

The recent escalation in Kosovo demonstrates the US and the EU have adopted a dangerous strategy of appeasing expansionist Belgrade. Images of pipe-wielding and stone-throwing Serb militant nationalists assaulting NATO peacekeepers in the northern Kosovo town of Zvecan in late May put the Balkan country in the international spotlight once …

The Balkans is a part of the European continent that can be divided into the Eastern Balkans and the Western Balkans. In the last two decades, some countries in the region are members of the European Union, some are members of NATO, and some are on the verge of joining …

Democracy and legality haven’t solved the problem so the US must also rely on humanity, reality, self-interest, and sheer common sense. In the appallingly complicated politics of the western Balkans, one thing at least is abundantly clear: that without the presence of Western troops, and the threat of NATO military …

With the West focused on Ukraine, Russia is taking the opportunity to nibble away at NATO’s borders and to sow discord. The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Balkans can only be understood by considering Moscow’s malign influence in the region from a broader perspective. While Russia has …

There was, once upon a time, a communist, with an Orthodox religion background, but who could not publicly admit that, until 1990. Prior to 1990, he was an atheist, a young communist who was focused on developing a socialist community at the local level as the youngest ever Chairman of …

Violence flared in northern Kosovo last week between ethnic Serbs and NATO’s peacekeeping mission, KFOR. The clashes left NATO troops injured, Serbia emboldened, Kosovo weakened, Russia empowered, and the transatlantic community divided.

Kosovo’s relations with its key US ally deteriorated sharply as Washington said it will impose penalties until Pristina takes measures to de-escalate the tense situation that led to violent unrest in the Serb-majority north of the country. The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Tuesday that Washington will …

The early parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on 11 June 2023, will be the twelfth parliamentary elections since the introduction of a multi-party system and the sixth since Montenegro gained its independence. There are around 542 thousand eligible voters registered in the central electoral roll. Montenegro has a proportional …

Thousands of citizens from all over Serbia set off for Belgrade on Friday, May 26. Their destination was “the largest gathering in the history of Serbia,” as the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) announced the Serbia Hope rally . Along several Belgrade streets and boulevards, endless columns of parked vehicles …

NATO on May 27 called on Kosovar authorities to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions in the Serb-majority northern towns after security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds in three towns and enter municipal buildings in support of recently elected ethnic Albanian mayors. The situation was …