Balkans

Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha arrived in Pristina today for a two-day visit, his first since Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Berisha will meet Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Fatmir Sejdiu, Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi and other political party heads, as well as leading business figures.

Their countries’ strong bilateral ties will be further enhanced by the upcoming visit to Belgrade of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, the Serbian and Russian foreign ministers say. Serbia’s Vuk Jeremic and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov agreed in Moscow that mutual relations have never been better.

Critics say there is indeed something fishy going on in the Adriatic, as a sudden and unexpected deal between Croatia and Slovenia hopes to solve an ongoing territorial dispute and unblock Croatia’s EU accession talks. The positive atmosphere is not likely to last, Anes Alic writes for ISN Security Watch. …

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić is in Moscow making final preparations for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s Belgrade visit. Jeremić, who is on a working visit, will be meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and officials of Medvedev’s administration. Before heading for Moscow, Jeremić said that Belgrade officials expect that Medvedev’s …

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will be heading to Slovakia on Monday for talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Gruevski spearheads the government’s delegation which includes Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Vasko Naumovski, Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska and the Foreign Investments Agency Director Viktor Mizo.

Serbian government is set to file a counter-lawsuit to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Croatia alleging genocide during 1991-95 war. Serbia will sue Croatia for war crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the Serb minority during the 1991-95 war in Croatia. The government and expert team representing Serbia …

Russia is ready to extend a credit to Serbia and considers giving a loan to Bulgaria, Russian Deputy PM and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told journalists after a meeting with the finance ministers of the two countries in Istanbul where the IMF and World Bank hold an annual session.

Greece’s new cabinet will be announced on Tuesday after PASOK won Sunday’s early elections. On Monday the socialist party PASOK leader Georgios Papandreou will receive a mandate from President Karolos Papoulias to form a new government. According to some sources the new government scheme could be made public as early …

Serbia’s attempts to block Kosovo’s participation in regional initiatives could paralyse regional policies, according to a leaked European Commission, EC, report. This according to a report on Balkan countries involved in the EU enlargement process, to be issued in Brussels on October 14.

The upcoming change in government in Greece may act to break the current impasse in the Athens-Skopje name talks, Macedonian observers predict. Outgoing Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has resigned as New Democracy leader after his party suffered an outright defeat in Sunday’s general election to the rival Pan-Hellenic Socialist …