Eurasia

Russia has been hit hard by dual shocks—a collapse in oil prices and a sudden reversal of capital flows. Even though Russia’s far-sighted policy of saving most oil revenues allowed for a large fiscal stimulus, the IMF in its annual Article IV assessment of the country’s economy projects real GDP …

CHISINAU, Moldova Moldova’s new ruling coalition will make cancellation of visa requirements for Romanian citizens a top order of business, a senior official said Monday. The four-party majority controlling Moldova’s parliament considers visa-free travel for Romanian nationals a “top priority,” said Markian Lupu, chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova …

DAMASCUS, Syria Minister of Trade and Economy Amer Hossni Lutfi discussed yesterday with Armenian Ambassador to Syria Arshag Poladian the latest preparations for holding a Syrian-Armenian committee for commercial, economic, scientific and technical cooperation due to be held in Yerevan next month. 

According to Bulgarian daily Standart, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boiko Borissov will visit Brussels on September 9 and 10 for talks about unfreezing EU funds for Bulgaria. Joining Borissov on his visit will be Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov and Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva. The agenda for the meetings had already …

Mobile frontier police units at the Kulata border crossing points have been doubled and are operational round-the-clock to thwart illegal imports of fruits and vegetables from Greece. The latest development was announced by the Bulgarian finance and deputy prime minister Simeon Dyankov. “These are some of the measures which the …

In an interview with bTV television on August 10, Bulgaria’s Minister without portfolio, responsible for Bulgarians abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov responded to the Spaska Mitrova case in Macedonia. As reported earlier by The Sofia Echo, Mitrova is a Bulgarian national who has allegedly been sentenced to three months in jail for …

VIENNA A former EU envoy in the talks on the Kosovo status says he does not expect Belgrade to recognize “even in the best case scenario”. Stefan Lehne believes that Belgrade and Priština should establish practical cooperation, and that “different political stands on the independence of Kosovo should be put …

PRIŠTINA Newly appointed NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Kosovo on August 13, an Albanian language daily writes. Zeri newspaper says that Rasmussen will meet in Priština with KFOR commander Gen. Giuseppe Emilio Gay to discuss the security situation. He will also be meeting with Kosovo President Fatmir …

WASHINGTON, BELGRADE U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that his country is against “any kind of partition of Kosovo”. “I can tell you that our policy remains unchanged,” Toner said, according to Albanian language media in Priština. He said that he is not familiar with the idea of Republican …

NOVI SAD Opposition Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) President Čedomir Jovanović believes that Serbia has “the slowest and least organized government in Europe”. According to him, it’s a government with too many members who are afraid of taking risks and too few of those who have any ambitions.