North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Current discussion in Croatia on re-introducing military conscription is "not serious" and shows a lack of proper analysis and preparation, a military analyst, Igor Tabak, told BIRN.

"The military doesn't serve itself and is financed from the state budget by the citizens - so starting such a debate without taking into account the basis for such a decision is frivolous," he said.

Divergences on Bosnia's foreign policy priorities are growing between the Bosnian government and Republika Srpska, the country's Serb-dominated entity, experts say.

"Although Republika Srpska is just an entity inside Bosnia, they have different perceptions of their foreign policy goals," Sead Turcalo, a political sciences professor in Sarajevo, told BIRN on Monday.

NATO allies have agreed to a plan for their ships in the Aegean Sea to help Turkey and Greece counter criminal networks smuggling refugees into Europe, NATO's chief said on Feb. 25, overcoming territorial sensitivities between Greece and Turkey.

Where do we stand on the Turkey-EU deal? Will it succeed or fail?

First of all, it is still work in progress. There is an understanding on the general framework and now both sides are working on the details to make it concrete.

The Bulgarian government has agreed to send troops as part of a NATO mission aimed at bolstering the defense of Turkey's airspace.

Eight Bulgarian troops will be deployed as of March 01, 2016, for a period of six months, the cabinet has said.

Syria's Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) should be excluded from a recently declared cessation of hostilities in Syria, just like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said.

By accepting a ceasefire terms in Syria together with Russia, "the U.S. showed Turkey it is not going to support it," former U.S. diplomat Jim Jatras has said.

He told RT this meant Washington will not support "Ankara’s efforts to send troops into Syria and NATO won’t come to rescue them later," and that he did not think the ceasefire would last.

According to Turkish government spokesman Numan Kurtulmu?, the name of the suicide bomber is irrelevant. The only relevant thing is the fact that the terrorist act on Feb. 17 that killed 29 people (after another injured person lost their life on Feb. 23) in Ankara was carried out by both the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Protection Units (YPG).

The Foreign Ministry has reassigned five ambassadors, recalling four to Turkey, the state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

It all happened so fast that probably the officials of both Turkey and Greece are worried about the unintended consequences of what they have found themselves in, if they are not already regretting it totally.

Let me explain.