US State Department

The US State Department has affirmed its recognition of Greece as "an indispensable NATO ally and partner," but has not provided an update on the sale of the latest generation F-35 fighter planes produced by US defense giant Lockheed Martin.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke with US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet by phone on Wednesday about bilateral cooperation, Kosovo-Metohija and the situation in the region.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday evening US special envoy James Rubin was an official, paid Albanian lobbyist who had been purposely sent to Kosovo-Metohija during recent elections there to boost Pristina's campaign.

Albania's Socialist Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has rejected opposition claims of blackmailing voters over access to government funds.

On Wednesday he said his threats to block funds to municipalities run by opposition mayors were a consequence of opposition leader Sali Berisha's designation by the US State Department as "being involved in significant corruption".

The Serbian Army will join the "Platinum Wolf" military exercise with members of the US Army and Western partners this year, which will end the moratorium on participation in bilateral and multilateral exercises with all foreign partners introduced after the start of the war in Ukraine, Demostat, a Serbian research centre, has reported.

WASHINGTON - US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet has thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for his constructive engagement in a March 18 round of high-level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Ohrid, North Macedonia.

SYRIZA press spokeswoman Popi Tsapanidou has taken aim at the government over a recent US State Department report on the human rights situation in Greece.

The US State Department's global human rights report for 2022, published on Monday, said that in the majority of south-east European countries, perpetrators of domestic violence and rape often receive lenient sentences.

In some countries, the authorities also fail to properly investigate spousal rape cases, according to the State Department report.

Despite the difficult situation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing a counteroffensive in the Bakhmut sector until March 24.
North of Avdeyevka, Russian units succeeded at Krasnogorovka and broke through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the railway line.

The US State Department's new 2022 annual human rights report says the Bulgarian government's efforts to address corruption and human rights abuses are "insufficient."

The report said steps had been taken to investigate officials accused of human rights abuses and corruption, but there was a problem of impunity.