Balkan countries

Turkey's coast guard says it stopped 71 Syrian migrants attempting to reach Greece.

The migrants were stopped in a rubber dinghy early Tuesday in Izmir province, on the Aegean sea, as they began their journey to the Greek island of Lesvos.

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday outlined his vision for the creation of an organization for security and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean on the first day of the second international Conference for Security and Stability on the southeastern Aegean island of Rhodes.

BRUSSELS - The W. Balkans is a priority for the EU, which is working together with international partners to support all countries of the region on their European path, Brussels says.

A sudden, almost simultaneous resolution of political crises in Albania and Macedonia is seen by the European Commission as a result of such joint engagement.

Greek sea bream has been among the victims of the coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016, as a large drop in tourism to the neighboring country since last summer has redirected Turkish bream from the domestic to the international market, where 85 percent of the Greece's bream output is also headed.

ODZACI - Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday he did not care about personal insults directed at him by Macedonian PM-designate Zoran Zaev, adding that his judgement would be based on actions - and Macedonia's vote on Kosovo's UNESCO membership bid.

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic has accused Macedonian PM-designate Zoran Zaev of making statements eroding Belgrade-Skopje relations, and noted the Serbian authorities would treat the Macedonian authorities reciprocally.

Memories are fresh of the Second World War in multi-ethnic Bosnia where Turkey's cooperation agency takes sides with fellow Bosniacs and makes remarkable projects for development of the country, including preservation of massive heritage of Ottoman Empire in the region. 

Photo: MoD of Montenegro

The North Atlantic Alliance intends to use its newest member, Montenegro, to militarize the Balkan Peninsula, political activist and one of the leaders of the Resistance to Hopelessness movement Marko Milacic told Sputnik Serbia.

Revenues at Thomas Cook rose 3 percent thanks to strong demand for winter holidays in Greece and long-haul destinations, the tour operator said on Thursday while describing the country as a "standout" destination for this summer.

Aleksandar Vucic expects good relations with the US and adds that the country's new president has faced "a relentless campaign against him from day one."

"Serbia is too small a country, and I too small a politician to interfere even in the internal affairs of Macedonia, let alone of the US," the prime minister and president-elect said.