Global politics

"IMF will approve deal - but forget that money" - PM

BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vucic says he expects the IMF Executive Board will grant Serbia a precautionary arrangement at its meeting on Monday.

"Anything but the approved arrangement, would be a major surprise and disappointment," the prime minister told Tanjug.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Germany's Stern magazine an economic war with Russia was in no-one's interests and that imposing sanctions on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine was "hypocritical"

NATO on Wednesday urged Russia to withdraw all forces from eastern Ukraine and to end  its support for the pro-Moscow separatists as a ceasefire appeared to unravel.
      

Romania has repaid, since the start of this year, over 1.567 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund, European Union and World Bank, in the account of the stand-by loan taken out in 2009, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Finance for AGERPRES.

Photo credit: (c) GABRIEL PETRESCU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Greece is committed to not continuing an international bailout similar to the ones agreed with the EU and IMF by previous governments, its spokesman said on Sunday.

"(Greece) will not continue with a program which has the characteristics of the programs of previous governments,» Gabriel Sakellaridis told Greek TV.

The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday, condemning the terrorist attack that occurred yesterday in Copenhagen, during a debate on blasphemy and freedom of speech.

The statement reads:

"We categorically condemn and express our abhorrence of the armed terrorist attack that took place today in Copenhagen during a public event for freedom of speech.

Bulgaria is strongly condemning the attacks in Copenhagen which took [two] lives and wounded innocent citizens, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia has said in a statement.

Minister Daniel Mitov has described the events of Saturday as "yet another terror act targeting one of our supreme values - freedom of speech."

US President Obama held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday regarding the rising tensions in Ukraine and the need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, as stated in a White House press release.

Matthieu Pigasse, head of investment bank Lazard in Paris which is advising the Greek government on its debt restructuring, said on Tuesday the troika imposing austerity on Greece was totally mistaken and had driven the country's economy into a wall.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday delayed the implementation of a new round of sanctions against Russia to give a chance to a fresh peace initiative led by France and Germany.