Member states of the Council of Europe

Serbia pays first gas debt installment to Russia

BELGRADE -- Serbia has paid the first installment of its gas debt to Russia, thus honoring an agreement reached in November.

Serbia paid USD 100 million, settling one half of the debt owed to Russia for natural gas delivered in the past, the daily Vecernje Novosti said it learned from the government.

The Bulgarians were spending BGN 6 M per hour in preparation for the Christmas holidays, shows preliminary data of the National Revenue Agency (NAP), quoted by the Nova TV national channel.

It is expected that this year the households will spend more on celebrations and shopping, compared to last year.

BELGRADE - Serbian citizens will be able to enjoy cheaper phone calls with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia, as the prices of the services will gradually decrease in the next three years, Director of the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RATEL) Milan Jankovic said on Thursday.

Speaker visits Moscow, reiterates policy on sanctions

MOSCOW -- Russia is "very grateful to Serbia for not succumbing to pressure from Brussels and Washington" when it comes to imposing sanctions against Russia.

This is what Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin told Serbian Assembly President Maja Gojkovic in Moscow on Monday.

MOSCOW - Serbia will never impose sanctions on Russia, even if it joins the EU, Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gjokovic said at a meeting with State Dume members on Monday.

Serbia will never impose sanctions on Russia because sanctions have never done anyone any good and cannot help solve any problems, she stated.

Cyprus has returned to Bulgaria three ancient pieces of jewellery, part of Bulgaria`s cultural heritage.

According to cyprus-mail.com, the items were smuggled to Cyprus through the post in 2006 and were withheld by customs authorities under legislation for tracing and returning cultural items smuggled to an EU member state.

VIENNA - Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic, Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in Vienna Wolfgang Brandstetter and justice ministers from five countries from Central Europe conferred with Federal President of Austria Heinz Fisher on Friday concerning judiciary reforms.

A number of Turkish-speaking countries came together to discuss how to strengthen cooperation in education at the 5th Turkish National Commission for UNESCO meeting in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, on Dec. 18.

The meeting's main purpose was to discuss mechanisms that enable the International Organization of Turkic Culture to act together.

VIENNA - Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic, who is visiting Austria with the Serbian delegation, conferred with Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in Vienna Wolfgang Brandstetter in Vienna on Friday.

BELGRADE - Head of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) group in the Serbian parliament Borislav Stefanovic said that a new political community should be formed in Western Balkans, organized as a loose confederation with a minimum of common bodies, which would enhance the EU accession prospects for countries in the region.