Politics

Self-determination, change of borders "road to hell"

PRAGUE -- Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek has strongly condemned the referendum on independence of Crimea, held on Sunday.

He believes it is "a hellish concept that can have dire consequences."

Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev has backed the proposal of Drug Enforcement Administration deputy chief Thomas Harrigan to discuss creating special joint teams.

Harrigan and Yovchev met Wednesday as part of a working visit of the Bulgarian delegation to the US, according to the press office of the Interior Ministry.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Wednesday, commenting on the arrest of drug lord Darko Saric, that there was basis to suspect there had been contacts between government officials and criminal organizations.

The most important thing is that Saric is in the hands of the authorities and that he will appear before court on Monday, he told TV Pink.

Southern parts of Serbia could request to join Kosovo if Crimea is incorporated into Russia.

"If authorities in Moscow demand that Crimea join Russia, Tirana [Albania's capital] and Pristina [Kosovo's capital] should demand the same for Presevo valley," Jonuz Musliu, head of Bujanovac Municipality, was quoted as saying by Serbian radio B92 and CROSS news agency.

Vojislav Kostunica, former president of the FRY and Serbian Prime Minister from two terms, has decided to withdraw from the political arena after the election failure.

State employees are to stage on Wednesday a new nationwide strike in Greece.

They are demanding that the government in Athens abandon plans for fresh mass layoffs within the state sector which are a condition of the international bailout program, Dnevnik.bg has reported.

"Crimea legally declares independence, Kosovo was illegal"

BANJA LUKA -- President of the Serb Republic, RS, Milorad Dodik stated in Banja Luka that "no parallels can be drawn between the situation in Kosovo and that in Crimea."

BANJA LUKA - Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik stated in Banja Luka that no parallels can be drawn between the situation in Kosovo and that in Crimea as Kosovo illegitimately declared independence and violated the UN Charter and the UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

The shift in policy comes almost two years after the government said it planned to sell the company to a foreign investor - but failed to choose a consultancy firm that would find the best model for privatization.

Tensions increased between Russia and Ukraine after reports of an incident at a naval base in Crimea's capital Simferopol.

Ukraine's military has announced that an officer has been killed in an attack on the base, Interfax news agency has informed. Other news sources suggest he was wounded in the neck.