Southeastern European countries

A US soldier gestures to a North Macedonian armoured vehicles near Kumanovo, North Macedonia. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

Citizens of several Balkan countries over the weekend and on Monday have had an opportunity to see displays of military equipment being used for the NATO "Immediate Response" military exercise.

The Foreign Ministry on May 19 called on Greece to end "provocative" rhetoric on Greek Pontus expressed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while Türkiye marks the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.

NOVI SAD - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday the situation in the north of Kosovo-Metohija was very difficult and tense as Pristina was expected to try to elect false mayors for three Serb-majority municipalities on Friday.

In most Balkan countries excluding Bosnia and Kosovo, where Turkish state influence is stronger, a majority of Turkish expatriate citizens voted for President Erdogan's rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu and for opposition parties at the weekend's elections.

The EU envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajak, made an announcement after talks with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vui, and the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.
He stated that he talked with Vui and Petar Petkovi about further progress on the path of implementing the agreement.

BRUSSELS/BELGRADE - The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Friday his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic in Belgrade earlier in the day had addressed the way forward on the implementation of an agreement reached in the dialogue.

The Slovenian minority in Croatia has elected its representatives in local communities amidst very low turnout. There will be Slovenian minority councils in nine local governments and Slovenian representatives in eight, Croatian Electoral Commission data shows.

Turkish contractors are focusing more on the markets in the Balkan nations amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, projects in Romania in particular, business daily Dünya has reported.

Recently, Turkish companies won a tender worth 266 million euros to build a section of a highway in Romania.

BELGRADE - Serbia registered 19 pct more tourist visits in March 2023 relative to the same month of last year and the number of overnight stays was up by 14.7 pct, according to figures released by the national statistical office.

Overnight stays generated by Serbian tourists were up by 8.5 pct y-o-y, while those generated by foreign tourists were up by 22.7 pct y-o-y.

He stated that his country, as the chairman of the OSCE, is ready to implement parts of the agreement between the so-called of Kosovo and Serbia achieved in Ohrid, but only with the consent of both parties. When asked what his position is on the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, he said that North Macedonia has an equal relationship with both sides, reports Telma.