Via Militaris & Via Egnatia
A 53-year-old Major General Rumen Radev won the second round of presidential elections in Bulgaria, which, of course, is not a global sensation like the results of the US elections. Though for the Southeast Europe Bulgarian elections results are of non-routine importance.
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On October 24, President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović arrived in Azerbaijan on a three-day visit. She has already met with President Ilham Aliyev, still there are many interesting events in store for her.
The three-day visit is a notable event in recent Balkan diplomatic activities. It is taking place during the 25th anniversaries of the two countries’ statehoods and the mutual…
Montenegro approached its latest elections in the state of a crisis caused by a whole range of socioeconomic and political factors. Montenegro’s socioeconomic problems, for instance, a high unemployment rate, are typical for the entire region. As regards the political reasons, one could single out dissatisfaction with Milo Djukanovic’s regime and attempts to draw the country into NATO…
ShortPresident of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik became the second major state leader, after the Vice Chancellor, to meet with Vladimir Putin following the Russian parliamentary elections held on September 18, 2016. The meeting took place on September 22, on the eve of the referendum on the National Day of the Republika Srpska that was held this past Sunday. Dodik’s visit to Russia can thus be…
ShortLately a number of curious events have been unfolding in Kosovo. On September 13, it was reported that the fate of the land’s rich coalfields had been decided. An investigation into the matter conducted by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) revealed that the right to the fields were to be given over to Canada’s Envidity Energy chaired by retired General Wesley Clark. Although…
ShortAs early elections in Croatia were prompted by the resignation of the government, the country’s leading political forces were simply unable to prepare for them properly. Consequently, they relied on exploiting the population’s nationalist sentiments, which is, by default, a key for success. As a result, the Croatia–Serbia dialogue in the summer of 2016 was tense, with the countries…
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Reconstruction of the national transportation infrastructure is a staple of the Serbian government and its head Aleksandar Vučić, as seen from the current and future plans for state development. Russian corporations, primarily Russian Railways, are also participating in offering concrete substance to the 2013 bilateral agreement on strategic partnership.
The new cabinet was elected by 163 votes out of 225 delegates present at the Skupstina (parliament) in the evening of 11 August. The vote was preceded by a three-day marathon with over 20-hour hearings where the government presented its 68-page programme. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s presentation of the programme took six hours.
The Russian President’s visit to Slovenia had been widely advertised. In the run-up to the meeting, much attention was paid to the humanitarian aspects of the Russian President’s visit: a number of publications pointed to the “diplomacy of toasts and resorts” nature of the talks. However, looking at the situation in the broader context, we can see that the visit had a very pragmatic…
ShortOne interesting aspect of the abortive coup in Turkey on July 16, 2016 is its impact on the Balkan countries. Faced with a serious crisis and on the threshold of constitutional change, the Turkish regime needs visible success to legitimize its new status. Such a success can be scored in the Balkans.
ShortOn June 16, 2016, yet another Croatian government collapsed. On June 20, Croatian legislators voted to dissolve Parliament (Sabor), and this decision will take effect on July 15. In accordance with the Constitution, new parliamentary elections should take place within 30–60 days. The country has thus been plunged into a governmental crisis. But this crisis did not begin today or even last week:…
ShortAfter almost three years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has finally published its census results. The reason for the delay was not that the organizers lacked computational capabilities, but rather because the figures, which were supposed to demonstrate the changes that had taken place in the republic since 1992, are of great political significance
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In your opinion, what are the US long-term goals for Russia?
U.S. wants to establish partnership relations with Russia on condition that it meets the U.S. requirements 33 (31%) U.S. wants to deter Russia’s military and political activity 30 (28%) U.S. wants to dissolve Russia 24 (22%) U.S. wants to establish alliance relations with Russia under the US conditions to rival China 21 (19%)