Balkanalysis.com

Archive for July, 2006

Adventures with the CIA in Turkey: Interview with Philip Giraldi

In the following exclusive interview, Balkanalysis.com Director Christopher Deliso speaks with Philip Giraldi, a former CIA deputy chief of base in Turkey. Through the interview, readers get a first-hand introduction to the cloak-and-dagger reality of undercover work in one of the world’s most important strategic areas. Iranian assassinations, Turkish eavesdropping and other eye-opening stories allow [...]

Photo of the Week

Official: New Macedonian Government to Exclude Ahmeti’s DUI

Following a final day of negotiations between VMRO-DPMNE and the Albanian DUI, Skopje media confirmed today that the latter party will not be in the new government, despite the fact that it had won a majority of votes in the Albanian community.
It was not immediately clear as to whether some other future deal or promise [...]

Sofia Readies for Pivotal AMBO Oil Pipeline Meeting

A tri-country expert meeting that could determine the future of Balkan oil transit is set to take place tomorrow in the Bulgarian capital.
The meeting, which brings together representatives of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania as well as the chief executive of the AMBO oil pipeline project, Ted Ferguson, had been delayed by one month because of [...]

Photo of the Week

US-Turkey Nuclear Cooperation: What Does It Mean for Turkey?

By Mehmet Kalyoncu
The Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Turkey, signed by the two sides on July 26, 2000, has recently been ratified by the Turkish government. The agreement rightly and by definition prohibits Turkey from exploiting the cooperation for any purposes which would directly or indirectly help her develop [...]

Roxy Rocks Ohrid

By Jason Miko
Whoever would have believed it? If you had been in the center of Ohrid town on Saturday morning, July 15, walking past the coffee bar Slavica, you would have noticed — if you could have even recognized them — the members of Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay and (session musician) Guy Pratt. [...]

Photo of the Week

Our Man in Yugoslavia: The Story of a Secret Service Operative

Our Man in Yugoslavia: The Story of a Secret Service Operative

By Sebastian Richie

Routledge (2004), 191 pp., 15 contemporary photos, 3 maps

Reviewed by Christopher Deliso

Our Man in Yugoslavia: The Story of a Secret Service Operative is not only the intriguing and likeable account, for the first time, of the adventures of the first covert British agent [...]

The Greek Merchant Marine: The Development of an International Network

By Ioannis Michaletos
The Greek-owned fleet is the largest in the world. This notable fact was recently restated at the Posidonia International Maritime Congress, an event focusing on maritime affairs that has been held in Athens annually since the mid-1960’s. Today, the Greek fleet accounts for some 16 percent of the world’s tonnage- an amazing number [...]

Photo of the Week

Turkish Carpet Shopping: Insider’s Tips for the Discerning Traveler

By Christopher Deliso

“My friend, my friend, please come into my carpet shop…”

Such classic lines are among the first that visitors to Istanbul get when visiting the historic neighborhoods of Turkey’s cultural capital. Typically, the introduction will come from a sharp-dressed, slick-haired and suave young gentleman and inevitably there is a cup of Turkish tea or [...]

Gruevski Claims Victory for the Opposition Hours after Polls Close in Macedonia

The voting for Macedonia’s first parliamentary elections since September 2002 came to an end at 7 PM on Wednesday evening. Only a few hours later, with less than 50 percent of the votes counted, it seems clear that the incumbent SDSM-DUI government has been thrown out, after four years of painful reforms and lackluster economic [...]

Photo of the Week

Xanthi: Thracian Delight in Greece’s Hidden Northeast

By Christopher Deliso

With the summer finally here, visitors as always are flocking to Greece- and, of course, the islands. However, not far from the sea are unusual and evocative places that, while less visited, have a lot to offer in their own right. Today we focus on Xanthi, which lies on the western edge of [...]

OSCE Official in Macedonia Arrested for Drug Smuggling in Italy

The phones were silent at the OSCE’s Skopje’s headquarters this afternoon as staff grappled with a new and unexpected problem: the sensational news that one of the mission’s own high officials, Georgian national Zurab Lomashvili, had been arrested for drug trafficking while abroad.
Russia’s Interfax reported yesterday that the career diplomat and previous deputy head of [...]