By Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu* Nowadays, energy diplomacy is more crucial than ever for the EU. There is a strong need for a long-term EU common energy policy in order to enable the bloc to meet its future energy needs. Turkey is likely to play an important role in the EU’s energy strategy. Energy has always [...]
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Former KLA chief and ex-Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj was returned to the custody of the Hague Tribunal today, just as the recent death of a potential key witness in the international court’s war crimes case against him underscored the likelihood that the powerful Albanian leader will prevail by way of intimidation. In Haradinaj’s opinion, [...]
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An alluring outpost. Spinalonga, Greece
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Church icon. Sofia, Bulgaria
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By Christopher Deliso At first, Mark Murphy’s story might seem common enough; Western peacekeeper stationed in the Balkans falls in love with local girl whom he meets on the job. However, what happened after for this Irish soldier and resident of Kumanovo, a city of 100,000 in Macedonia’s northeast, is much more remarkable. For rather [...]
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The Muslim-majority Macedonian village of Labunista, long known for its small but prominent Wahhabi fundamentalist community, has become the scene of controversy once again. According to a February 10th investigation from Skopje newspaper Vreme, well-intentioned but apparently unqualified Muslim clerics murdered a local man while trying to wrest him from the demonic grips of his [...]
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Delta blues. Mtskheta, Georgia
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By Borka Tomic (Serbian Institute for Public Diplomacy, Brussels) While some high US officials have claimed that Kosovo’s “train for independence has left the station,” recent developments show that the train for Kosovo’s future might not be stopping at the station of independence. Namely, the Council of Europe, the continent’s oldest political organization, with the [...]
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If Turkey gives up its opposition to potential US recognition of the atrocities between Turks and Armenians that took place during World War One as ˆšÃ©Â¬Â± “genocide,” will its diplomatic hand ultimately be strengthened? The following article argues that this just might be the case. By Mehmet Kalyoncu What should have happened ninety-two years ago [...]
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Boy of the Fener. Istanbul, Turkey
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