EP President: Europe Ready to Compromise With Greece on Bailout Deal

© AFP 2015/ EMMANUEL DUNAND

Politics

04:57 07.06.2015

European Parliament President Martin Schulz says that the European Union is willing to meet Greece halfway on the cash-for-reforms deal.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union is willing to meet Greece halfway on the cash-for-reforms deal, European Parliament President Martin Schulz told German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag.

"The European Union is ready to meet the Greek government halfway," Schulz said, adding Athens must also bear responsibility for the Eurozone.

The unresolved debt stalemate between Greece and its creditors – the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank – is expected to weight on the G7 summit of world leaders which kicks off in Germany on Sunday.

© AP Photo/ Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Greek Bailout Deal to Occur Before IMF Repayment - Deputy Defense Minister

Relations between Athens and Brussels soured over the past months after the ruling Syriza party, which was elected in January to form the government, went along with its pre-election promises to end the painful austerity program and handed the bailout plan back to money lenders.

"The government in Greece must finally admit that they have a responsibility not only to the voters of their Syriza party but also to the entire country and, as part of the EU, to the Euro and Europe," Schulz stressed.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is going to meet with his key European creditors at an EU summit next week, in particular with the German and French leaders. He was reportedly due to Brussels for bailout talks on Friday. Instead, the premier opted to stay in Athens to brief the Greek parliament on the country’s debt policy and denounce creditors’ proposals.
Greece now has until the end of June to hammer out a bailout pact with international financial institutions before the current agreement runs out.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150607/1023040871.html#ixzz3cM8nnk9p

Vladimir Putin says Russia not a threat to the West

Russian president tells an Italian newspaper that the West should not fear Russia, and rules out conflict with NATO.

06 Jun 2015 23:37 GMT Al Jazeera and agencies

Ukraine's east has seen a fresh flare-up in violence despite a peace deal in place since February [Reuters]

Russia President Vladimir Putin has told an Italian newspaper that his country was "not a threat to the West", and that he was still committed to a Ukraine peace deal despite a fresh flare-up in violence.
"I would like to say - there's no need to be afraid of Russia," Putin told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Saturday, ruling out a major conflict between Russia and NATO member countries.

Only a sick person - and even then only in his sleep - can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack NATO. Vladimir Putin, Russian president

"The world has changed so much that people in their right mind cannot imagine such a large-scale military conflict today."
His comments come as three Baltic countries prepare to ask for a permanent presence of NATO troops as a deterrent to the Russian military. Nato says Russia is backing rebels in Ukraine - which Moscow still denies.
"Only a sick person - and even then only in his sleep - can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack NATO," Putin said.
The Russian president spoke ahead of his visit to Italy next week that will include a meeting with Pope Francis.
Putin's interview was released by the Kremlin just as Group of Seven leaders are gearing up to meet in the German Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a summit this weekend without Russia.
Strategic balance
In the interview, Putin stressed that Russia merely sought to defend itself from outside threats.
He pointed out that NATO members have defence expenditures that are 10 times Russia's military spending, adding that the US military budget was the biggest in the world.
To ensure a strategic balance, Russia will develop "systems to overpower anti-missile defences", Putin said.
Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year has jangled nerves in Europe, with Baltic and Nordic countries reporting an uptick in Russian military activity over the past year.
Pentagon officials said on Friday that the United States was considering a range of moves to beef up security, including bolstering missile defences or even deploying land-based missiles in Europe.
Speaking about the Ukraine crisis, Putin accused Kiev authorities of being unwilling to implement a European-brokered peace deal agreed in February and enter into dialogue with pro-Moscow rebels who control territories in the country's east.

Greek PM Rejects Opposition Leader's Offer to Join Government - Official

© REUTERS/ Kostas Tsironis

Politics

20:29 06.06.2015(updated 21:18 06.06.2015) Get short URL

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Greece's Gordian Knot: Syriza Tackles Austerity (63)

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Prime Minister Tsipras did not agree to include the opposition leader's party in the government.

© REUTERS/ Marko Djurica

Greece Explores BRICS Development Bank Membership - Deputy Defense Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anna Liatsu — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejected opposition leader Antonis Samaras' proposal to join the government and adopt a common stance on stalled debt repayment talks, Greek Deputy Defense Minister told Sputnik on Saturday. "Mr. Samaras informed Mr. Tsipras through his speech that he would not accept any type of common front with Mr. Tsipras, unless Nea Demokratia became part of the government," Costas Isychos said.
Tsipras addressed the Greek parliament on Friday after the latest failed attempt to reach an agreement on a bailout package with European lenders.
Samaras, former prime minister who lost this year's election to Tsipras' left-wing Syriza, lambasted Tsipras for lack of achievements in negotiations and called on him to "join the national consensus" offered by New Democracy.

© REUTERS/ Alkis Konstantinidis

Prime Minister Tsipras Warns Against Attempts to 'Punish' Greece

"Mr. Tsipras did not agree on this," the defense official told Sputnik. Isychos added that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's plan was largely rejected by "most of the leaders of the opposition."
"But at the same time [they] were in disagreement with Mr. Tsipras' proposal to the institutions," he told Sputnik.
Greece skipped a scheduled $330-million repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, offering instead to make a single payment by the end of June.
Under Athens' current bailout deal with IMF, expiring at the end of the month, Greece is expected to repay a total of $1.8 billion.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150606/1023035758.html#ixzz3cJNjyDu0

Festival presenting artists from Kosovo opens in Belgrade

Culture Minister Ivan Tasovac on Thursday in Belgrade opened a festival dubbed "Mirdita, Dobar Dan," that showcases works of artists from Kosovo.
Source: B92, Tanjug Friday, June 5, 2015 | 12:07

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(Tanjug)

Expressing his satisfaction because of the opportunity to declare the festival open, Tasovac in his address recounted attending "an unusual cultural event recently."
"In a new production of Shakespeare's great play 'Romeo and Juliet', directed by Miki Manojlovic, actors from Belgrade and Pristina performed together. Although the dramatic action was not removed from Verona, in this version of the play about the destructive force of hatred and the timeless power of love, the Capulets speak in Serbian, and the Montagues in Albanian, without translation."

The minister went on to say that "at the very end, when the lights are turned on and the last masks fall, the actors leave the stage and go among the audience, each saying their name and shaking hands with the members of the audience."

"Through this gesture - a gesture of breaking theatrical illusions, but at the same time one quite ordinary, simple gesture of good will - they reminded us strongly and honestly, that in any deeply divided society, with fresh, unhealed wounds, it is quite impossible to imagine reconciliation without dialogue between different cultures," Tasovac said, and added:

"Culture is there to help us overcome the misunderstanding, because culture knows no borders. Culture is the single constant that strengthens individuals and entire communities, changes them and makes them capable not only of understanding each other but also of enjoy the complex diversity of the human creative expression. Through culture we all develop a strong sense of belonging but also the awareness of the excellence of different traditions, beliefs, and worldviews."

The festival is held for the second time in Belgrade on June 4-8, "presenting Kosovo's works of culture," Tanjug reported earlier.

The festival opened at Belgrade's Dom sindikata by Isa Cosja's film "Three Windows and a Hanging", awarded at the Sarajevo Film Festival and the International Film Festival in Thessaloniki.

The Belgrade audience "will be acquainted with Kosovo musicians, actors, theatre and film directors and social activists and analysts," the agency quoted the organizers.

The program will also include a promotion of the book "Billionaire" by Veton Suroi, published in the Serbian language by Samizdat B92, a concert by singer and actress Edona Resitaj, as well as a performance of Fatos Berisa's play "Shopping and Fucking", a statement said.

The festival will also feature a multimedia exhibition titled "I Am" by six renowned Kosovo women artists, and visitors will also have the opportunity to hear debates on social and political issues, aimed at establishing an open dialogue and normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

The festival will continue in Pristina in September.

The festival will be held on various locations and, like last year, entrance to all events will be free of charge.

Putin’s Visit to Vatican to Breathe New Life in East-West Relations – Media

© Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev

Europe

10:19 06.06.2015(updated 10:25 06.06.2015) Get short URL

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President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming meeting with Pope Francis could signal the start of “unprecedented fence-mending” between Russia and the West and could contribute to the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, French media reported on Friday.

© Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev

Pope Francis to Meet With Putin in Vatican June 10

Pope Francis helped ease tensions between Israel and the Palestinians and restore long-severed ties between the United States and Cuba, Le Figaro wrote. The Pontiff’s engaging personality and political activity has won the Vatican’s diplomacy an internationally respected status it never enjoyed before, the paper added.
The Ukrainian crisis will take center stage during the Pope’s upcoming meeting in the Vatican with the visiting Russian leader.
The Holy See encouraged the Eastern Catholics to “make peace” with their Orthodox fellow Christians, denounced the ongoing violence in Ukraine and remains a good friend of Russia, Le Figaro wrote in a comment Friday.
During their meeting Wednesday Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis will also discuss ways to end the protracted crises in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.
“The Vatican diplomacy realizes that without Russia this will hardly be possible,” the paper emphasized.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150606/1023016378.html#ixzz3cHvVaqES

NATO Allies begin naval exercise BALTOPS in the Baltic Sea

• 05 Jun. 2015 - 20 Jun. 2015

Scores of ships and aircraft from 17 countries are taking part in Baltic Sea naval drills as part of exercise BALTOPS which starts on Friday (5 June 2015) and runs until 20 June. Allied participation demonstrates NATO's resolve to defend the Baltic region, and will hone the ability of Allies and partners to work together.

The exercise will feature anti-submarine warfare, air defence, intercepting suspect vessels and amphibious landings.  A total of 49 ships, 61 aircraft, one submarine, and a combined amphibious landing force of 700 U.S. Finnish and Swedish troops will participate in the drills. Fourteen NATO Allies are joined this year by NATO partners Finland, Georgia and Sweden. Overall, 5,600 troops will be involved.
"This exercise represents an important opportunity for our forces, as allies and partners, to enhance our ability to work together and strengthen capabilities required to maintain regional security," said Vice Admiral James Foggo III, the Commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO. He added: "this exercise will be conducted in a truly joint environment, and I look forward to working with and learning from so many different nations and services".
While BALTOPS is a United States-led exercise, Vice Admiral Foggo and his NATO staff are responsible for executing this year's exercise. Participants include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The annual BALTOPS exercise is not held in response to any specific threat. The exercise has been held since 1971, and is now in its 43rd year. BALTOPS is one of several major multinational exercises this month which also includes exercise Noble Jump - the first deployment test for NATO's new quick reaction force - which will take place in Poland from 9-19 June.

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• NATO’s maritime domain

• Partnerships : a cooperative approach to security

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Albania to Seek Deutsche Bank Loan If Yields High for Eurobond

  

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Jun 4, 2015 - 12:00

(Bloomberg) -- Albania has prepared a loan from Deutsche Bank to manage liquidity and service its maturing debt this year if rising yields ruin its plan to sell a new Eurobond in the next few months, Deputy Finance Minister Erjon Luci said.
Premier Edi Rama’s cabinet wants to raise 300 million euros ($340 million) on international markets and may increase the amount to 500 million euros if there’s good demand, Luci said in an interview during a Euromoney conference in Bucharest on Thursday.
“We’re keeping our options safe,” Luci said. “We are finalizing another loan with Deutsche Bank with the guarantee of the World Bank of 250 million euros, which is sufficient for managing the liquidity situation this year, including the repayment of Eurobond, in case the yields and everything else changes.”
The country of more than 2.8 million people is working to join the European Union, and Rama’s government needs to bolster economic growth, consolidate public finances and reduce public debt levels to 60 percent of gross domestic product by 2019 under its program with the International Monetary Fund.
Deutsche Bank AG and JP Morgan Chase & Co. have been selected as lead managers to prepare the sale the international bond, as a previous five-year Eurobond is maturing in November. If the government raises 500 million euros, it will use 200 million euros to repay some of its public debt, Luci said.
The yield on Albania’s Eurobond maturing in November rose 34 basis points to 3.292 percent by 12:25 pm in Tirana, its highest level since Feb. 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its currency, the lek, traded 0.1 percent weaker at 140.87 per euro.
Luci sees Albania “able to go to the market hopefully before August, but if needed, maybe later.” The government is open to selling the bond after August “but without putting us into difficulty of having to sell at any cost,” he said.
--With assistance from Gordana Filipovic in Belgrade.
To contact the reporters on this story: Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net; Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net Michael Winfrey, Balazs Penz

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Albanian Journalist Threatened by Suspected Islamic Militant

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJUNE 4, 2015, 11:31 A.M. E.D.T.

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TIRANA, Albania — An Albanian media group says one of their journalists has received a threat from a suspected Islamic militant wanted in the country on terrorism charges.

Police spokesman Gentian Mullai said Thursday that authorities were treating the threat against Aurora Koromani of the Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper as serious and were providing protection for her.

Koromani's media group News24 said the journalist has extensively covered Albanian Muslims recruiting people to fight alongside the Islamic State group in Syria. Nine Albanian Muslims, including two preachers, are on trial on such charges.

News24 says Koromani received a threatening message on Tuesday saying "you will pay."

About two-thirds of Albania's 3.2 million people are Muslims. Dozens are believed to be fighting in Syria, despite mainstream religious leaders' calls for them to not join rebel groups.

Greece rejects creditors’ proposal, leaves room for compromises it says

First entry: 4 June 2015

The five-page draft agreement of the institutions presented to the Greek side does not constitute a basis for discussion in its current form, according to government sources. They expressed, however, the view that it leaves room for compromises in order to allow a deal in the immediate future.
According to Athens News Agency, the same sources said, it is a proposal for an agreement on a technical level (staff level agreement) that reintroduces measures that were out of question in the negotiations at Brussels Group level.
The same sources said that the proposals included measures such as higher VAT on energy, restaurants and medicine, that will generate revenues of 1.8 billion euros in 2015, social security spending cuts of 1 percent of GDP in 2015 and 2016 and abolition of the supplementary pensions of low-pension retirees, known as EKAS, by the end of 2015.
The government sources expressed their content over the primary surplus targets which were set as follows: 1.0 percent in 2015, 2.0 percent in 2016, 3.0 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018.
Discussion on debt was 'superficial', the sources said, as the issue is not included in the deal at technical level, while the institutions' proposal on labour issues was not very clear.
The Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' contacts and technical staff's proceedings will continue on Thursday, possibly not at a Brussels Group level, with the view to reaching a deal before June 14.
The same sources said that the creditors have also proposed an extension of some months in order to implement the agreed measures.
ANA MPA

Greece seeks €280-340 bln in German WW II reparations

First entry: 4 June 2015

A special Parliament Committee set up to examine war reparations and debts owed by Germany was briefed Thursday on a report concerning Greece's claims for German reparations and the repayment of a forced occupation loan, drafted by a special finance ministry committee.

According to the honorary general director of Greece's General Accounting Office Panagiotis Karakousis, who was on the committee that drafted the report, "there is no evidence to indicate that Greece has at any time given up on or withdrawn any of its demands from either World War I or World War II."

Based on its findings, Greece's claims on Germany are in the region of 280 and 340 billion euros, by what Parliament President and committee chair Zoi Konstantopoulou described as "the most conservative estimates".

ANA-MPA

Dacic, Stamatopoulos discuss furthering of Serbia-NATO cooperation

SOURCE Tanjug

Author: InSerbia Team

BELGRADE – Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic discussed on Thursday with Ambassador Thrasyvoulos Stamatopoulos, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, the furthering of the Serbia-NATO cooperation through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme and the implementation of the Serbia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP).

Image from: bezbednost.org

Also discussed was the current security situation in the region and Kosovo-Metohija, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Dacic noted that the adoption of the IPAP has been the most significant qualitatative step in Serbia-NATO relations since Serbia’s entry into the PfP and that the country is very committed to its implementation, the statement said.
Serbia stands by its position of military neutrality but recognises the significant room that exists for further improvement of the partnership within the PfP and it has a major role in preserving regional security and stability, he said.
Speaking about the very good cooperation with KFOR, Dacic urged its undiminished presence in Kosovo-Metohija and particularly noted the significance of the role of NATO/KFOR as a guarantor of security and the implementation of the Brussels Agreement.

PM Vucic meets with John McCain

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met with U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Senator John McCain.
Source: Tanjug Thursday, June 4, 2015 | 10:03

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"USA will support our EU path. With Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Sen JohnMcCain," Vucic wrote on Twitter on Wednesday and posted two photographs with McCain.
The two officials were very satisfied with the meeting, Voice of America (VOA) reported.

McCain voiced support for Prime Minister Vucic's government and everything it has done so far, but also for Serbia's EU path, reads a report by the Serbian editorial staff of the official external broadcast institution of the U.S. federal government.

McCain also expressed his wish to visit Serbia, although it was not said whether this will take place soon.

According to VOA, Vucic also met with Serbian caucus co-chairs, Congressmen Ted Poe and Emanuel Cleaver.

Greek Groundhog Day: Talks Fail to Break Impasse

By Jonathan Stearns

Another round of top-level talks failed to resolve the standoff between Greece and its international creditors as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejected proposals that would unlock bailout funds necessary to avert a default.

After a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who also heads the group of his euro-area counterparts, Tsipras said the basis for any accord must be a Greek proposal meant to avoid spending cuts and tax increases, rather than a plan drafted in recent days by creditors.

More from Bloomberg.com: Jamie Dimon Becomes Billionaire Ushering in Era of the Megabank
“The realistic proposals on the table are the proposals of the Greek government,” Tsipras told reporters early Thursday in the Belgian capital. We can’t “make the same mistakes, the mistakes of the past,” he said.
The commission said in a statement that “intense work” will continue and “progress was made in understanding each other’s positions on the basis of various proposals.”
More from Bloomberg.com: Putin's Secret Budget Hides Shift Toward War Economy

Months of antagonism and missed deadlines have given way to a greater urgency to decide the fate of Greece. Without access to capital markets, the country has to meet four payments totaling more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to the International Monetary Fund in June, while its euro-area-backed bailout also expires this month.

Tsipras signaled that Greece will meet its first June IMF payment, which is due Friday. “Don’t worry,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about the matter.

The single currency was little changed at $1.1261 as of 10:48 a.m. in Tokyo. It rose as much as 1.2 percent to $1.1285 on Wednesday, the highest since May 19.

‘Constructive Will’Tsipras said demands by the euro area and the IMF for cuts in the income of poor pensioners and increases in value-added tax on power are unacceptable, highlighting what have been “red lines” in Greece’s stance since his anti-austerity Syriza party swept to power in snap elections in January.
More from Bloomberg.com: A 99-Year-Old Wall Street Veteran Reveals Secrets of Her Success
“Ideas like cutting benefits for low-income pensioners, or raising the VAT rate for electricity by 10 percentage points, can’t be a basis for discussion,” he said.
The premier sought to paint the commission, the European Union’s executive arm, as more favorable to his proposals than are other creditor representatives deemed by Greece to be taking a harder line in the aid deliberations.

“There was a constructive will from the European Commission to reach a common understanding,” he said.

The Tsipras government has looked to the commission for support to dilute the austerity-first formula that’s underpinned two Greek rescues totaling 240 billion euros since 2010. This has led to clashes with creditors who say such bailout conditions have worked for other countries such as Ireland now out of aid programs and Greece should get no special treatment.
Market RallyThe euro area now wants an agreement to be wrapped up by June 14, according to a Greek official. The new deadline emerged in the talks between Tsipras, Juncker and Dijsselbloem, the official said, asking not to be named because the meeting was private.

Greece’s creditors want the targets for the primary budget surplus -- the budget balance excluding interest payments -- to be 1 percent of gross domestic product this year, 2 percent of GDP in 2016, 3 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018, said the Greek official, who called these proposals a “good basis” for further deliberations on the matter.

Tsipras said both sides were “very close” to an agreement on the targets for the primary surplus.

Greek stocks and bonds rallied Wednesday on expectations that the talks in Brussels would yield a breakthrough, with the Athens Stock Exchange index gaining 4.1 percent. Yields on two-year notes fell 118 basis points to 22.8 percent.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday called for a “strong agreement” to end the deadlock, which has pushed the country into a double-dip recession, amid renewed doubts over its place in the 19-nation euro area.

Greece will not pay IMF on Friday 'without prospect of a deal'

First entry: 3 June 2015 - 10:20 Athens, 07:20 GMT

Last update: 10:20 Athens, 07:20 GMTPolitics

Greece will not make a June 5 loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if there is no prospect of an aid-for-reforms deal with its international creditors soon, Nikos Filis, the spokesman for the ruling Syriza party's lawmakers said on Wednesday.
"If there is no prospect of a deal by Friday or Monday, I don't know by when exactly, we will not pay," Nikos Filis told Mega TV.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as Athens and its lenders seek to agree on a deal that will unlock remaining bailout funds.
Source: Reuters

Macedonia to hold elections in 2016

Published: Jun 3, 2015

SOURCE EurActiv.com

BRUSSELS – Macedonia’s political leaders agreed on Tuesday (2 June) to hold elections in early 2016 in order to overcome a deep political crisis, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said, EurActiv.com reports.

“It was agreed that by the end of April next year there should be early elections,” Hahn told reporters after a day-long meeting with key political actors in Macedonia, including Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and main opposition leader Zoran Zaev.
Details of the EU-brokered agreement are expected to be hammered out next week in Brussels, Hahn stated.
Macedonian politicians did not talk to reporters after the meeting also joined by US Ambassador Jess Baily.
Macedonia’s last elections were held in April 2014, with the next one’s normally due in April 2018.

Aleksandar Vucic confers with Susan Rice

Published: Jun 3, 2015

SOURCE Tanjug

WASHINGTON – Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic conferred in the White House on Wednesday with Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Susan Rice and after the meeting, he stated that Serbia can count on U.S. support.

Photo: Supplied

This was a good and useful meeting with Susan Rice concerning Serbia’s future and its EU path, Vucic said on his official Twitter profile after the meeting, adding that Serbia can count on U.S. support.
Vucic is paying a several-day visit to the U.S. and on Tuesday, he conferred with representatives of U.S. companies like General Electric, Microsoft, Freeport and others.
During his stay, the Serbian prime minister will have political talks with U.S. officials and he will also visit the John Hopkins University where he is due to deliver a speech.

Vucic to meet with Obama's national security adviser

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will on Wednesday meet with National Security Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama Susan Rice.
Source: B92, Tanjug Wednesday, June 3, 2015 | 10:24

Vucic (right) is seen during his meeting with General Electric and Freeport representatives (Tanjug)

B92's reporter in Washington said that Vucic will hold a meeting with Rice, who has held the position of Obama's advisor since June 2013, and previously served as U.S. ambassador to the UN.
Vucic is visiting the United States, where he should holding a series of meetings, including the most important one with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.

However, there has been no confirmation for now that this meeting will take place, considering the recent death of Biden's son.

Tanjug is reporting that Aleksandar Vucic said that all the meetings he has had with representatives of large U.S. companies were "very good" and "stressed the importance of preserving political and economic stability in Serbia."

"That is what we talked about everywhere I went - political and economic stability, low deficit," Vucic said last night.

"I think that respect for Serbia is growing steadily, and I am proud of this fact, and when you receive this kind of treatment in the United States, I think that Serbia can count on a far better future," the prime minister said.

Vucic met with representatives of Microsoft, General Electric, Freeport, NCR and other companies in Washington on Tuesday.

All the talks went very well, they were energetic and both sides in all meetings expressed interest in cooperation, said Vucic.

He is continuing his official visit to the United States ON Wednesday with meetings with U.S. officials and discuss bilateral relations, economic cooperation and Washington's support to Serbia’s European path.

NATO Conducts Massive Naval Drills, Ignores Refugee Crisis in Mediterranean

© RIA Novosti. Igor Tchuprin

Europe

21:42 03.06.2015(updated 21:43 03.06.2015) Get short URL

019611

NATO members don’t care about thousands of African refugees dying in the Mediterranean, instead choosing to focus on senseless military drills in the Baltic and Black Seas, a former Turkish general said.

NATO naval exercises in the Black Sea is money thrown to the wind, Er Ali, a retired Turkish Brigadier General told Sputnik.
Instead of wasting money on senseless naval exercises in the Black Sea, NATO should use the available resources to solve the issue of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean Sea, Ali said.

"Such exercises are expensive. But this money is wasted for nothing. Millions of dollars. Instead, it would have been better to send NATO naval units to the Mediterranean Sea."

© Flickr/ Official U.S. Navy Page

US Destroyer Ross Leaves Black Sea After NATO Display of Strength

Joint US-Ukrainian naval drills began on Tuesday in the Black Sea. Moreover, Poland and the three Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — have started large scale exercises in the Baltic Sea, codenamed NATO Saber Strike 2015. Over six thousand military personnel from 13 NATO member states will participate in the drills. These military drills carry an anti-Russian political message, as "NATO is trying to threaten Russia and that is not good." This political course won't help to reach global peace, the former Turkish general said.

© Flickr/ Sergei Vavilov

French Mistrals May Be Used to Save Refugees in Mediterranean

Meanwhile, the situation with illegal immigration in the Mediterranean is reaching catastrophic levels, Ali said. Instead of flexing muscles and provoking Russia for no reason, it would have been much better and more logical to send ships to help out African refugees and prevent the escalating humanitarian tragedy on the threshold of the European Union. Unfortunately, the members of the military alliance don't pay attention to the lives of thousands of refugees, choosing to demonstrate their military power by other means, Ali said.

© Sputnik

NATO exercises and deployments near Russia since 2014

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150603/1022911692.html#ixzz3c1tmEAd9

Meeting Kerry in Sochi Created Normalization, Not 'Reset' - Lavrov

© Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Russia

17:23 02.06.2015(updated 18:33 02.06.2015) Get short URL

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US State Secretary John Kerry's visit to Sochi was not a new 'reset' in relations between the US and Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Bloomberg.

© Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev

West Knows That Kiev Impeding Implementation of Minsk Deal in Ukraine - Lavrov

US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Sochi on May 12 was not a diplomatic "reset" but a return to normal relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Bloomberg on Tuesday. Kerry's meeting with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May generated speculation about its implications for US-Russian relations and the crisis in Ukraine.
"I think we are sufficiently realistic. President Putin talks to President Obama on the phone from time to time, the dialogue is pretty pragmatic, they discuss specific areas of cooperation where both countries could benefit," Lavrov told Bloomberg.

"I would call this a realization of the need for normalcy," Lavrov added.

Lavrov also said that he and Kerry agreed to maintain contacts between Moscow and Washington on a regular basis to exchange assessments of the situation.
Some Must Decide on Syria
Lavrov told Bloomberg that the US "obsession" with overthrowing Assad is not helping resolve the Syrian conflict.

"Some external players must answer the question of who presents a greater threat, Assad or the Islamic State," Lavrov said.

© AP Photo/ website of Islamic State

US-led Coalition Needs Help of Syrian Authorities to Defeat ISIL – Lavrov

He added that the Syrian conflict can only be resolved politically, based on the communique agreed on during the Geneva II conference on Syria. The American bombing of ISIL-held Syrian territory without its government's agreement was also a mistake, Lavrov said, calling the decision to begin the bombing campaign without a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution regrettable.

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Greece bailout talks: an intractable crisis with three possible outcomes

Greece can either exit the eurozone, surrender to the troika’s demands or the EU can dream up a classic fudge and play for time

The day of reckoning looms ever closer for Greece and the euro. Photograph: Yorgos Karahalis/AP

Larry Elliott

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Late-night mini summits in Berlin. A no-surrender stance in Athens. A deadline to meet in Washington DC by the end of the week. The Greek crisis is coming nicely to the boil, with three possible outcomes.
Option one is that Greece leaves the euro, either by accident or design. Despite the often spiky negotiations, the assumption has been that a deal will be done between Greece and its creditors to keep the single currency intact. That assumption could prove to be as erroneous as the assumption that a buyer would be found for the ailing US investment bank, Lehman Brothers, in September 2008. Greece could decide that the terms being demanded by the European commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are too harsh. The so-called troika could lose patience and throw Greece out.

Live Greece's creditors prepare new deal as Athens vows not to be blackmailed - live updates

Rumours swirl that Greece could hold elections if it cannot reach an honourable compromise with its lenders, who met in Berlin last night

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Euro exit could prove the least bad economic choice for Greece, which would then devalue and write off a large chunk of its unpayable debt. Life would still be tough, but life will be tough anyway if Greece – after a recession that has already led to the economy shrinking by a quarter – agrees to more austerity.
A Grexit now would probably cause fewer economic shockwaves than it would have done two or three years ago, but there would still be knock-on effects on Europe and the wider global community. The political ramifications would be more serious. Greek departure would embolden anti-austerity parties across Europe, most notably Podemos in Spain. It would be the first setback to ever-closer European integration over six decades and would cast a shadow over David Cameron’s renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership ahead of a referendum.
Option two is that the Greeks cave in. Alexis Tsipras has been gamely trying to ride two horses at once since he became prime minister in January: the desire of Greek voters to both end austerity and stay in the euro. The moment is rapidly arriving when Tsipras has to decide which of the two policy goals is the more important, because it looks as if he can’t achieve both. Far from being the prelude to exit, the ratcheting up of the rhetoric in recent days might be the government’s attempt to show the Greek people that it has gone as far as it can to resist the demands of the troika for further wage and pension cuts but continued euro membership means there is now no choice but to surrender on the best possible terms available. This would involve slightly easier debt repayment terms and less onerous budget targets to meet. But if Tsipras is going to capitulate, he is showing little sign of it. The late-night meeting in Berlin, attended by Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF and the president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, suggests the troika is worried. Angela Merkel hosts a meeting of the G7 in Bavaria this weekend and does not want it to be overshadowed by Greece.

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All that points to option three, a good old-fashioned euro fudge. Greece does not want to leave the euro. Merkel does not want to be the politician held responsible for derailing the European project. So there is a temptation to do what Europe has done throughout its six-year sovereign debt crisis: play for time. This would involve Greece’s creditors providing bridging finance that would allow Tsipras to meet the series of debt repayments due this summer and for a referendum to be held on whether the Greeks believe yet more austerity is a price worth paying for staying in the euro. Athens would give a solemn commitment to step up the pace of economic reform; the troika would say that any backsliding will result in the money being cut off.
So which of the three options is it going to be? Kicking the can down the road looks the most likely, but the risk of something nasty and messy is rising all the time.

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Financing agreed for Turkish Stream in Greece - minister

The Greek section of the Turkish Stream pipeline will cost USD 2 billion, Greek Minister of Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis has said.
Source: Beta Tuesday, June 2, 2015 | 12:43

(Thinkstock)

He told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster that there is "enormous interest" among Greek companies to build and use the gas pipeline.
"We already know that it will be a Greek public company which would be in charge and furthermore, the question of financing is already resolved: the infrastructure costs are estimated at around two billion dollars," said Lafazanis.

According to him, the project's implementation will create about 20,000 new jobs in Greece, which will affect not only the country's economic development, but also that of the whole region, reports TASS.

"This is a very important moment for the Greek economy, which is going through a difficult period. The Greek people will benefit from it all," the minister is convinced.

Greece expected to sign a memorandum on Turkish Stream during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will be held June 18-20.

"As far as the Economic Forum will try to sign the agreement, a so-called memorandum of political support for the pipeline, between Greece and Russia," added Lafazanis.

The negotiations have so far been unsuccessful, despite a series of visits of delegations and statements about the imminent conclusion of an agreement already in mid-April. On Friday, the Russian company Gazprom announced, after meeting between CEO Alexei Miller and Lafazanis, that it was "ready to explore opportunities related to its participation in the construction of gas pipeline in Greece."

Russia has yet to sign a final agreement with Turkey on the first section of the pipeline to the Turkish territory, hoping that the pipeline will start operation in late 2016.

The Beta news agency is quoting the Russian press as saying that "several European countries through which the pipeline might be extended after Greece seem restrained, fearing the hostility of the European Union, which has already led to the sudden abandonment of the Russian gas pipeline project South Stream, which is now being replaced by South Stream."

PM Vucic starts official visit to United States

Aleksandar Vucic has started his official visit to the United States where he will be until June 4. Vucic was invited by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.
Source: B92, Tanjug Tuesday, June 2, 2015 | 09:53

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(Beta/AP, file)

Immediately upon his arrival in Washington, the prime minister told the Serbian state broadcaster RTS that this visit was "very important for our country and that he was happy that to have a full schedule," and added:
''U.S. investors do not think about continuing their investments in one country, or their arrival there, unless there is political stability and unless it is also approved by the policy of the United States."

He added that "this is primarily about cooperation with three IT sector related companies," and listed them as General Electric, Microsoft, and NCR.

As previously announced, Vucic will discuss with Biden and other U.S. officials bilateral relations, economic cooperation and Washington's support for Serbia's European path.

The Serbian government has announced that Vucic will on the first day of his official visit meet representatives of major U.S. companies such as General Electric, Microsoft, NCR, followed by a planned meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and later with representatives of the Serbian diaspora.

During the second day of his visit, he is scheduled to meet Biden at the White House.

Earlier, the news that Biden's eldest son had died cause doubt about whether this meeting will take place. Vucic will also speak with Senator John McCain.

This will be followed by meetings with Serbian Caucus co-chairs Congressman Ted Poe and Emanuel Cleaver, as well as with the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Europe, Senator Ron Johnson.

On Thursday, Vucic will visit the Johns Hopkins University, where he speak, and then resume a series of meetings with members of the Committee and the Subcommittee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate.

The director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) Milan Antonijevic said that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to the U.S. was positive.

In addition, the Moscow daily Kommersant wrote that the visit could lead to a shift in the foreign policy of Belgrade.

However, Advisor to the President of Serbia and former Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic said that Vucic will with the visit strengthen relations with Washington, but that the trip and the latest developments in connection with gas are not moving Serbia away from Russia.

"Balkan criminals control one of biggest cartels"

Criminals originally from Serbia and Montenegro "control the criminal underground in Australia and have connections with gangs in Colombia, Mexico, and Asia."
Source: B92 Monday, June 1, 2015 | 10:40

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This is reported by the Daily Telegraph, which quoted "a lengthy News Corp Australia investigation."
According to this, one of the biggest narco-cartel in the world is led by criminals from the Balkans, immigrants from the former Yugoslavia, notorious crime figures that in the 1990s "who once controlled Kings Cross’ Golden Mile but have now formed offshore bases in Montenegro, Spain and Holland to move the drugs, guns and cash about."

According to the paper, they left crime and Australia during the last decade and returned to the Balkans, but have now "carefully planned their return" and operate a global criminal network.

According to the article, drugs are brought and distributed in Australia through local motorcycle gangs, while the cartel is now "activating its sleepers" in the second and third generation of Australian criminals.

A police official said that this criminal organization was the greatest threat to Australia thanks to its firm basis, discipline and influence in local communities.

"Those families are described as being either direct relatives or from well-established and historical Mafia-like clans from the former Yugoslavian states who moved to Australia in the second migration wave from the Balkan region in the 1980s and 1990s in state-sponsored infiltration of Australia by the former regimen of Serbian Slobodan Milosevic," reported the paper.

The article went on to say that some of the criminals believed to have withdrawn in the 1990s returned to head the cartels from their bases in Serbia and Montenegro. According to this, "the mostly Australian nationals run group, led by former Kings Cross identity Vaso Ulic who left Australia in 2005 never to return."

The paper said that the network brings at least six tons of drugs, cocaine and ecstasy, to Australia each year.

It added that "it has been confirmed the prosecution's office in Montenegro has an extensive file on Ulic and other figures in the country as part of an international arrest warrant to break the cartel up," but that "while no extradition treaty exists with Montenegro, both police there and in Serbia have been actively working with AFP agents to establish if the source of the global crime was perpetrated locally and therefore the arrest warrants can be pursued and prosecuted locally."

The same report said that the drugs are smuggled from South America to Europe, China, and Nigeria.

Net Press, Macedonia: Washington replaced Bulgaria, Albania govts over Turkish Stream, it’s Macedonia’s turn, Greek media comment

1 June 2015 | 12:16 | FOCUS News Agency

Picture: AFP

Skopje. Crisis in Macedonia is fuelled from abroad and is connected with the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Vladimir Chizhov, Russian Ambassador to the EU, made the comment, Macedonian online news edition Net Press reports.
The news outlet writes Chizhov’s statement was cited by media in Athens and there were comments the situation could lead to lots of scenarios in Greece.
The Greek media paid a lot of attention to events in Macedonia, especially after the fact Athens intends to sign the agreement on Turkish Stream by the end of June.
“It is clear Washington does not allow the gas pipeline passing through Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania. The political leadership in Bulgaria and Albania was replaced over this reason and they now wish to replace the government in Macedonia,“ Greek Pentapostagma commented.
According to Greek environment and energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, Washington’s stance on Turkish Stream is negative yet Athens’ opinion remains unchanged.

EU judges sentence 11 Kosovo Albanians for war crimes

Saturday 30 May 2015 at 3:01 PM ET by Ashley Hogan

©  WikiMedia (Adam Jones, Ph.D.)

[JURIST] Judges of the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) [official website] in Kosovo issued verdicts in the Drenica I and Drenica II [press releases] cases on Wednesday and sentenced 11 Kosovo Albanian men to prison. The charges included the intentional perpetration of violence, cruel treatment, beating, torture, humiliating and degrading treatment of civilians and for some the killing of a Serbian police officer. All of the acts were committed between June and September of 1998 at a Kosovo Liberation Army detention center in Likovac. The sentenced men include [Reuters report] Kosovo's current ambassador to neighboring Albania, Sylejman Selimi, and two close allies to the former Prime Minister Hashim Thaci [Britannica bio]. The prison sentences range from three to 12 years.
EULEX was created [JURIST report] in 2008 to investigate crimes committed by ethnic Albanian rebels during the 1998 war with Serbia [BBC backgrounder]. Various courts and organizations have been dedicated to prosecuting war crimes committed on both sides of the conflict, resulting in convictions of both Serbian and Kosovar [JURIST reports] participants. Rebels during the conflict allegedly killed approximately 400 civilians. In April 2013 Serbia and Kosovo entered [JURIST report] into a historic agreement on EU membership, signaling a reduction in hostility between the two nations.