Kerry fills in NATO allies gathering in Turkey on Putin meeting

Published May 13, 2015

Associated Press

• 

  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya, Turkey, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. A day after lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kerry was filling in allies during a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in the southern Turkish town of Antalya. (Joshua Roberts/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

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ANTALYA, Turkey –  A day after lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was filling in allies during a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in the southern Turkish town of Antalya. Turkey.
The ministers have gathered here to plot strategy amid the continued crisis in Ukraine and instability throughout the Middle East, including in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Kerry was also meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Kerry spent all day Tuesday in the Russian city of Sochi where he and Putin sought to ease tensions created largely by disagreements over the situation in Ukraine.

Kerry in Sochi: Ukraine’s 15 minutes of fame is probably over

May 13, 2015 01:32

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft (L) watches at the presidential residence of Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Russia May 12, 2015 (Reuters / Joshua Roberts)

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Meeting, Politics, Russia, USA

John Kerry’s Sochi meetings with Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov hardly dissolved years of mistrust between Washington and the Kremlin. However, they probably signaled the end of Ukraine’s period as a global cause célèbre.
In 1968, at an art exhibition in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, the celebrated artist Andy Warhol was the star attraction. In the programme notes he wrote that “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” What was probably a throwaway comment for the painter has become an internationally renowned catchphrase. While the modern art icon was being grandiloquent, it’s amazing how many non-entities manage to attain his prophesied quarter-hour, or even much more than that.

Read morePotatoes for Kerry: Russian FM keeps up gift exchange traditions

Warhol, born Warhola, had ancestral ties to both Slovakia and Ukraine. It’s fair to say that the latter has proven his theory repeatedly over the past 18 months. It’s actually incredible how a country that is relatively economically and culturally insignificant has managed to hijack the news agenda for so long. Nevertheless, it’s finally clear that Ukraine’s 15 minutes are over.
John Kerry didn't travel to Sochi because he fancied an early summer jaunt to Russia’s tourist showpiece. He flew to the Black Sea pearl to do business. Serious business. By doing so, he signaled that Washington is finally prepared to leave the Ukraine crisis behind and re-engage with Russia on other matters more pressing to humanity. There are deeper headaches than the future of a corrupt, critically divided, failed state on Europe’s edge.

sputnik: Macedonian Conflict: The Pot of Arab Spring Boils Over the Balkans?

© REUTERS/ Marko Djurica

Politics

21:48 13.05.2015

Experts in Macedonian affairs spoke with Sputnik about the latest events in the country and their impact on the Balkan region.

Macedonian Conflict: 'Greater Albania' Used by West to Destabilize Balkans

According to some officials and analysts the terrorist attack in Kumanovo is increasingly becoming associated with the idea of a so-called ‘Greater Albania.’ Many of them are afraid of the possible expansion of terrorist activities in the other regions of the country. In this ‘Greater Albania’ the area of Montenegro is also included which consists of about 5% Albanians.
Analysts believe that the recent events in Macedonia “do not resemble a total war but a rather intention to extend the line of confrontation between Russia and the West in the Balkans.”

“It is absolutely obvious that the agenda is the ‘Ukrainization of the Balkans’. It is quite similar to the Arab Spring and Ukraine,” said political analyst Dusan Janjic.

Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro Miodrag Vukovic told Sputnik that the Macedonian events are enough reason to increase alertness and the level of responsibility of state structures.
"Montenegro does not rely on chance. But at this moment the country is not facing any immediate danger," Vukovic said in an interview with Radio Sputnik.

© AP Photo/ Visar Kryeziu

Macedonian City of Kumanovo ‘Dragged’ Into Deadly Outside Conflict

On the other hand, representative of the opposition Democratic Front Nebojsa Medojevic told Sputnik that the government of Montenegro did not include any threat to the territorial integrity of the country in the 2013 strategic defense plans that could potentially come from extremists advocating the idea of a ‘Great Albania’. "I have many times warned the public of Montenegro that this is politically and ideologically a very strong draft backed by virtually all the representatives of the Albanian nation. In Albania, in the neighboring countries and the powerful Albanian Diaspora, especially in the United States, Albanian national interests have been getting lobbied for over 30 years," Medojevic said.
He adds that this situation causes panic among the population which leads to ethnic tensions. But recent events in Macedonia just prove that the project is real.
He continues by stating that some Western institutions consider that thousands of participants in the war in Kosovo and a large number of those who received training in various camps of the terrorist "Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA) or "National Liberation Army" (involved in the conflict in the north of Macedonia in 2001) and other irregular military formations in the past 15 years could be used to implement this idea.

“I am afraid that these actions do not meet the interests of neither the Albanians nor the other people living in the region" said Medojevic.

Political analyst Dusan Janjic noted that there is still no accurate data on who is behind the group of terrorists who attacked Kumanova.
"It is unclear whether they are related to NATO and the West, and it is this theory which is now prevalent in Serbia. Or perhaps we are talking about the impact of events in Iraq and Syria," Janjic said.

© REUTERS/ Ognen Teofilovski

NATO Uses Clashes in Macedonia to Undermine Russia's Gas Pipeline Project

As for Montenegro, he thinks that the wave of extremism in Macedonia will hardly affect Montenegro. “I believe that Montenegro is absolutely out of this context. First, Albanian extremism is hardly supported here. In addition, when a few years ago there were attempts to create something similar, Montenegro reacted very strongly — and was supported by the West.”

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150513/1022112342.html#ixzz3a3WTYsNy

Albania Sees Tourism for Island With Military Past

SAZAN, Albania — May 12, 2015

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press

This April 14, 2015 photo shows Auron Tare of the Albanian National Coastal Agency pointing to the army command building was built by the Italians on Sazan Island, 140 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of Albania's capital Tirana. The government plans... View Full Caption The Associated Press

This summer Albania plans to debut what it hopes will become a new selfie spot for tourists: Sazan Island, a former military base that still has bunkers and tunnels designed to withstand nuclear attack.

"What once was an isolated, unreached spot, a mystery to almost all Albanians but a few then-communist leaders, may now turn into an attractive place, especially for foreign tourists," says Auron Tare of Albania's National Coastal Agency.

Sazan Island is still technically a military base, but only two sailors remain, offering night shelter to navies patrolling Albanian waters.

"It's a mysterious island, part of the old communist Albania's mystery," says Celine Damery of France's Conservatoire du Littoral, which conserves coastal areas.

The island's many trenches and tunnels show how much money the once cash-strapped communist government spent fearing a Western invasion. But now they're hoping Westerners will come, both to see Sazan and the country's other attractions — unspoiled beaches, tall mountains and history going back to ancient Greece. Tourism is now only 4.8 percent of Albania's GDP, and most current tourists are either Albanian immigrants visiting from Greece and Italy, or ethnic Albanians from neighboring Kosovo, Macedonia or Montenegro.

In addition to its military history, Sazan is also home to rare birds and reptiles, with temperatures a pleasant 50 to 77 degrees F (10 to 25 C) year-round. Half the island's shore is accessible only from the water, due to high rocks on land, but officials think it will be an appealing place for activities like bird-watching and diving. Damery says Sazan's "biodiversity, landscape and heritage" are unusual for the Mediterranean.

Walking uphill on a mile-long pathway through pine trees and singing birds, many of the 3,600 one-man bunkers can still be seen dotting the hills, often in the shade of wild fig trees. It's not easy getting inside the bunkers though: They're still guarded — by lizards and the occasional snake.

Inland, the spooky, ruined buildings still contain old beds, kitchen utensils, school benches and chairs. More than 3,000 troops lived here at a time, with enough food, ammunition and fuel to sustain them for six months.

Sazan "was Albania's airplane carrier into the sea, the port of defense for (the nearby city of) Vlora and the Karaburun peninsula, the key to controlling the Otranto Strait," says Ibrahim Gaxholi, 73, commander for the base from 1975 to 1992.

Due to lack of maintenance, roofs have collapsed on a tailor's building and small battery factory. But much of the destruction occurred in the last 25 years, since Albania became democratic. The now-empty ammunition and fuel depots were looted in 1997, when turmoil followed the collapse of pyramid investment schemes that bankrupted Europe's poorest population. More recently a cinema and former command building were destroyed as targets for joint military exercises with British troops.

The Italian army was stationed here in the 1930s; Italian floor tiles can still be seen in some places. Another interesting spot is a small separate villa, with old equipment that served to monitor movements of U.S. and Italian ships, especially during the 1950s and 1960s when Albania was close to the then-Soviet Union. And hidden among the pine trees on a hill is the villa of a communist defense minister, Beqir Balluku, who was executed by late communist dictator Enver Hoxha as a traitor....continues.......

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/albania-sees-tourism-island-military-past-30976486

Erdogan from Tirana, calls on Europe "to take in more migrants"

Source: Beta, AP

TIRANA -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Europe to take in more migrants and refugees from Syria and Iraq.

(Beta/AP, file)

AP quoted him as saying that "his own country has borne the brunt of the refugee crisis and has been sheltering about 2 million people," and spending "USD 5.6 billion to care for 1.7 million Syrians and 300,000 Iraqis living in refugee camps or in Turkish cities."
Erdogan made the comments in Tirana, where he met with Albanian President Bujar Nishani, and added that "developed countries should do their duty and offer solutions for the migration crisis."

The Turkish president is in Albania leading a delegation of some 100 businesspeople, with the focus of his one-day visit "on economic ties," the agency said.

Erdogan said Turkey "wanted to more than double the USD 430 million annual trade exchange, adding that some 300 Turkish companies have invested USD 2.7 billion in Albania in infrastructure, the steel industry, banking, energy and telecommunication."

Erdogan will also inaugurate the start of construction on a 20,000 square-meter mosque in Tirana.

AP noted that Albania's 3.2 million population is predominantly Muslim, and that Albania "has close ties with Turkey after the Ottoman Empire kept the tiny western Balkan country under occupation from the 15th century until 1912 when it declared independence."

Vucic confirms he'll travel to Tirana in late May

Source: Tanjug

SARAJEVO -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on Wednesday that he would travel to Albania on May 27.

Vucic and members of the Bosnian presidency (Tanjug)

He said his trip will come "because it is important to improve relations in the region and invest in peace and stability."
"It is important to invest in peace and stability in the region for each of our countries so that what happened in Kumanovo does not happen to us," he said addressing a joint news conference with Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic.

Vucic said that "situations like that in Kumanovo" - where eight Macedonian police officers and 14 Albanian terrorists died in clashes last weekend - must be prevented, and that "only through peace and cooperation all countries in the region can make progress.

Vucic and Zvizdic discussed "bilateral cooperation and joint activities of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina activities in third markets," Tanjug reported, and added that Vucic said on the occasion that "best relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosniaks (Muslims) are in Serbia's interest."

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Vucic noted that the topic of the discussion was establishing a better climate and a more successful cooperation between the two countries.

"We discussed cooperation in the fields of the defense industry and tourism, as well as security issues, the fight against terrorism and solving the backlog of disagreements between Serbs and Bosniaks," Vucic noted, adding that an agreement was made for the governments of the two countries to hold a joint session in the second half of the year to discuss a number of bilateral agreements.

The security and stability of the Western Balkans depend on good, strategically organised relations between Serbs and Bosniaks, Vucic said.

The atmosphere between us is good, but it must be even better and we must create genuine trust - having the best relations with Bosniaks is in Serbia's interest, Vucic said.

During the day, the Serbian prime minister also met with members of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency.

While in Sarajevo, Vucic also spoke with Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia-Herzegovina Mladen Bosic, with whom he agreed that "stability and security in the region is a priority."

According to a statement from the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliamentary Assembly, Vucic and Bosic discussed the current political situation in the region and ways to resolve accumulated problems, the Fena news agency reported.

It was noted that political stability and security in the region was a priority and that more attention needed to be paid to economic development, economic cooperation and creation of new jobs in the coming period, the release said, adding that was necessary to intensify Serbia’s cooperation with the Serb Republic and Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially in the economic and business spheres.

"Stupid people"

(Tanjug)

Addressing a business forum in Sarajevo earlier in the day, Aleksandar Vucic said that "there are still stupid people who don't think that peoples of the region must live together and have a future together."

He spoke in favor of "creating a Western Balkans business neighborhood without borders, stressing Serbia's readiness to resolve all outstanding issues with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosniaks," Tanjug reported.

The prime minister said that "the region could attract many more investors as a unified market, but it required additional effort and a strategic dialogue."

“Serbia is ready to talk about all the serious issues with our friends from Bosnia and Bosniaks. We are ready both to open and to close the difficult topics because we have to think about a common future for our nations,” Vucic said at the opening of the Sarajevo Business Forum 2015.

"We need to create in the region a business neighborhood without borders, and political leaders need to lead a long-term strategic dialogue in order to create the best possible business and economic situation," said the Serbian prime minister.

“We have to take the responsibility into our own hands. We have to take care of the future of our citizens,” said Vucic.

The business forum, held under the slogan "One Region, One Economy", brought together around 900 participants, including political leaders, businessmen and bankers from the region and around the world.

Turkey, Greece agree new security measures in Aegean Sea

The newly appointed Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a joint press conference on Tuesday in Ankara emphasizing the significance of a resolution on Cyprus. Çavuşoğlu underlined that Turkey's main aim is to build stronger relations between the two nations. In this regard, Kotzias also said that cooperation between Greece and Mediterranean countries is at the top of his agenda during his term.

Kotzias paid an official visit to Turkey as part of the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting that will take place on May 13-14 in Antalya. In addition to the NATO meeting, a series of other sessions will also take place with ministers of foreign affairs from member countries. Emphasizing enhancing bilateral ties between Turkey and Greece, both Kotzias and Çavuşoğlu underlined the necessity of resolving the Cyprus issue. Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey and Greece have a common will to resolve the ongoing dispute on the island.

"We [Turkey] are greatly pleased with the re-launching of the stalled peace talks on Cyprus. As Turkey and Greece, we are determined to encourage peace on the island of Cyprus and between the two leaders," he said, adding: "Within the basis of the joint declaration, Turkey is as committed as ever to the continuation of negotiations and achieving a permanent resolution on Cyprus."

"Permanent peace and resolution will be achieved this year if Greece and Greek Cypriots also display the same determination toward resolution. Turkey and Greece will continue to take confidence-building steps," he said.

Commenting on the Cyprus issue and conflicts regarding the Aegean region, Kotzias said that Greece aims to "eliminate the hesitations toward the region," and reiterated that the resumption of the U.N.-brokered peace talks present a "window of opportunity" to reunify the divided island of Cyprus. Underlining the importance of securing and providing the rights of all residents of the island, Kotzias said that Cyprus must become an independent country without the need of any guarantor country.

Regarding the conflicts in the Aegean region, Kotzias said, "We are aiming to resolve the conflicts and aim to lower the tensions in the region." He further commented on Turkey's accession to the EU, saying that Greece strongly supports Turkey's membership and added: "We'd like to see an EU that supports and adopts Turkey's political stance."

http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/05/12/turkey-and-greece-agree-new-security-measures-in-aegean-sea

US Encourages Greek, Turkish Leaders to Create Bizonal Federation in Cyprus

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot military coup overthrew the government, and in response Turkey invaded the country, capturing the northern part of the island. Today, a buffer zone separates the Greek Cypriot south of the island from the Turkish Cypriot north.

 

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Greek and Turkish leaders should promptly agree on reunification of Cyprus as a bizonal federation that will benefit the island’s communities and the region as a whole, US National Security Council Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We encourage the parties to reach a settlement as soon as possible to reunify the island as a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which would benefit all Cypriots as well as the wider region,” Meehan said.

Cyprus is a Mediterranean island located south of Turkey and east of Greece, with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots forming the majority of the island's population.

© AP Photo/ Thanassis Stavrakis

Cyprus’ reunification talks between Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriot-controlled self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will begin on Friday. The United States is ready to provide any necessary assistance to help negotiation, Meehan added.
In February 2014, the talks on Cyprus reunification resumed after a two-year-long break, but were suspended in October.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150512/1022055269.html#ixzz3ZwzQTpe2

Russia's Lavrov to visit Belgrade on Friday

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Serbia on Friday, May 15, Tanjug said it learned from the Russian embassy on Tuesday.

(Beta, file)

According to the agenda, the Russian minister will confer with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.
Tanjug also learned from the embassy that "the main topics of the meeting would cover the cooperation between Serbia and Russia in Europe, Serbia's OSCE chairmanship and bilateral cooperation."

Albanian prime minister cancels visit to Macedonia

Source: Tanjug

TIRANA, BERLIN -- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has canceled his official visit to Macedonia, planned for May 14, Albanian language media in Pristina are reporting.

(Beta/AP, file)

Rama was to visit Skopje and Tetovo, the website Albeu said on Tuesday, quoting sources from the Albanian Foreign Ministry.
Rama was to be given honorary doctorate at the state university in Tetovo, the Pristina media noted.

The canceling of the visit comes in the wake of armed clashes between Macedonian police and ethnic Albanian terrorists last weekend in Kumanovo.

Pristina-based outlets are reporting that "relations between Macedonia and Albania are at a critical point," and that the Macedonian Foreign Ministry has asked Albania's diplomats posted in Skopje to explain the position of the government in Tirana.

Germany's daily Die Welt reported earlier that "neighboring countries" have been "adding fuel to the fire" in Macedonia, where the situation "has not yet stabilized."

Specifically, the paper said that the government in Skopje has been receiving "open threats from Albania and Kosovo," as on the political front "a dynamic is developing" that could further aggravate the situation.

The Albanian reaction to the developments in Macedonia has been one of "open threats," the German newspaper said, adding that Tirana "pointed out that a flare up of ethnic conflict could be devastating for Macedonia, and demanded that Skopje improves the rights of the Albanian minority."

According to the report, Albania "considers it possible" that the Macedonian prime minister "provoked the conflict with parts of the Albanian minority to secure his rule." The paper noted that the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's government has been demanded since February, "when it was discovered that 20,000 people, among them journalists, opposition leaders and ambassadors, have been spied on and kept under surveillance."

The article also quotes the head of the Serbian Military Security Agency (VBA) Petar Cvetkovic who blamed Western powers for supporting the Greater Albania project, and said Belgrade had warned Macedonia about militant Albanians' plans.

Analysts: Violence could spill over to Kosovo

Source: Tanjug

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- The violence in Macedonia could spill over to Kosovo - especially as individuals from Kosovo are involved in the clashes there.

This fear has been voiced by Serb and ethnic Albanian analysts in Kosovo and Metohija.
Analyst Zivojin Rakocevic told Tanjug Monday that Kosovo "has essentially been destabilized, with chaos just spilling over into the surrounding systems which, basically, only formally exist for ethnic Albanians."

"Most ethnic Albanians in Macedonia do not recognize Macedonia, most ethnic Albanians in the south of central Serbia do not recognize Serbia, and most ethnic Albanians in Montenegro do not see the Montenegrin system as a part of their system," he said.

It is no surprise that ethnic Albanians from Kosovo are involved in the clashes in Macedonia because practically no borders exist for them, Rakocevic said.

Analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu told Tanjug that, after Macedonia, Kosovo could be the next to be destabilized, which is not in the interest of the citizens.

"Things that are going on at your neighbor's are something you can also expect to see in your own house, especially because some of the protagonists of the events there are from Kosovo," Spahiu warned, noting that the situation in Kosovo is "very fragile."

EU helicopter crashes in Kosovo, one person hurt

PRISTINA (Reuters) - One crew member was injured when a European Union helicopter crashed at Kosovo's international airport on Tuesday during a training flight, the airport said in a statement.

A spokesman for NATO's Kosovo mission had earlier said several people were hurt in the accident, the cause of which was not known. 

The airport said it would reopen to flights later in the day.
The EU operates a mission of some 1,600 people in Kosovo, including police officers, prosecutors and judges tasked with improving law and order in the former Serbian province, which declared independence from Belgrade in 2008. 

The Gears of War Grind for Greater Albania

© REUTERS/ Marko Djurica

Andrew Korybko

932100

The massive terrorist attack in Kumanovo is the latest provocation in the quest to create a Greater Albania and simultaneously sabotage Russia’s Balkan Stream project.

The Republic of Macedonia was rocked by a large-scale terrorist attack on Saturday when over 40 armed individuals fought with police for control of the city of Kumanovo close to the country’s capital.

The attackers were from the so-called “Kosovo Liberation Army” (KLA), a former terrorist group that was thought to have been disbanded after NATO occupied the Serbian province, and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said that some of them had received their militant training in the Mideast.

The combined carnage wounded 37 police officers and killed 8 of them, while ultimately eliminating 14 terrorists and leading to the capture of 30 others.

© REUTERS/ Ognen Teofilovski

Clashes in Macedonia Raise Concerns Among NATO, EU Members

The fighting has raised serious concern that the flailing Color Revolution attempt ongoing since January may desperately coordinate with the ethnically shaded Unconventional War, as both destabilizations are directed from abroad and have the shared objective of regime change.

If they succeed in overthrowing the government, then the forces behind them can sabotage Russia’s Balkan Stream project and formalize the creation of Greater Albania.

Complex Contexts

The chaotic events in Macedonia are occurring in a complex environment, but the contexts associated with them can roughly be divided into the domestic and international categories:

Domestic:

Democratically elected Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his government have been fending off a Color Revolution attempt since the beginning of the year, and thus far, they’ve been relatively successful in avoiding the “opposition’s” provocations to escalate the crisis.

Zoran Zaev, the Color Revolutionary figurehead, was charged at the end of January with conspiring with an unnamed foreign government to stage a coup d’état, yet this hasn’t stopped him from continuing to call for regime change. His campaign has sought to cultivate and exploit youth grievances in order to acquire the illusion of critical mass needed to attract overt international (Western) support for his plot.

© REUTERS/ Ognen Teofilovski

 

Serbia Reinforces Borders After 5 Macedonian Policemen Killed in Clashes With Terrorists

 

Importantly, however, the two main Albanian opposition parties have refused to go along with Zaev’s conspiratorial actions and have continued to support democracy and the legitimately elected government.

 

Their loyalty is exceptionally important because ethnic Albanians constitute over a fifth of the country’s population and largely inhabit the border regions with Albania and the occupied Serbian province of Kosovo, thus meaning that their defection to the regime change movement would be catastrophic not just for the government, but also for the country’s very existence.

The main reason they support the authorities is because the government endows them with the best minority rights afforded anywhere in the world as a result of the 2001 Ohrid Agreement. They largely understand that their forced incorporation into Greater Albania would do away with these generous privileges and subordinate them to second-rate citizens in the irredentist state, thereby doing away with their former role as first-rate ones in multiethnic Macedonia.

In fact, they may not even feel like citizens at all in a Greater Albania, since if Albanians in “Kosovo” are any indication, then hundreds of thousands of them may flee from their failed “state” and completely abandon it to the terrorist and criminal gangs that made it “independent” in the first place.

International:

This brings about the necessity in discussing the project for a Greater Albania, which Tirana threatened to bring about as recently as last month. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama warned that his country would “unite” with the Serbian province of Kosovo whether the EU supports such a move or not, calling the forthcoming annexation “inevitable and unquestionable”.

In what Albania would like the world to believe was just a completely random occurrence, the dormant KLA terrorist group was suddenly revived and carried out what now appears in hindsight to have been a test-run terrorist attack late last month near Gosince.

It should be clear at this point that the two pervious provocations are intimately interconnected with the catastrophe in Kumanovo, and that all three of them combine to form the war cry for a Greater Albania.

But there’s an even larger international component at play here, and that’s the US’ obsession with derailing Russian-European energy cooperation via the Balkan Stream pipeline, the de-facto successor of South Stream.  Envisioned as an expansion of Turkish Stream, it’s projected to carry Russian gas from Greece to South Stream’s former Serbian hub, critically passing through Macedonia en route.

Accordingly, if Macedonia is thrown into chaos and/or its government is illegally removed, then Balkan Stream becomes a pipedream (pun intended) and would never get built, hence why the combined Color Revolution and Unconventional War have been unleashed on the geostrategic country. The destabilization in Macedonia is thus essentially a Western proxy war against Russia in the context of the New Cold War.

Not Civil War, But External War

Many in the foreign media are saying that the terrorist attacks could herald in a possible civil war between Albanian and Slavic Macedonians, but such an assessment is misleading, and in the case of Western reporting, purposely so.

To channel Syrian President Bashar Assad as regards his own country’s conflict, what is happening in Macedonia “is an external war carried out by internal elements.”

Most of the attackers were Macedonian citizens (the others being Albanian and “Kosovan”), but many of them received their highly specialized training in the Mideast, a euphemism meant to signify ISIL.

Their adept and lethal handling of sniper rifles, explosives, and automatic weapons proves that they weren’t run-of-the-mill drug-trafficking thugs and lends convincing credence to this claim.

Furthermore, these terrorists were professionals and were planning to carry out coordinated large-scale attacks against soft targets such as sporting events and shopping malls prior to their interception by the authorities, and they had already stockpiled loads of arms (many of which were consequently used against the police) in anticipation of this.

© REUTERS/ Ognen Teofilovski

 

NATO Calls to 'Exercise Restraint' Amid Clashes Near Kosovo Border

 

The revival of the KLA and its latest terrorist violence are meant to provoke Albanian Macedonians into abandoning the government and siding with the militant irredentists.

The concept of Greater Albania is an emotionally charged tool designed to increase the country’s destabilization and consequently facilitate regime change in conjunction with the simultaneous Color Revolution attempt. It endeavors to craft the illusion of consensual acceptance by all Albanians, even though this clearly isn’t the case at all.

In fact, it can be said that the resort to ethnically affiliated terrorism indicates desperation on the side of the external anti-Macedonian actors, since they recognize that this is the last option they have in trying to get the Albanians to turn against the government and instigate a racial and religious division of society. 

The conspirators wouldn’t utilize such extreme methods if they felt they could achieve their objectives in a simpler manner, such as through intelligence-front NGOs or by ‘legitimately’ winning them over to the side of the Color Revolutionaries.

The violent, last-ditch effort to christen Greater Albania through a sea of killings testifies to the fortitude of Albanian Macedonians in heretofore resisting this tempting Fascist-era ideology, hence the need to export Wahhabist ISIL terrorists to this latest New Cold War theater in order to mangle Macedonia and break Russia’s Balkan Stream plans.  

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/columnists/20150512/1022032444.html#ixzz3ZvdM2xZs

Macedonia violence ignites fears of renewed ethnic conflict

 

FT

Western leaders on Monday urged restraint and called for an independent probe into the events, in which eight police officers and 14 others died in two days of gun battles between police and what Skopje described as an armed paramilitary group.

The government said the armed group, holed up in a residential district of Kumanovo, a town 30km northeast of the capital Skopje, had been planning terrorist attacks on police stations, shopping malls and sports events and that the police action was a pre-emptive operation.

Video footage released by Macedonia’s government on Sunday night appeared to show arrested members of the gang in uniforms bearing the insignia of the National Liberation Army, a disbanded ethnic Albanian paramilitary group.

But although a small number of dissident ethnic Albanian militants are known to be active in Macedonia, the timing of the offensive, days ahead of major anti-government demonstrations scheduled for this weekend, has provoked suspicion among local activists, political analysts said.
Tensions have been rising steadily for months as the opposition Socialists have released dozens of secret recordings they claim prove Skopje’s involvement in illegal wiretapping, election fraud and political interference in the police and judiciary

“We’ve seen so much political scandal emerging from Macedonia under this government that people are very wary of taking any official investigation by the authorities at face value,” said James Ker-Lindsay, senior research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “Many people believe the administration is more than capable of staging the attack in order to stay in power.”

Amid the uncertainty, EU officials warned Skopje against using the violence to divert attention from the months-long political scandal that has paralysed the country’s politics. Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005, but the poisonous political conflict has sparked alarm in Brussels.

“This attack cannot and should not distract from the very serious internal political situation,” Johannes Hahn, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, told reporters in Brussels. “The event should not be used to introduce a further complexity by injecting ethnic tensions into the situation.”

The alleged links between the armed group and the NLA, formerly led by Ali Ahmeti, a coalition partner in the government of Nikola Gruevski, Macedonia’s prime minister, have revived memories of an NLA revolt in 2001.

An estimated 140 people were killed in the ensuing hostilities, sparking fears of a civil war before western powers dispatched 3,500 Nato troops to enforce a peace settlement.
Macedonia map

Ethnic tensions had largely calmed in the country and Mr Ahmeti’s Democratic Union for Integration party has shared power as a junior coalition partner in the government since 2002.

But some outside observers alleged the armed group reportedly involved in this weekend’s violence had been formed from among an extremist minority of ethnic Albanians disgruntled with Mr Ahmeti’s leadership and slow progress in implementing Macedonia’s 2001 Ohrid peace agreement.

Many questions about the armed group remain unanswered, including how 50-70 heavily armed paramilitaries could base themselves in Kumanovo without attracting attention.

Mr Gruevski said at the weekend that the group was made up of former NLA leaders from neighbouring Kosovo and highly trained guerrillas with recent combat experience in the Middle East. Kosovan officials said they had not detected any groups of militants crossing the border in recent weeks.
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The events have raised fears of a broader outbreak of regional instability, particularly as Macedonia’s opposition has hinted at further revelations of government misdeeds in its dealings with the Albanian minority.

As western officials pleaded for Macedonia’s government and opposition to restart dialogue, an opposition official said the attacks had not changed their demands for the government to resign and that demonstrations planned for Sunday would go ahead.

Analysts said the coming days posed a challenge for Europe. So far, mediation talks led by three members of the European Parliament have failed to halt an escalation in tensions.

“The EU has got to take a stand on what’s happening in Skopje. This scandal has been going on for far too long and the government has not been transparent enough about anything,” said Judy Dempsey, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The European Commission will have to meet the parties and work out a clear direction on where Macedonia needs to go.”

More than 85% of Greeks want to stay in Eurozone -Realnews

By Vasilis Skouris 
The majority of Greeks (85.5%) want Greece to remain in the Euro zone and only a 12.2% wish the opposite, according to a poll conducted by MRB for Realnews newspaper.
Nearly 75 (74.1%) of respondents think that Greece and its Euro partners will try to find a common ground and reach an agreement with mutual concessions, while just 20.6% thinks the opposite.
More than 70% (71.9%) of respondents says the Greek government should make mutual concessions in order for Greece to remain in the Euro zone.
However, in case of an agreement being achieved after concessions being made by the Greek government, there are some things which are unnegotiable according to the poll.
Specifically, 91.7% of the respondents think the Greek government should not accept an increase in VAT (Value-Added Tax) concerning basic commodities, 89.4% is against salary reductions and 85.8% against pension cuts.
More than 7 out of 10 of the respondents (75.2%) think the government should not accept the reduction of Social Solidarity Benefit for Pensioners (EKAS) or the reduction of the number of people who are receiving it.
Nearly 70% (69.4) believe that the basic salary should be neither reduced nor increased, while 50.8% thinks contentious property tax (ENFIA) should not be abolished.
On the other hand, just 21.3% of the respondents think the government should accept an agreement with our Euro partners only in case that such agreement includes all the demands of Syriza, even if that bring about a Grexit.
If the Euro partners refuse to make concessions concerning reductions of salaries and pensions and increase in taxation and then the Greek government holds a referendum, 49.2% would vote in favor of new measures so the country to stay in the Euro zone. However, nearly 40% (39.1) would opt for Grexit and implementation of other policies.
Source: Realnews

2 Greek islands among the 10 best unknown islands in Europe

Guardian explores Europe’s lesser-known islands and suggest 10 of the best islands you can enjoy a leisurely break where walking, watersports and doing nothing at all are the order of the day. Two of the ten islands are Greek. Aegina is on number 3 for the peace it offers to the travellers and Samothrace is on number 9 for the sense of otherworldliness.

Macedonia violence worries Balkan neighbours

printable version 12 May 2015 Kosovo’s president and prime minister, Atifete Jahjaga and Isa Mustafa, expressed deep concern on Monday about the involvement of Kosovo citizens in gun battles with police in the Macedonian town of Kumanovo at the weekend. Jahjaga and Mustafa said in a joint statement the violence was intended “to destabilise Kosovo and neighbouring countries by challenging peace and safety”. Jahjaga and Mustafa called for a transparent and credible investigation into the Kumanovo fighting and said that Kosovo’s institutions would continue to offer full assistance to the Macedonian authorities. “The Republic of Kosovo remains committed to a multi-ethnic and stable Macedonia, with which Kosovo enjoys good neighbourly relations,” their statement said. Gun battles between police and a previously unknown armed group in the Macedonian town of Kumanovo on May 9 and 10 left eight policemen dead and some 37 wounded. At least 14 gunmen were also killed. The Macedonian national security council said the group of several dozen people had planned terror attacks across the country, intending serious destabilisation. Petar Cvetkovic, head of Serbia’s Military Security Agency, said on Monday that Serbian security forces had warned their Macedonian colleagues of potential security issues in the north of the country in April, but the Macedonian authorities had dismissed the information as “exaggerated”. Cvetkovic said Serbian security agencies had informed Skopje that a large group of ethnic Albanian “terrorists” was active in Macedonia on a mission to carve out a ‘Greater Albania’. Cvetkovic said that the Serbian army and police had strengthened their presence on the borders with Macedonia and Kosovo because there were also concerns that a number of the fighters had fled Kumanovo following the weekend battles. Milorad Veljovic, head of the Serbian police, said there was no information suggesting the conflict might spill over from Macedonia to Serbia, but that both police and army were closely monitoring the situation. “We cannot relax for a moment, as this zone is very sensitive and we must be ready at any moment,” Veljovic said on Monday. In a statement released on Sunday, the Albanian government said it had “followed with great concern the tragic events” in Macedonia. “Expressing our deep regret for the loss of human lives, the government of Albania is steadfast that the crisis should not escalate. The latest developments in Kumanovo have breached the normality of inter-ethnic relations, which remain fragile,” the Albanian government wrote. The government in Tirana also called for transparent investigation into the attacks in Kumanovo. “The cloud of ambiguity over what has happened in Kumanovo, which has kept Albanians anxious wherever they live, should be followed by complete transparency on the event,” the statement said. Boiko Borisov, the prime minister of neighbouring Bulgaria, said on Sunday that he was following the situation in Macedonia and believes that the events in Kumanovo were the result of deeper political issues that Macedonia is facing. “I hope they will take [things] in their hands and regulate their state… if there is mistrust for some or other reason… then people put their trust back in themselves,” he was quoted as saying. In Montenegro, civil society organisations and politicians also called for peace in the region. The Civic Alliance, a prominent watchdog, called on the international community on Sunday “not to allow the mistakes of the past to be repeated in the Western Balkans. In an open letter, the organisation said that the dramatic events in Kumanovo hinted at the opening a new chapter of violence in the Balkans.

12 May 2015 Balkan Insight

Δύο θέσεις των ΗΠΑ στα Τίρανα

Ουάσιγκτον, φαίνεται μόνιμα και σαφείς, να υποστηρίξουν τις αλβανικές συμφέροντα στην περιοχή, φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα, πως τα δικαιώματα στην αυτοδιάθεση των Ελλήνων στη Βόρειο Ήπειρο, ούτε αγνοούνται από την Αλβανία, την πιο κατάφωρη περίπτωση, των Ελλήνων της Χειμάρρας, και πάντα αισθάνονται ότι απειλούνται από την επέκταση της Μεγάλης Αλβανίας


 .

Ο ΗΠΑ βουλευτής Dana Rohrabache εκαναι επυσκεπση στα Τίρανα, με τον Πρόεδρο του Κοινοβουλίου Ιλίρ Μέτα, επικεφαλής της αντιπολίτευσης Λουλζίμ Μπάσα συνοδεύεται από τον Πρεσβευτή των ΗΠΑ Donald Lu.

 Μέλος του Κογκρέσου των ΗΠΑ, Dana Rohrabache, είναι γνωστός για τις προσπάθειές του με τoν αλβανικο αμερικανικο λόμπι, ιδιαίτερα με τους εκπροσώπους των Τσαμιδον στην Αλβανία.



Αλλά αυτό δεν έχει συμβεί σε μια αντιπροσωπεία από το Κογκρέσο των ΗΠΑ, τον Οκτώβριο του 2014, μετά από την ηγεσία του Ρεπουμπλικανικού απο Φλόριντα Gus Bilirakis,, και δύο μέλη του Κογκρέσου των ΗΠΑ Jack Kingston καi Gregory W. Meeks, αρχής γενομένης από τον τότε, o πρέσβη των ΗΠΑ Alex Αrvizu και οι πολιτικοί όλων των Αλβανών ηγετών, μποϊκόταραν τη συνεδρίαση.





 
 Μέλος του Κογκρέσου των ΗΠΑ, Γκας Μπιλιράκης είναι ένθερμος υποστηρικτής των συμφερόντων των ΗΠΑ προς στην Ελαδα στην περιοχή, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της Κύπρος ζήτημα, αλλά η αποστολή του στα Τίρανα μαζί με δύο άλλους βουλευτές, είχε ως στόχο να πάρει την προσοχή των Τιράνων, σχετικά με το θέμα Χειμάρρα και τα δικαιώματα των Ελλήνων ..

Φαίνεται ότι το ελληνικό λόμπι στις ΗΠΑ, είναι πολύ κατώτερη πριν από τη στρατηγική των ΗΠΑ στα Βαλκάνια, για την υποστήριξη της Μεγάλης Αλβανίας ..

Albania invites Saudi tourists to enjoy its pristine beauty

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  Ambassador Sami Shiba
  

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JEDDAH: KHALIL HANWARE | ARAB NEWS STAFF

Published — Monday 11 May 2015

Last update 10 May 2015 10:28 pm

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Albania has relaxed its visa procedures for Saudi tourists during the summer period, from May 25 to Sept. 30, says the Albanian ambassador to the Kingdom.
“Saudi nationals do not need to take an entry visa from the Albanian Embassy prior to their visit to Albania during the summer months,” Sami Shiba, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Albania to Saudi Arabia (resident in Riyadh) and Oman, Bahrain and Yemen (non-resident), told Arab News in an interview.
In this context, he said: “I want to seize this opportunity to invite Saudi tourists to consider Albania as one of the best options when making their holiday plans.”
Q: Your Excellency, the 2015 tourism season will open soon. What can you tell us about the values and tourist resources of Albania?
A: The month of May marks the beginning of the tourist season in Albania.
I would like to underline that one of the priorities of our activity is to introduce the Saudi people to the values, the touristic and cultural resources of Albania.
In this context, I want to emphasize that the tourist potential of the coast and mountain areas of Albania is exceptional.
The natural beauty, its geographical position and its mild climate make Albania a special place in Europe. Albania has been developing very well in tourism.
These factors have contributed to the increase in the number of foreign visitors to Albania during 2014 to over 4 million. It is not Paris or London, but Albania leads the list of 16 incredible places in Europe, according to the latest estimates.

Q: What are the attractive features of seashore tourism in Albania?
A: Albania has a virgin natural environment and a very enjoyable Mediterranean climate making it a top tourist destination during the entire year.
Albanian tourism has been growing because of its offer of packages like sun and sea tourism, history and culture tourism, and mountain tourism.
Albania, with its 450 km coastline, is promoting seashore tourism, which is becoming a major attraction for tourists.
Albania has a considerable number of beaches with fine sand and pines as well as rocky shores along the coast of the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, where within minutes tourists can experience the mountain climate of Llogara and warmth of the coast of Dhermi, thanks to the country’s impressive natural features.
Its mountainous areas have been developed for tourist and are now a big attraction.
The Albanian Alps to the north and the Kruje, Berat and Elbasan mountains along the Ionian Sea have been attracting tourists during the year, including during winter when it has mild climate.
Albania offers very traditional housing in its mountainous regions allowing for an interesting experience of rich culture.
Mostly, you will stay in old traditional stone houses called Kulas, where the local hosts spoil you with homemade bread, honey, cheese and delicious dishes, all prepared from their own domestic produce.
The accommodation units, which are both special and traditional, the rich cuisine, affordable prices, accompanied by the historic Albanian hospitality create a truly wonderful ambience, making Albania a very sought-after tourist destination.
The Western tourists visit us once and return frequently.
The peaks of the Balkans Trail region, which belongs to the Alpine border region of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, are now a destination of rising popularity on the maps of tourists around the world.
The transnational Peaks of the Balkans Trail leads the visitor on a unique experience through one of the most remote and wild mountainous regions of the Western Balkans.
Using shepherd paths and footways, the trail winds through high alpine mountains of up to 2,300 meters above sea level lead through wild mountainous scenery, with a diversity of breathtaking landscapes, varying from green valleys to crystal-clear mountain lakes, waterfalls, rivers and remote picturesque mountain villages, in which time seems to have stopped — a veritable hidden treasure for lovers of nature and hikers from around the globe. Growing interest and coverage around the world is already making the Peaks of the Balkans Trail a world famous destination.
In March 2013, an article was published in the New York Times praising its beauty and great potential.
This interest culminated this month when the Peaks of the Balkans was awarded first prize in the category of Destination Management (Destination Stewardship) by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), during the awards ceremony for tourism in Abu Dhabi on April 9-10, 2013.
Aside from its natural beauty, geographical position and mild climate, Albania is also set apart by the richness of its culture and history.
Albania, located at the crossroads of two ancient civilizations, the Greeks and the Romans, has a rich historical and cultural heritage recognized as part of the world’s cultural heritage that warrants special protection.
This Albanian historical and cultural heritage can be seen and felt in its natural parks, archaeological sites, art galleries, photographs and movie archives, citadels and castles, religious monuments and folk homes, in its old rock-paved streets, as well as in its museums.
Butrint, in Southern Albania, is one of these archaeological sites with an indisputable value, which has already been included in the project of the UNESCO for the protection of the world’s cultural patrimony.
Cities with a long and vast history, such as Berat and Gjirokastra — also under the protection of the UNESCO, not only bring a unique value to the world’s cultural heritage, but are also a beautiful experience for the visitor walking through them.
Also, Apollonia, Antigonea, Voskopoja are remnants of a past filled with culture and significance, and have a major archaeological potential. I am sure the rich history will leave any interested foreign visitors pleasantly surprised.
Q: How do the authorities Albania help the tourist sector?
A: In order to support the tourism industry, the Albanian authorities have continued to work heavily toward enforcing the legal frameworks governing tourism, foreign investment, tourist safety, etc.
The Albanian government is working with determination in the road infrastructure, in order to further improve a modern road network which would allow Albanian citizens, visitors, and foreign investors to easily and effortlessly experience the whole country.
In addition, I want to emphasize that special attention has been paid to the exposure of Albanian tourism through different fairs in many countries.

Q: Since it is always good for a traveler to know some words in the language of the country he/she visits, would you please teach us some usual expressions in your language like good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good bye, cheers, thank you?
A: Yes, in the order you mentioned them, these expressions in the Albanian language are: miremengjes, miredita, mirembrema, mirupafshim, gezuar, faleminderit.
Albanians are friendly and very open toward foreigners who visit their country.
If you are lucky enough to be invited to visit an Albanian’s home, you will get royal treatment.
The guest will always be shown the highest respect at every moment, even being offered a seat at the head of the table, usually reserved for the head of the household.
Albania is a safe country for visitors. Its tradition of hospitality affords great respect for foreigners; almost all Albanians will go out of their way to provide assistance when you are in need — whether you are lost or in trouble.
The Albanian monetary unit is called Lek. The currency floats freely but is quite stable; at the time of speaking, exchange is about 140 lek to the euro and about 128 lek to the dollar.

Q: How can a Saudi traveler come to Albania? Are there any specific requirements?
 A: There are no specific requirements for Saudis to travel to Albania.
We have suggested and supported the removal of entry visa requirement for the Saudi travelers visiting our country during the summer period, from May 25 to Sept. 30.
This means Saudis can travel to Albania without having to obtain a visa at the Embassy of Albania. Travel can take place with a passport.
I want to seize this opportunity to invite Saudi tourists to take Albania into consideration as one of the best options when making their holiday plans.