Serbia

Serbia will remain military neutral and will not join NATO — Vucic

BELGRADE, March 13. /TASS/: Serbia will remain a military neutral state and will not join NATO, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is running for a second term, said at the election rally of the Serbian Progressive Party in Backa Palanka on Sunday.

"Someone says: "Never say never, maybe we will join NATO someday." But I say: we don't need to join NATO. I think Serbia should remain militarily neutral, protect its military neutrality and develop its army," the Serbian President said.

After Ukraine, Europe wonders who’s next Russian target

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — For some European countries watching Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, there are fears that they could be next.

Western officials say the most vulnerable could be those who aren’t members of NATO or the European Union, and thus alone and unprotected — including Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova and Russia’s neighbor Georgia, both of them formerly part of the Soviet Union — along with the Balkan states of Bosnia and Kosovo.

Serbia will not impose sanctions against Moscow, president says

BELGRADE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Serbia respects Ukraine's territorial integrity and considers Russia's military action against it to be "wrong," but will not impose sanctions against Moscow, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday.

Serbia, led by Vucic, is performing a delicate balancing act between its European aspirations, partnership with NATO and its centuries-old religious, ethnic and political alliance with Russia.

Serbia extradites Bahrain opposition figure

26 Jan 2022; MEMO: The Serbian authorities have extradited a Bahrain opposition figure to Manama despite an injunction issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Guardian has reported. Ahmed Jaafar Muhammad Ali, 48, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in 2013 for alleged terrorist activities.

Human rights groups have accused Bahrain of seeking to suppress dissent in the kingdom through such allegations. Popular protests have taken place there since the Arab Spring started in 2011.

Montenegro opposition, one ruling coalition grouping seek no-confidence vote in Cabinet

BELGRADE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Montenegro's opposition parties and one grouping in the ruling coalition jointly proposed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday in Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic's Cabinet.

The small Adriatic country's parliament must vote on the no-confidence motion by mid-February. To pass, it will require the support of at least 41 lawmakers in the 81-seat assembly.

Serbian environmental protesters reject lithium mining plans

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Environmental protesters demanding the cancelation of plans for lithium mining in western Serbia took to the streets again Saturday, blocking key roads and for the first time a border crossing.

Traffic on the Balkan nation’s main north-south highway was halted for more than an hour in Belgrade, the capital, along with several other roads throughout the country, including one by Serbia’s border with Bosnia.

Serbia: Lithium mine opponents block roads in bad weather

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people in Serbia spent part of a holiday weekend blocking roads Saturday to protest plans for lithium mining in the Balkan country.

The protests came a day after Orthodox Christians in Serbia and many other countries celebrated Christmas. The demonstrations took place in the capital, Belgrade, and several other locations.

Anti-mine activists have organized weekly gatherings to keep pressure on the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic to scrap the possibility of lithium excavations in western Serbia.

Djokovic’s fans in Serbia protest his detention in Australia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of Novak Djokovic’s supporters gathered at a rally in downtown Belgrade on Friday to protest his confinement in Australia after his entry was denied by border authorities because of COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

The top-ranked Serb, who hopes to defend his title at the Australian Open and win a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title, was denied entry when he arrived at Melbourne’s airport on Wednesday and was still in an immigration detention hotel awaiting a court hearing scheduled for Monday to challenge his deportation.

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