Diplomatic Diary: Estonian prime minister visits Pristina

25/11/2008

Estonia's Andrus Ansip is in Pristina. Also in diplomatic news: Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha met with Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski, and Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was in Ankara.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip (left) and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci hold a press conference in Pristina on Monday (November 24th). [Laura Hasani]

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Chief of Defence Ants Laaneots arrived on Sunday (November 23rd) in Pristina for the prime minister's first official visit since Kosovo declared independence in February. On Sunday, they met with Estonian peacekeepers in Kosovo. On Monday, they met with President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi. Estonia recognised Kosovo on February 21st.

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Any deal to reunify Cyprus that is designed to serve Turkey's or other countries' interests is doomed to fail, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said on Friday (November 21st) after returning from an official visit to Russia. Christofias also rejected Turkish Cypriots' criticism of a memorandum of understanding signed by his Greek Cypriot administration and Russia.

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Macedonia is well-prepared to assume its responsibilities as a potential member of NATO and the EU, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha told Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski at a meeting in Skopje on Saturday (November 22nd). Gruevski and Berisha reviewed possibilities for mutual support of their countries' EU and NATO integration processes.

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Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Presidency Chairman Nebojsa Radmanovic agreed on Thursday (November 20th) that political co-operation between their countries is very strong but that economic co-operation needs improvement. The two leaders met on the sidelines of a Regional Economic Forum in Ohrid, Macedonia. Crvenkovski and Radmanovic said that Skopje and Sarajevo should boost co-operation in energy.

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Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov visited the Turkish Military Academy in Ankara on Wednesday (November 19th). A total of 800 people are currently studying in the academy, including around 60 foreigners from 23 countries. Serdyukov also met with Turkish counterpart Vecdi Gonul.

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrapped up a four-day visit to India on Sunday (November 23rd), the first by a Turkish head of government in two decades. Erdogan met with Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil and other senior officials.

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Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Serbian President Boris Tadic met in Belgrade on November 19th to discuss current political issues, bilateral relations and prospects for their development. Another topic raised during the meeting was infrastructure, particularly the completion of Corridor 10, which would heighten both countries' economic prospects.

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Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Athens on Monday (November 24th) for a three-day official visit. He and Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias discussed further development of their countries' strategic partnership. Hu will attend the signing of an 831.2m-euro deal on Tuesday under which the Chinese company Cosco Pacific Ltd. will manage two container terminals in Piraeus.

(Various sources 18/11/08-25/11/08)