Diplomatic Diary: Serbia's Jeremic visits US

15/12/2009

Serbian and US representatives talk co-operation. Also in diplomatic news: Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic visits the Vatican and Croatia's Mesic was in Russia.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic meets with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday (December 15th). [Getty Images]

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic travels to Washington on Tuesday (December 15th), where he will meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials. Jeremic says talks will focus on bilateral co-operation. Before leaving for Washington, Serbia's top diplomat met with Bosnian counterpart Sven Alkalaj and Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu in Sarajevo.

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Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic kicked off a visit to the Vatican on Monday (December 14th) to visit Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. The Montenegrin prime minister said that Podgorica received the Pope's full support for its efforts to maintain peace in the region and promote dialogue between religions and cultures. The Holy See backs Montenegro's and other Balkan countries' EU and NATO bids, he added.

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Spain, which takes over the rotating EU presidency January 1st, will do its best to help Serbia in its EU integration process, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on Saturday (December 12th) in Belgrade, after meeting with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic. While in Belgrade, Moratinos also met with President Boris Tadic and received the honorary citizen of Belgrade title.

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Pope Benedict XVI received Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Friday (December 11th) to discuss current international issues. Berisha invited the pope to visit Albania next year, to participate in celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth.

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Croatian President Stipe Mesic arrived on Sunday (December 13th) for a two-day official visit to Russia. Mesic met with presidential representative in the Central Federal District, Georgy Poltavchenko. On Monday, the Croatian president addressed a forum called "Croatia 2000-2010, a Decade of Change" organised by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Mesic also met with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.

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Albanian President Bamir Topi and Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul pledged on Thursday (December 10th) to boost already good political and economic co-operation between their countries. Topi thanked Turkey for supporting Albania's efforts to become a NATO member, and said he appreciated Turkish investments in road infrastructure, industry, education, banks and telecommunication.

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Portuguese Defence Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Monday (December 14th) that Kosovo has a European perspective and should integrate in the EU and NATO, as should all other Western Balkans countries. "Portugal is committed to stability and security in Kosovo and there will be no changes in its peacekeeping presence," Silva said in Pristina after meeting with President Fatmir Sejdiu.

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EU President Herman van Rompuy was in Sofia on Monday (December 14th) on his first official visit to Bulgaria. Rompuy, who met with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and President Georgi Parvanov, welcomed the new government's efforts to tackle the country's economic situation saying, "Bulgaria is back on the right track."

(Various sources -- 08/12/09-15/12/09)