Most of the Balkan countries strongly condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine, but Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided: the Serbian member of the collegiate presidency calls for ” neutrality “. Serbia is also trying to make a very delicate diplomatic split. In Romania and Moldova, countries bordering Ukraine, we are on the alert. Regional overview.
On Thursday, nearly 10 000 Ukrainians arrived in Moldova and Romania. At the border posts, the queues are several kilometers long and the two countries are already preparing to receive tens, even hundreds of thousands of refugees. In this crisis, Romanian public opinion overwhelmingly supports interventionism ” protective of NATO and the United States, in the name of a deep anti-Russian feeling. To analyse.
Transnistria is a small pro-Russian secessionist enclave of 4,163 km2 in eastern Moldova where 1,500 soldiers of the Russian operational forces are still stationed. According to experts, this territory would serve as model” to Russia for the separatist entities of Ukraine and Georgia. However, Moscow has never formally recognized its independence proclaimed in 1991.
Russia and pro-Russian separatists target the Balkans
A few days before his country launched its offensive, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov explained that mercenaries from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, predominantly Muslim countries, are said to be on their way to fight in Ukraine. In Tirana, Pristina and Sarajevo, people deny ” fake news “.
The separatist republics of eastern Ukraine have, for their part, accused Bulgaria to have delivered shells and mortar launchers which would have been used against civilians. A real casus belli, which did not go unanswered from Sofia. Last year, Moscow had already accused its former closest ally in the Balkans of selling arms to Kiev.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, concern is growing
In this extremely tense context, astonishing news came from Moscow: the Ministry of Defense announced that Emir Kusturica was to take over the management of the Academic Theater of the Russian Army. The Serbian director born in Sarajevo has never hidden his pro-Russian inclination, for example giving concerts in Crimea after its annexation or appearing alongside Vladimir Putin.
The invasion of Ukraine also raises fears of the worst in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country fears the return of the war while the Serbian entity of the country has been threatening for several months to secede. First part of our series Who is afraid of war? to Jajce, a small mixed town where Bosnian Muslims and Croat Catholics live side by side. Everyone hopes that there will be no new conflict, but everyone makes sure to have a valid passport… Just in case. The concern is all the greater in the country, very divided, that the Croatian nationalists are also blackmail to the third entity.
The consequences of inflation in Turkey and Montenegro
In small Montenegro, wages rose sharply on February 1 thanks to the Evropa Sad program. But this gain in purchasing power is already lost due to the brutal inflation. While some accuse the outgoing government’s measure of having disrupted the economy, others highlight the global trend, which began in 2021.
In Turkey, prices are soaring, the pound is collapsing, and strikes are multiplying. Through the whole Country, workers demand more rights and better wages so as not to fall into poverty. This wave of social anger could weaken the power of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP.
Asian workers in Romania, dirty Bulgarian money laundered in Switzerland
Four million Romanians have emigrated abroad since joining the European Union in 2007 and companies are struggling to recruit. The solution ? Bring in workers from Asia. Report from Transylvania where many Sri Lankans work in the hotel and catering industry and Vietnamese in the factory.
In recent days, a consortium of investigative journalists has exposed the bad practices of Credit Suisse, the second largest banking institution in the Swiss Confederation. Several of its leaders are already on trial in a Ticino court, accused of having helped a Bulgarian drug trafficker, Evelin Banev, to launder millions of euros.