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- By RFE/RL
U.S., U.K. Express Concern Over Russian Military Activity Near Ukraine
The United States and United Kingdom once again expressed concern about a large buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine as concerns grow over the Kremlin’s endgame.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on November 17 that the Russian troop movements “certainly have our attention” and he urged Russia to be “more transparent” about its intentions.
Earlier in the day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned a panel of senior lawmakers that it would be a “tragic mistake” for the Kremlin to undertake “military adventurism.”
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said earlier this month that up to 90,000 Russian troops remained near its border to the north, despite the end of military drills. That has raised concern over possible Russian aggression against Ukraine and prompted the U.K. to announce that it would be sending 600 troops to the country.
Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up naval visits to the Black Sea, sparking Kremlin anger.
Russia has a history of aggression toward Ukraine. The Kremlin forcibly annexed its Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and backed separatists in two of its eastern provinces, triggering a conflict that continues to simmer to this day.
Separately, the United States and NATO member Turkey held a high-level defense group meeting at the Pentagon on November 16 to discuss a range of issues, including tensions in the Black Sea.
Turkey is one of three NATO members, along with Romania and Bulgaria, that borders the Black Sea.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is expected in Washington later this week.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. State Department Adds Russia To Register Of World's 'Worst Violators' Of Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department has officially added Russia to its register of the world's “worst violators” of religious freedom, a list that includes Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and five other countries.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent body created by Congress to make recommendations about global religious freedom, proposed in its annual report released on April 21 that Russia, India, Syria, and Vietnam be put on the "countries of particular concern" list, a category reserved for those countries that carry out "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of religious freedoms.
On November 17, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that, of those four countries, he would be adding Russia to the list. Neither India, Syria, or Vietnam were designated as “countries of particular concern.”
The blacklisting paves the way for sanctions if the countries included do not improve their records.
The State Department added four countries to its special watch list, meaning there are still "severe" violations of religious freedom there, including Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
The State Department did not follow through on USCIRF’s recommendation to add Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to the list.
“We will continue to press all governments to remedy shortcomings in their laws and practices, and to promote accountability for those responsible for abuses,” Blinken said in a November 17 statement.
In its April report, the USCIRF said that “religious freedom conditions in Russia deteriorated” last year, with the government targeting religious minorities deemed as “nontraditional” with fines, detentions, and criminal charges.
For decades, religious minorities like Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.
A total of 188 criminal cases alone were brought against the banned Jehovah’s Witnesses, while there were 477 raids and searches of members’ homes, with raids and interrogations including “instances of torture that continue to go uninvestigated and unpunished,” the April report said.
Russia has continued to crack down on Jehovah’s Witnesses since then.
A court in the southwestern city of Astrakhan on October 26 sentenced four Jehovah’s Witnesses to lengthy prison terms for creating or taking part in an extremist group.
Earlier that month, a court in the southern city of Krasnodar sentenced a 59-year-old disabled Jehovah’s Witness to four years in prison for holding a Bible study with fellow believers.
- By Todd Prince
Cybersleuths Say Zelenskiy's Office Postponed Russian Mercenary Sting Operation After Cease-Fire Pact
An alleged plot by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to capture almost three dozen Russian mercenaries fell apart after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office requested a postponement, according to an investigation by the open-source research group Bellingcat and the Russia-focused media outlet The Insider.
In a report issued on November 17 after a yearlong investigation, British-based Bellingcat and The Insider said they found that the country's military intelligence service had planned to force a plane carrying 33 Russian mercenaries from Minsk to Istanbul on July 25, 2020, to land in Ukraine under false pretenses.
The planned forced landing was to have been the final stage of an elaborate sting operation carried out by the military intelligence service with support from the counterintelligence department of the domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, according to the report. The goal, it said, was to lure and arrest Russian mercenaries who previously fought on the side of Russia-backed anti-government forces in the war in the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas.
However, the report said, just days before the plane was to take off from Belarus, Zelenskiy agreed to a cease-fire in the conflict in the Donbas effective on July 27, 2020.
According to the report, Vasyl Burba, who led the military intelligence at the time and was overseeing the operation, said Zelenskiy's office pushed back the sting operation several days because of concerns that it would jeopardize the truce deal.
The report quotes Burba as saying he met with Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, just days before the operation to give a final update. Burba said Yermak proposed postponing the sting operation.
"According to Burba, the position of the Office of the President was that if the sting operation would continue as planned and culminate in detentions on 25 July, the cease-fire would be dead before it started," the report by Bellingcat and The Insider said.
Several operatives told Bellingcat that Burba called them immediately after the meeting with Yermak. However, Bellingcat said it could not independently verify Burba's alleged conversation with Yermak, and Zelenskiy's office did not provide comments for this investigation, despite multiple requests.
Zelenskiy, Yermak, and the intelligence agencies have in the past denied that Ukrainian authorities hatched any such plan, which might have caused an international uproar had it been carried out, in part because diverting a plane on false pretenses is illegal.
In September 2020, Yermak called accounts of an alleged Ukrainian operation a "detective story" whose authors took "a few facts from reality" and added a heavy dose of "fiction." In comments in June 2021, Zelenskiy suggested that Ukraine may have been drawn into a plot initiated by another country.
In a statement to RFE/RL on November 17 following publication of the report, the Zelenskiy administration said "it is the policy of the President's Office and the Ukrainian government not to comment on the existence or nonexistence of any intelligence operations."
The mercenaries arrived in Belarus on July 25 and were arrested by the Belarusian KGB at their hotel on the outskirts of Minsk on July 29. Belarus accused them of seeking to destabilize the country ahead of an August 9 presidential election in which authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka faced an unprecedented challenge from the pro-democracy opposition. They were later sent back to Russia.
The report by Bellingcat and The Insider is based on "interviews with individuals involved with the operation, a massive amount of documentary evidence…and open-source verification of claims," Bellingcat said. The report said that many of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns or because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The report directly contradicted one of the findings announced a day earlier by a Ukrainian parliamentary committee that was set up to investigate the matter.
The head of the parliamentary committee, Maryana Bezuhla, told journalists on November 15 that there was no evidence that Zelenskiy had postponed the operation. The committee was unable to determine who or what caused the postponement.
Bezuhla is a member of Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party, which holds a majority in parliament.
According to the report, the military intelligence agency lured the mercenaries through a fake website mimicking a disbanded Russian paramilitary organization.
The Ukrainian operatives posted fake job ads seeking Russians with military backgrounds and requesting they send resumes with details of their prior experience.
More than 200 people applied, many detailing their service in eastern Ukraine, creating a "gold mine" of information for Ukraine's intelligence, the report said.
It said that military intelligence worked with the domestic intelligence agency to pick out those applicants most wanted for their wartime activities in eastern Ukraine, narrowing it down to slightly less than three dozen.
The saga became known in Ukraine and elsewhere as Vagnergate -- a reference to Vagner, a prominent private Russian military company whose employees have fought in the Donbas war and other conflicts involving Russia.
According to the report by Bellingcat and The Insider, most of the men targeted in the operation "had at some point served as mercenaries" for Vagner in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, or the Central African Republic (CAR).
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
- By RFE/RL
European Natural-Gas Prices Jump Again Following German Delay Of Nord Stream 2
European natural-gas prices continued to soar on November 17 after Germany delayed the approval process for Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Germany on November 16 announced it was suspending the approval process because the Swiss-based consortium behind the Russian pipeline needed to form a German subsidiary in order to secure an operating license.
That dimmed hopes the pipeline would be operational in the coming months and ease a European energy crunch caused by a host of factors, including lower-than-expected production from wind and surging demand as economies reopen.
Russia has also been accused of withholding additional supplies of natural gas to Europe through existing pipelines transiting Ukraine in order to pressure the EU to fast track the Nord Stream 2 approval process.
The United States, Ukraine, and several members of the European Union oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on the grounds that it endangers European energy security. The pipeline would also deprive Ukraine of crucial transit fees.
An unidentified German source told Reuters that the pipeline might not be commissioned until March, when natural-gas demand already begins to ease with the onset of spring.
Prices for the benchmark European natural-gas contract jumped nearly 8 percent on November 17. The contract has risen nearly 60 percent in November, though it is still below the peak set in October.
Rising natural-gas prices are spurring inflation in Europe and sparking fears of power outages.
With reporting by Reuters and RBC
- By RFE/RL
Poland Says No Danger Of Military Conflict On Border With Belarus, As Merkel Speaks With Lukashenka
Polish President Andrzej Duda said that there is no danger of military conflict at its border with Belarus, where thousands of migrants from the Middle East are gathered, seeking to enter the European Union.
Polish troops have been sent in recent days to help secure the border with Belarus and prevent the migrants from crossing into the European Union member state.
"There is no military danger. The [Polish] Army is there only as security, but we do not have a military problem," Duda told journalists at a press conference with his Montenegrin counterpart, Milo Djukanovic, after talks in Cetinje, the old royal capital of Montenegro.
However, Duda called on NATO to closely monitor the situation on the EU's border with Belarus.
The migrants, who have been on the border between Belarus and Poland for several days, clashed on November 16 with Polish forces as they sought to enter the EU. Polish forces used water cannons, tear gas, and smoke bombs to keep them at bay.
Brussels has accused Minsk of luring the impoverished migrants to Belarus and then pushing them toward the border with EU members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in an attempt to destabilize the bloc.
The EU earlier this week imposed a new round of sanctions against Belarus for its actions in instigating the migrant crisis, which has already resulted in several deaths, largely from the cold.
The migrants are living in makeshift camps and their situation is expected to deteriorate as winter approaches.
Duda said that Belarus refused to accept Polish humanitarian aid for the migrants.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka held another phone call on November 17, their second this week, amid a migration crisis.
Germany said Merkel and Lukashenka spoke about the European Union providing humanitarian aid to the migrants and helping them return home.
Lukashenka’s press service claimed the two leaders agreed to a Belarus-EU dialogue on the migrant crisis, something the Germans denied.
"Relevant officials to be determined from both sides will immediately start negotiations to resolve the existing problems," Lukashenka’s press service said in a statement.
The EU has refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate leader of Belarus or have any contact with him following rigged presidential elections in August 2020 that sparked a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.
Meanwhile, in a call with Lukashenka on November 15, Merkel discussed humanitarian aid for the thousands of impoverished refugees and migrants stranded in the forested borderlands between the EU and Belarus.
It was Lukashenka’s first call with a Western leader since the August 2020 presidential election and followed a decision by the European Union to rachet up sanctions against his government for luring the migrants from the Middle East.
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said it is "useful" to speak with Minsk "to improve this humanitarian situation" even if the talks are with a leader whose legitimacy Europe and Germany do not recognize.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on November 17 welcomed contact between Belarus and the EU, calling it "very important." Russia backs Lukashenka in his standoff with the Belarus opposition.
However, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller said the November 15 call was "not a good step" and appeared to be "an acceptance of [Lukashenka’s] choice."
Brussels has accused Lukashenka of instigating the migrant crisis in retaliation for several rounds of EU sanctions against his government for its repression of peaceful protesters.
Poland warned on November 17 that the crisis could last for months or even years, a day after its military forces used tear gas and water cannon to deter stone-throwing migrants.
With reporting by BelTA and Reuters
Armenia, Azerbaijan Report Casualties After Renewed Fighting On Border
BAKU/YEREVAN -- Dozens of Armenian soldiers have been captured or gone missing following the latest clashes on the border with Azerbaijan, officials in Yerevan said on November 17.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on the morning of November 17 that seven of its soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in renewed fighting on the shared border that erupted on November 16.
According to a statement by Armenia’s Defense Ministry, 13 Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces and another 24 Armenian servicemen have gone missing and that their fate remains unknown.
The statement added that one Armenian soldier was killed in the fighting, which Yerevan says has stopped following talks with Moscow.
Both sides blamed each other for starting the latest conflict amid tensions between the two former Soviet nations that have simmered since a six-week war last year over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan said its forces prevented "large-scale provocations" by Armenian forces in the Kalbacar and Lachin districts bordering Armenia.
In turn, Armenia's Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijani soldiers of shooting at its positions along the border, using artillery, armored vehicles, and guns.
Later on November 16, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border had ceased after a cease-fire was reached with Moscow’s mediation. Armenia confirmed that report.
The situation along the border has been tense since the two South Caucasus nations fought a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year that killed at least 6,500 people and ended with a cease-fire that granted Azerbaijan control of parts of the region as well as adjacent territories occupied by Armenians.
The breakaway region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was “troubled” by the reports of the fighting. In a tweet on November 17, Blinken called on both sides to engage “directly and constructively to resolve all outstanding issues, including border demarcation.”
On November 16, the European Union also urged the two sides to show restraint.
Calling for “urgent de-escalation and [a] full cease-fire,” the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, described the situation in the region as “challenging.”
“The EU is committed to work with partners to overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus,” Michel wrote on Twitter.
With reporting by AP
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Warns Bosnia Of Sanctions Over Serb Secessionist Ambitions
The United States, which brokered Bosnia’s 1995 peace accord, may impose sanctions against entities that try to unilaterally withdraw from state institutions or destabilize the deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on November 16.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has been in a protracted political crisis over secessionist moves by the country's Serb-dominated entity, reviving fears that the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 war could unravel and threaten regional stability.
"As a signing witness of the Dayton Peace Accords, the United States reiterates that moves to unilaterally withdraw from state-level institutions or otherwise destabilize the DPA will be met with appropriate action, including the consideration of sanctions," Blinken said in a letter to members of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, published by the portal istraga.ba.
The Dayton accords created two entities in Bosnia: the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. The country is governed and administered along ethnic lines established by the agreement, with a weak and often dysfunctional central government.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the Serbian representative in the presidency, has been threatening to withdraw from state-level institutions, including Bosnia's joint judiciary, military, and tax administration. He has brushed aside international concerns that such an agenda could spark renewed conflict in the ethnically divided Balkan country.
The United States has previously said there is “no constitutional way” for the Serb-majority entity to unilaterally withdraw from national institutions. Dodik says the institutions he wants to leave were not enshrined in the Dayton constitution but were created through amendments.
Presenting a report to the UN Security Council this month, Christian Schmidt, the chief UN envoy to Bosnia, issued a stark warning that the prospects for division and conflict in Bosnia "are very real" and that Dodik's actions pose an "existential threat" to the Dayton accords.
In his letter, Blinken said steps to undermine Bosnia’s institutions would imperil not only the country’s European perspective -- a reference to its aim to eventually join the European Union -- but also undermine regional stability and a fragile economy. He called on all parties to return to the table and build consensus among the ethnic entities.
“The United States is Bosnia-Herzegovina’s strongest partner in addressing power-sharing concerns and functionality deficits through dialogue,” Blinken said.
The letter was delivered to members of the tripartite presidency by visiting U.S. State Department counselor Derek Chollet.
"I called for de-escalation, dialogue, and functioning institutions at all levels of government," Chollet tweeted after meeting presidency members on November 16. "It's time for Bosnia-Herzegovina to turn to the future."
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has renewed a push for diplomacy to resolve the political crisis, working with European and regional partners to ensure the country's territorial integrity and compliance with the peace deal.
With reporting by Reuters
Russian MMA Fighter Charged In Guam With Stabbing Doctor To Death During COVID Vaccine Dispute
A professional Russian mixed martial arts fighter has been arrested on the U.S. territory of Guam for allegedly killing a doctor during a dispute over COVID-19 vaccines.
Akmal Khozhiev, 27, who called himself the “Unvaccinated Assassin” in social-media posts, has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated assault after stabbing Dr. Miran Rabiti with a knife and a bone, according to multiple reports from local media.
Khozhiev and Ribati, a radiologist at Guam Memorial Hospital, knew each other from a gym where the fighter had worked as a trainer before being fired three months ago for what the owner described as erratic behavior, Pacific Daily News reported.
The killing, which occurred on November 7, reportedly unfolded after Khozhiev and Rabiti got into an argument about COVID-19 vaccines while eating dinner together.
During the argument, Khozhiev began to choke Rabiti before two women tried to intervene.
Khozhiev then took an animal bone from a meal they had shared together and began stabbing Ribati in the neck multiple times, according to charging documents.
When Ribati tried to leave the apartment, Khozhiev allegedly stabbed him in the neck with a knife, court documents state.
Guam police responded to the incident and found Khozhiev covered in blood.
“I killed him,” Khozhiev reportedly told police.
Khozhiev is due to appear in court again on November 17.
Based on reporting by MMA Mania and Pacific Daily News
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Cybersecurity Researchers Link Belarusian Government To Hacking, Disinformation Campaign
U.S. cybersecurity researchers say they have uncovered evidence that the Belarusian government is linked to a hacking and disinformation campaign against Eastern European NATO members.
Researchers with the cybersecurity firm Mandiant said in a report issued on November 16 that the campaign, known as Ghostwriter, was primarily aimed at sowing discord and stealing information.
The researchers said they assessed that the hacking group, which it calls UNC1151, is linked to the Belarusian government, and the group provides technical support to the Ghostwriter campaign.
"This assessment, along with observed Ghostwriter narratives consistent with Belarusian government interests, causes us to assess with moderate confidence that Belarus is also likely at least partially responsible for the Ghostwriter campaign," Mandiant said in its report.
Mandiant has tracked UNC1151 since 2017 and issues periodic updates on its activity. The most recent report appears to mark the first time Belarus has been linked to the Ghostwriter campaign.
European Union members have previously said they suspected Russian involvement in Ghostwriter. The Mandiant report said it had no direct proof of Russian participation but didn't rule it out.
Germany's prosecutor-general in September opened investigations into cyberattacks targeting German politicians, and the German Foreign Ministry blamed them on Moscow.
The Belarusian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the AP. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment from RFE/RL but told AP it had no immediate comment. Russian officials regularly reject accusations they are involved in hacking and disinformation activity.
Ben Read, director of cyberespionage analysis at Mandiant, would not provide details on why Mandiant is highly confident Belarus technically assisted the hackers and why it says they are likely located in Minsk, according to AP.
He said only that they left telltale digital footprints and that multiple other sources corroborated Mandiant's findings that the hackers likely were located in Minsk.
The report also said researchers believe Belarus's military is involved with the hackers. The reports says the evidence of this has been "directly observed by Mandiant."
The main targets of the hacking and disinformation campaign have been NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as Ukraine.
Also targeted were domestic news media and political opponents of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka prior to the disputed August 2020 election that the opposition and Western governments have said was rigged.
The report notes that since the elections, Ghostwriter disinformation operations have been more closely aligned to Lukashenka's political agenda, attempting in particular to create tensions in Polish-Lithuanian relations.
Among the false narratives disseminated were false claims that NATO was planning to withdraw from Lithuania in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that nuclear waste from Lithuania was threatening Poland.
Mandiant's findings come as the European Union prepares new sanctions against Belarus over a migrant crisis on its border with Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
With reporting by AP
Despite Lack Of Progress In Talks, Kosovo's Kurti Sees 'Shift For Good' With Serbia
PRISTINA -- Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti says that talks on the normalization of ties with Serbia are stalling despite of what he called a "tectonic shift for good" in bilateral relations.
Kurti, a left-wing reformist who came to power after a landmark victory in February's parliamentary elections -- has pledged a new approach in talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
But progress in talks has so far been meager, despite efforts by the European Union and the United States to bring the two sides closer. Both Brussels and Washington insist that normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is essential for their further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.
Kurti told RFE/RL that given the "lack of progress," the sides needed to redouble their efforts to kick-start the talks.
"We need a new chapter, we need a new approach, and for us it must be principled with the citizens as beneficiaries and with mutual recognition at the center," Kurti said.
However, the Kosovar prime minister hailed what he called "a tectonic shift for good" in the bilateral contacts since he came to power, with discussions about mutual recognition playing a central role.
"An agreement will not be just on mutual recognition, but there is no agreement without mutual recognition at the center. So, not in the end, in the sense of time, but in the center, in the sense of the space of things that that agreement includes," Kurti said.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly a decade after the war between ethnic Albanian separatists and the forces of rump Yugoslavia. The war ended after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign that drove Belgrade's troops out.
Kosovo's independence has been recognized by more than 100 countries including the United States and all but five of the European Union's 27 member states. But Serbia still considers the territory a southern province and is supported by Russia and China.
At a summit last month, EU leaders reaffirmed the bloc's commitment to the stalled enlargement process for six Western Balkans states that include Kosovo and Serbia, without giving a concrete timeline.
Kurti and Vucic met on the sidelines of the summit in Slovenia, with Vucic acknowledging that Serbia would not be able to join the EU unless it resolves outstanding issues with Kosovo.
While Serbia is more advanced, having opened accession negotiations and chapters with the EU, Kosovo remains at the potential-candidate stage.
A resumption of talks has also been hampered by a recent standoff at the Kosovo-Serbia border in September that was triggered by a dispute over vehicle registration plates.
The 10-day dispute was resolved after the two sides reached an agreement during European Union-mediated talks in Brussels that involved deploying members of the NATO-led KFOR stabilization force at crossings.
A third meeting between Kurti and Vucic before the end of the year has been floated by EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell.
But Kurti, whose political standing has been seriously shaken by his party's shock losses in local elections last week, told RFE/RL that a future meeting with Vucic will depend on the results of preparation talks between the delegations of the two sides scheduled for November 16 in Brussels.
"We must first see how these talks are going this week between the two chief negotiators. Then we can say what is the perspective of a future meeting, in which case of course it should be known also what is the purpose of such a meeting," Kurti said.
"The government of Kosovo and I as prime minister have expressed our readiness and interest in comprehensive agreements, constructive meetings, principled talks and if we are invited to them in Brussels, of course we will participate as we have been twice before."
Kurti concluded that a final agreement with Serbia would still be possible during his term as prime minister but that will depend on Belgrade's determination to come to a "comprehensive agreement" with Kosovo.
"I cannot predict when it will happen, but if we consider that the mandate of the American president, [Joe] Biden, the mandate of the vice president of the European Commission, Borrell, and my mandate -- those will have approximately the same duration, it could be expected that within these mandates...we will conclude a comprehensive agreement with Serbia. We have the will and the interest, it depends on whether Serbia is ready," Kurti said.
- By RFE/RL
Top EU Court Blasts Hungary Over 'Stop Soros' Anti-Migrant Law
The European Union's top court has ruled that Hungary broke the bloc's rules when it made it a criminal offense for individuals or organizations to help migrants and refugees apply for asylum.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on November 16 is the latest issued by the court against measures that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government says defend the EU against illegal immigration.
Hungary's government in 2018 introduced legislation that would make it an offense to help people apply for asylum, after erecting a razor-wire barrier on its border with Serbia and Croatia in 2015 as well over 1 million people, most fleeing conflict in Syria, entered the EU.
Orban, who has targeted the work of U.S.-Hungarian billionaire philanthropist George Soros, accused Soros of encouraging the migrants.
The ECJ said in a statement that the 2018 legislation, known as the "Stop Soros" laws, "infringed EU law."
Orban, a steadfast opponent of immigration, has repeatedly accused Soros of meddling in Hungarian politics and leading the liberal opposition.
The European Court of Justice said Hungary had failed to fulfill its EU obligations "by criminalizing, in its national law, the actions of any person who, in connection with an organizing activity, provides assistance in respect of the making or lodging of an application for asylum in its territory."
The Luxembourg-based court said the legislation restricted "the right of access to applicants for international protection and the right to communicate with those persons," as well as the right of the migrants themselves to consult a legal adviser or counselor.
Human rights group Amnesty International welcomed the verdict, saying it "sends an unequivocal message that the Hungarian government's campaign of intimidation, targeting those who stand up for the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers cannot, and will not be tolerated."
With reporting by AP and AFP
Armenia Announces Truce With Azerbaijan After Deadly Clashes
BAKU/YEREVAN --Armenia has announced a Russian-mediated cease-fire with Azerbaijan after asking for Moscow's assistance amid deadly hostilities that erupted earlier in the day along their shared border.
"Under the mediation of the Russian side, an agreement was reached to cease-fire at Armenia's eastern border from 1830 (1430 GMT/UTC). The situation has relatively stabilized," the Armenian Defense Ministry announced on November 16, adding that at least one Armenian soldier died in the clashes. Earlier reports had put the number of the Armenian deaths at 15.
The renewed deadly clashes along the border started about a year after a cease-fire stopped an intense war over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Earlier on November 16, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said its forces prevented "large-scale provocations" by the Armenian forces in Kalbacar and Lachin districts bordering Armenia.
According to the ministry, two of its soldiers were injured when Armenian military units used mortars and artillery against the Azerbaijani position at the border.
In turn, Armenia's Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijani soldiers of shooting at its positions along the border, using artillery, armored vehicles, and guns.
The ministry also said that two Armenian "combat positions" had been lost and an unspecified number of soldiers killed. It also claimed that Azerbaijani forces lost a "significant number of armored vehicles and troops."
According to the ministry, 12 Armenian soldiers were taken captive by Azerbaijani forces. Their situation remained unknown after the announced truce.
The chairman of Armenia's parliamentary foreign-affairs committee, Eduard Aghajanian, told RFE/RL earlier that according to preliminary estimates, 15 Armenian soldiers may have been killed during the fighting.
The truce was announced shortly after the Kremlin said in a statement, without elaborating, that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed the situation during a phone call on November 16.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also held phone calls with both his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts and called on them to stop activity that provokes escalation, Russian news agencies reported on November 16, citing the ministry.
Armenia's Foreign Ministry earlier in the day had called on the Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as the OCSE's Minsk Group to intervene and undertake measures "to remove Azerbaijani armed forces" from Armenia's territory.
The situation along the border has been tense since the two South Caucasus states fought a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year that killed at least 6,500 people and ended with a cease-fire that granted Azerbaijan control of parts of the region as well as adjacent territories occupied by Armenians.
The breakaway region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was “troubled” by the reports of the fighting. In a tweet on November 17, Blinken called on both sides to engage “directly and constructively to resolve all outstanding issues, including border demarcation.”
Last year's war ended when a Russian-brokered cease-fire granted Azerbaijan control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as adjacent territories, including the Kalbacar and Lachin districts, previously held by ethnic Armenians.
On November 16, the European Union also urged the two sides to show restraint.
Calling for "urgent de-escalation and full cease-fire," European CouncilPresident Charles Michel described the situation in the region as "challenging."
"The EU is committed to work with partners to overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus," Michel wrote on Twitter.
Michel also said that he had discussions with both Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "in light of today's developments."
Polish Forces Clash With Migrants Massed On Belarusian-Polish Border
Polish authorities released videos on November 16 showing groups of migrants at the Kuznica border crossing with Belarus throwing rocks and debris at the Polish security forces, who responded with water cannons, tear gas, and flash grenades. Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka of easing travel for migrants to Minsk and then funneling them to the bloc's borders to retaliate against Brussels for economic sanctions.
- By RFE/RL
Kyiv Blasts Putin Decree On Trade With Separatists In Eastern Ukraine
Kyiv has assailed Moscow over a presidential decree allowing goods produced in areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists to be sold more easily in Russia, calling it "gross interference" in the country's internal affairs and a violation of international law.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on November 16 that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree violated Russia's commitments under the Minsk cease-fire deals aimed at putting an end to an ongoing seven-year conflict in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk that has claimed more than 13,200 lives since April 2014.
The decree, which was posted on Russia’s official portal of legal information on November 15 amid Western concerns over Russian military activities in and around Ukraine, "clearly demonstrates Russia's purposeful policy to pull the temporarily occupied territories of our state to its economic, political, electoral, and information space," the statement reads.
The Ukrainian ministry said it had sent a relevant "note of protest" to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In his decree, Putin ordered the government to lift curbs on exports and imports of goods between Russia and parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are held by the separatists.
The Kremlin justified the move by citing the repercussions of the economic blockade between the separatist-held areas and the rest of Ukraine, as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
A separatist representative in Luhansk, Rodion Miroshnik, hailed the move as a "serious step toward integration with Russia," while Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin spoke of an "important step in support."
Since 2019, residents of the breakaway areas have been able to obtain Russian passports through a simplified procedure, sparking harsh criticism from Kyiv and Western governments which accused Moscow of trying to further destabilize the situation in Ukraine's east.
With reporting by dpa
Kyrgyz Parliamentary Candidate Questioned Regarding Alleged Campaign Violations
BISHKEK-- Kyrgyz lawmaker Dastan Bekeshev, who is seeking reelection on November 28, has been summoned to the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) for questioning regarding alleged he violated election campaign regulations.
The UKMK said on November 16 that Bekeshev was questioned a day earlier over his alleged use of teenagers in his election campaign, paying campaigners from sources outside of state election funds, and without signing agreements.
According to the UKMK, the results of the investigation will be sent to the Central Election Commission (BSK).
Bekeshev, who is legally blind and does not represent any political party, said on November 15 that he had been interrogated at the UKMK for more than three hours, which he called "the use of an administrative resource" against him during the election campaign.
Earlier in the month, the rector of the Osh State University in the Central Asian nation's south, Kudaiberdi Kojobekov, was suspended for using university students in the campaign.
Parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic are scheduled for November 28.
Previous parliamentary elections in October last year ended with mass protests against the official results that were later recognized as rigged and led to the government's resignation.
- By Current Time
University Student In Belarus Gets Four-Year Prison Term For Blog On Protests
A court in Minsk has sentenced a student at the Belarusian State Medical University to four years in prison for his coverage of anti-government protests on social media as authoritian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on dissent stemming from a disputed presidential election in August 2020.
The Minsk City Court on November 16 sentenced 21-year-old Uladzislau Martsinovich for allegedly making "public calls for actions aimed at damaging national security," the Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said.
The charge stemmed from Martsinovich's online activities in the autumn of 2020, namely his creation of the "White Robes" channel on the social media platform Telegram, through which he covered the protests against the official results of presidential poll in August that handed Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term in office despite opposition claims it had won the vote.
Martsinovich, who was arrested in November last year, initially rejected the charge, but in September he agreed to plead guilty. Many believe he made the confession under duress, while human rights groups in Belarus have recognized Martsinovich a political prisoner.
Belarusian authorities have declared hundreds of Telegram channels and chats “extremist” since Belarus was engulfed by the protests.
In response, the government has cracked down hard on the pro-democracy movement, arresting thousands of people and pushing most leading opposition figures out of the country.
Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any election fraud and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on a political transition and new elections.
- By RFE/RL
German Agency Suspends Certification Of Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Over Technicality
The German federal energy regulator says it is temporarily halting the approval process for the controversial Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline aimed at bringing Russian gas to Germany.
The Federal Network Agency, or Bundesnetzagentur, announced in a statement on November 16 that it has suspended the certification procedure for the recently completed pipeline after concluding that “it would only be possible to certify an operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if that operator was organized in a legal form under German law."
Bundesnetzagentur said that a subsidiary set up to govern the German part of the pipeline did not fulfil the conditions to be an "independent transmission operator."
The certification procedure would be suspended until "the main assets and human resources have been transferred to the subsidiary" and this step has been verified, it added.
The announcement comes as Europe, which receives a third of its gas from Russia, is battling surging energy prices as the continent heads into the winter season.
The Baltic Sea pipeline is set to double Russian gas supplies to Germany, which the EU's biggest economy says is needed to help it transition away from coal and nuclear energy.
But critics say Nord Stream will increase the EU’s energy reliance on Russia, while enabling Moscow to reroute gas exports to Europe around Ukraine, depriving the cash-strapped country of billions of dollars a year in transit fees
Jailed Azerbaijani Opposition Activist On Hunger Strike Demanding Release
BAKU -- Saleh Rustamli, a representative of the opposition Popular Front Of Azerbaijan (AXCP) party, has been on hunger strike for more than 10 days to demand his release from detention.
Rustamli's relatives said on November 15 that they were allowed to meet him in a prison hospital, where they saw his state of health had dramatically worsened.
Rustamli, who has lived in Russia since 1998, was arrested in 2018 when he visited Azerbaijan. He was subsequently sentenced to more than seven years in prison after a court found him guilty of money laundering for the alleged transfer of $420,000 to a bank account connected to the AXCP.
Rustamli has rejected all of the charges against him, calling them politically motivated. He insists that, in all, he wired just $10,000 back home, and that it was to his relatives.
Rustamli's lawyer, Bahruz Bayramov, said on November 15 that his client has lost 10 kilograms and it is finding it difficult to move because of the effects of the hunger strike.
Representatives of the ombudsman's office visited Rustamli on November 14 and said that he had been placed under supervision due to his health condition.
Human rights groups in Azerbaijan have recognized him as a political prisoner. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has called on Azerbaijani government to immediately release Rustamli.
Polish Forces, Migrants Clash On Belarus Border; NATO Voices Concern
Migrants trapped in Belarus have clashed with Polish soldiers at the border between the two countries, throwing rocks and debris at the heavily armed guards, who responded with water cannons, tear gas, and flash grenades as the situation at the EU and NATO's eastern border continues to worsen.
The escalation on November 16 prompted NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to voice deep concern about authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's strategy of "putting migrant lives at risk," and to offer support to alliance member Poland.
Thousands of people, mainly from the Middle East, are stuck in makeshift camps in dire conditions on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, trying to illegally enter the EU.
"The migrants attacked our soldiers and officers with stones and are trying to destroy the fence and get to Poland. Our services used tear gas to stifle the aggression," the Polish Defense Ministry tweeted on November 16.
The ministry posted videos of the violence, which took place at the Kuznica border crossing.
Live video on CNN showed Polish forces also using water cannons, flash grenades, and smoke grenades against several dozen migrants, who could be seen retreating while a polish helicopter was hovering over the area.
The bloc accuses Lukashenka of facilitating the flow of migrants to Minsk from the Middle East and funneling them to the bloc's borders to retaliate against Brussels for sanctions imposed following a disputed presidential election in August 2020 that saw the strongman claim victory despite accusations from the opposition and the West that the vote was rigged.
In response to protests against the election outcome, Lukashenka has ordered a brutal and often violent crackdown on dissent, arresting thousands while clamping down on independent media. Most opposition leaders have fled the country to avoid arrest.
Lukashenka's government, which is backed by Russia, has denied the EU charges that it is using the migrants as pawns and accuses the bloc of violating human rights by refusing to allow them to apply for asylum.
In response to the crisis, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, which form the eastern flank of both the EU and NATO, have been reinforcing their borders with Belarus.
In Brussels, Stoltenberg said NATO was very disturbed about the "hybrid tactic" employed by Minsk and reaffirmed the bloc's solidarity with members Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
"We are deeply concerned about the way the Lukashenka regime is using vulnerable migrants as a hybrid tactic against other countries and he is putting the lives of the migrants at risk," he said.
"We stand in solidarity with Poland and other affected allies," Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with EU defense ministers.
Later on November 16, Polish lawmakers are expected to take up a proposal to regulate the ability of citizens to move in the area of the border with Belarus after a state of emergency imposed in early September expires at the end of the month.
The renewed clashes on the border come a day after the EU's 27 foreign ministers updated their Belarus sanctions package to include airlines, travel agents, and individuals allegedly involved in the standoff.
The measures are expected to involve asset freezes and travel bans.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration said it was preparing new sanctions targeting Lukashenka’s regime in coordination with the EU over the "inhumane facilitation" of migrants.
The EU and the United States have already slapped several rounds of sanctions on Belarus over the president election and the postelection crackdown.
The Kremlin said that Putin and Lukashenka discussed the migrant crisis in a phone call on November 16 after the Belarusian strongman reiterated earlier in the day that he wants to avoid the crisis turning into a “heated confrontation.”
"The presidents continued to exchange views on the migration crisis at Belarus’ border with the EU countries, taking into account Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s phone call with German acting Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday," the Kremlin said.
Lukashenka on November 16 talked to Merkel in his first contact with a Western leader since he suppressed mass protests against his rule last year.
"We were of the united opinion that nobody needs escalation -- not the EU, nor Belarus," Lukashenka said, according to his office.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
Armenian Opposition Boycotts Parliament After Incidents Along Azerbaijan Border
YEREVAN -- The two opposition factions in Armenia’s parliament have announced a boycott of a regular session of the legislature on November 16, accusing the pro-government majority of scuttling their attempt to discuss the situation at the border with Azerbaijan.
The Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions requested hearings in the National Assembly on the matter after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Azerbaijani troops of violating the border between the two South Caucasus states.
Baku denies its troops have entered Armenian territory as a result of several cease-fire violations reported along the border over the weekend.
The incidents came amid persistent heightened tensions between the two neighbors after they fought a 44-day war over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region a year ago.
“The opposition factions had demanded a special meeting to get answers from the government about what is happening at the borders of our homeland,” Hayk Mamijanian, secretary of the Pativ Unem faction, told parliament on November 16.
“That process was foiled by the ruling majority. Instead, today we see on the agenda of the National Assembly an issue of [the utilization] of mercury,” he added.
Mamikanian said that Pativ Unem members will return to the chamber when important issues regarding Armenia’s security will be discussed.
Members of the two oppositions factions then left the chamber, while the session, which also had the 2022 state budget on its agenda, continued with the participation of representatives of the pro-governing Civil Contract party.
With 71 seats in the 107-member National Assembly, Civil Contract is in a position to ensure a quorum and adopt laws without the opposition.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.
Last year's war ended when a Russia-brokered cease-fire granted Azerbaijan control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as adjacent territories previously held by ethnic Armenians.
International mediators have called for an immediate de-escalation of the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border following three days of reported incidents blamed by Yerevan and Baku on each other.
Ukrainian Ombudswoman Not Allowed To See Saakashvili
TBILISI -- Ukraine's ombudswoman has been barred from seeing hunger striking former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is a Ukrainian citizen, in a prison hospital in Georgia.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze said on November 16 that Lyudmyla Denisova cannot visit Saakashvili, as "Georgian law does not envision" such a visit.
"There is no need for that and we do not have such an obligation," Bregadze said, adding that Saakashvili’s health condition is satisfactory and there is no reason for concern.
Bregadze also criticized Denisova for an earlier statement she made after meeting with Saakashvili earlier last month. In the comments, she quoted Saakashvili as saying that he was being denied medical assistance.
"The last time Mrs. Denisova met [with Saakashvili], she made a one-sided statement. She did not even ask us if the information was true," Bregadze said.
After learning of the denial of her visit on November 16, Denisova said she will now try to meet with the administration and physicians of the penitentiary hospital to get concrete information on Saakashvili's health.
"At this point, we have controversial information regarding Saakashvili's health and the possible ways to assist him in case his health state dramatically worsens," Denisova told journalists, adding that Bregadze had not responded to her request to meet with him personally.
Denisova arrived in Tbilisi a day earlier saying that Saakashvili told her personally that his state of health had worsened.
Georgian authorities had already denied several European politicians to visit Saakashvili.
On November 15, Georgia's Special Penitentiary Service (SPS) also barred Saakashvili from attending his own trial on embezzlement charges, saying it would create a security risk and worsen the former president's health as he is in the seventh week of a hunger strike.
Last week, Saakashvili was similarly not allowed to be present at a hearing in a different court case against him, this one over his role in the violent dispersal of opposition protesters in November 2007.
Saakashvili was arrested on October 1 for allegedly illegally entering Georgia when he returned after an eight-year absence.
Saakashvili, who was president from 2004 to 2013, left the country shortly after the presidential election of 2013 and was convicted in absentia in 2018 for abuse of power and seeking to cover up evidence about the beating of an opposition member of parliament.
Saakashvili has said all of the charges against him are politically motivated. His supporters have been protesting his arrest since early October. They have been demanding the politician's transfer to a civilian medical clinic as his health fails due to the hunger strike.
The government has refused to transfer Saakashvili, instead placing him in a prison hospital.
Former Uzbek Security Chief Inoyatov Dismissed From Presidential Advisor Post
TASHKENT – The Uzbek president has dismissed his advisor on law enforcement, the once influential former chief of the National Security Service, Rustam Inoyatov.
President Shavkat Mirziyoev’s spokesman made the announcement on November 15, saying that Inoyatov will be replaced by Bakhtiyor Islomov.
The spokesman, Sherzod Asadov, did not give further information.
The 76-year-old Inoyatov, who holds a colonel-general's rank, was once seen as a potential rival to Mirziyoev.
He remained at the helm of the National Security Service for almost 23 years before he was removed from his position in early 2018 and became a presidential advisor.
Inoyatov was one of a relatively small number of senior officials who had retained their posts after the death of longtime President Islam Karimov was announced in September 2016.
Under his leadership, the National Security Service, the main successor of the Soviet-era KGB in Uzbekistan, became one of the most powerful and feared agencies in the tightly controlled Central Asian country.
Mirziyoev renamed the agency the State Security Service shortly after Inoyatov’s dismissal.
Many believed that Inoyatov, one of the most influential officials in Uzbekistan for years, would succeed Karimov or maneuver an ally into the presidency.
EU Prepares Fresh Sanctions On Russian Mercenary Group
The European Union is planning to draw up a list of possible sanctions against a Russian mercenary group involved in multiple global conflicts, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
After chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers on November 15, Borrell said experts had been tasked with developing sanctions proposals against the Vagner Group and the issue would be discussed when foreign ministers meet again in December.
"There is consensus to move forward in order to take restrictive measures against this group," Borrell said in Brussels.
Western governments have accused Moscow of using the Vagner Group as a paramilitary force in conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Russia denies a link between the government and the Vagner Group.
The Vagner Group is believed to be run by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin. Already last year, the EU blacklisted Prigozhin over the group's involvement in Libya.
The possible sanctions against the Vagner Group come amid reports Mali's military junta was in discussions about deploying its mercenaries in the West African country, something opposed by former colonial power France and its allies.
Borrell said EU foreign ministers had also agreed on sanctions on Mali's military leadership in the wake of their coup in order to apply pressure on the junta to restore civilian rule.
In June, Colonel Assimi Goita was sworn in as president of a transitional government after carrying out his second coup in nine months. Elections are due to be held in February, but the EU fears they will be delayed.
France has been at the forefront of a broader counter-terrorism operation in the Sahel region with about 5,000 troops ever since another coup in Mali in 2012 helped trigger an Islamist insurgency in the north.
But France announced plans earlier this year to reduce that force to 2,500 to 3,000 troops in the coming years, in a move criticized by the Malian military leaders.
There are also United Nations peacekeeping mission and a European Union training program in the West African country.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters at the EU foreign ministers meeting that any sanctions would also be imposed on companies working with the Vagner Group.
Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Ukraine Offers Cash Incentive To Get COVID-19 Vaccination
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that people will be offered a cash incentive to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Everyone who has had two doses will be able to receive 1,000 hryvnias," or around $37, Zelenskiy said in a video message on November 15.
The cash payments are a significant sum for the citizens of one of Europe's poorest countries, where the per capita income is around $3,700.
"With these funds, you can buy a season ticket to a gym or fitness club, visit a cinema, theater, museum, concert hall or exhibition center, or buy tickets for travel within the country," Zelenskiy said.
The government plans to allocate around $225 million for the scheme which will be launched on December 19.
Ukraine is currently experiencing its worst wave of the pandemic, prompting authorities to impose a raft of restrictions in several cities, including the capital Kyiv.
Health officials attribute the spike in cases and deaths to low vaccination rates, with just 28 percent of the population having received two vaccine doses.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine has recorded 3.2 million cases and more than 77,000 deaths.
Memorial To Serb War Victims Unveiled On Mountainside Outside Sarajevo
Bosnian officials have inaugurated a memorial to ethnic Serbs killed during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s.
Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karic, Bosnian Vice President Milan Dunovic, and Christian Schmidt, the chief UN envoy to Bosnia-Herzegovina, unveiled the stone monument on November 15 to people killed, most of them Serbs, on the slopes of Trebevic Mountain southeast of Sarajevo in 1992 and 1993.
Karic laid a wreath at the foot of the monument after she, Dunovic, and Schmidt pulled a black cloth off the stone in which the names of 17 Serbs are engraved and the sentence: "We will remember forever, with sadness and respect, our slain fellow citizens."
The officials did not issue a public statement during the ceremony, which took place on the mountainside and was attended by several people, who also laid flowers at the monument.
The monument pays tribute to the victims whose remains were discovered at the Kazani pit -- a mass grave where forces with a Bosnian Muslim paramilitary group dumped the bodies of ethnic Serbs killed in Sarajevo during the Bosnia War.
The monument has stirred controversy among Serb politicians and associations who have complained that the memorial fails to provide information about the victims' ethnicity or details about the perpetrators behind their deaths.
Bosnia's 1992-1995 war between its ethnic Croats, Muslims, and Serbs claimed some 100,000 lives.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service and AFP
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