The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force in Kosovo has stepped up patrols on the border with Serbia amid worsening tensions between the two Balkan countries over a dispute about license plates.

"KFOR has increased the number and time length of the routine patrolling all around Kosovo," including in the mainly Serb northern part of the country, the force said in a statement on September 27.

Video footage showed NATO armored vehicles moving close to the barricades made of trucks and other vehicles on the Kosovo-Serbia frontier, as Serbian government jets flew overheard.

The U.S. Embassy in Serbia tweeted that U.S. and Canadian defense officials had visited the Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings "to gain a better understanding of the situation."

"They were glad to note KFOR was on site as a stabilizing factor," the embassy said.

The two border crossings have been blocked by local Serbs since Kosovar authorities on September 20 required all drivers from Serbia entering Kosovo to use temporary printed registration details that are valid for 60 days.

The Kosovar government says it is in retaliation for measures in force in Serbia against drivers from Kosovo since 2008, when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Belgrade does not recognize Kosovo's independence and therefore its right to take official actions such as registering cars.

WATCH: Albanian PM Urges Serbia To End 'Show Of Force' Near Kosovo Border

Embed share

Albanian PM Urges Serbia To End 'Show Of Force' Near Kosovo Border

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:00:53 0:00

The move to increase KFOR patrols comes a day after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned NATO that Serbia will intervene in Kosovo if Serbs there come under serious threat from the majority Kosovar Albanians.

The confrontation has already boiled over into violence, with a car registration office and another Interior Ministry buildings in northern Kosovo being attacked on September 25, according to police.

Serbia has also begun military maneuvers near the border and started flying military jets above the crossings in protest.

NATO has led KFOR since 1999, with around 4,000 troops from 28 countries, after a 78-day bombing campaign by the military alliance ended the 1998-99 Kosovo War that left more than 10,000 dead.

KFOR is supported by the United Nations, the European Union, and other international actors. Its aim is to stave off lingering ethnic tensions between Kosovo's Albanian majority and Serbian minority.

Kosovo's declaration of independence is backed by the United States, Britain, and most EU member states, but its membership of the United Nations is blocked by Russia, Serbia's traditional ally.

Belgrade and Pristina committed to an EU-sponsored dialogue in 2013 to resolve outstanding issues, but little progress has been made.

SEE ALSO:

Serbia-Kosovo Talks Make No Progress, Each Side Blames The Other

On September 27, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti repeated an offer for both countries to lift the rule of temporary license plates. He also said they were open to talks in Brussels, but Belgrade was declining to hold them.

Vucic has described Kosovo's recent license-plate move as a "criminal action," and he made the withdrawal of all Kosovar special police a condition of EU-mediated negotiations to resolve the dispute.

On September 26, Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic visited troops at two military bases near the Kosovo border, accompanied by Russia's ambassador to Serbia.

The EU, NATO, and the United States have all urged Kosovo and Serbia to immediately exercise restraint and refrain from unilateral actions.

European Commission spokeswoman Diana Spinant on September 27 urged both sides to "sit down together and to put an end to the verbal escalation in the region."

The European Union hopes Serbian and Kosovar negotiators will meet, said the bloc's spokesman on foreign affairs, Peter Stano.

"There are a lot of diplomatic activities going on now both in Brussels and on the ground," Stano told reporters.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on September 27 visited Kosovo and criticized Serbia's "theatrical military maneuvers," saying that the "only solution is a dialogue.”

With reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urging Bulgaria to take concrete action to support local media outlets that disseminate reliable news and information, saying the country “combines all of the problems for press freedom that exist in various parts of Europe.”

In a statement on September 27, the Paris-based media freedom watchdog cited “physical attacks and smear campaigns” against journalists, “impunity for crimes of violence” against them, judicial harassment, bias in public media, corruption, disinformation, lack of media pluralism, as well as “bias and opaqueness in the distribution of state aid to the media, to the detriment of independent media outlets.”

Bulgaria is ranked 112th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

As Bulgaria prepares to hold on November 14 its third parliamentary elections this year, along with a presidential vote, the head of RSF’s European Union and Balkans desk, Pavol Szalai, made a visit to Sofia last week “to press for a concerted effort to defend the right to news and information,” the group said.

While in Bulgaria’s capital, Szalai called on Culture Minister Velislav Minekov as well as other officials and leading national politicians to “implement measures to encourage reliable reporting and to support independent Bulgarian media outlets,” according to the statement.

Szalai asked Minekov, who is part of an interim government that was appointed pending the upcoming parliamentary polls, to “sanction media outlets that do not respect their legal obligations to declare income from public funding and certain donors in a dedicated central register.”

Szalai also called, among other things, for the creation of “a transparent and fair system for allocating state advertising.”

During a meeting with members of the Electronic Media Council (CEM), Szalai asked the public regulator to enforce the independence of Bulgaria’s public broadcast media, “especially public television, which distinguished itself by its support for the then government during the snap elections held in July.”

RSF also held talks with several leading political parties that are running in the upcoming elections, asking them to “make news reliability a key issue in their campaigns and, if elected, to consider implementing “measures to improve the physical safety of journalists and protect them against judicial harassment, including abusive lawsuits.”

People in Azerbaijan and Armenia have marked the first anniversary of the start of the six-week war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in which more than 6,600 people died and which ended with Azerbaijan regaining control of large swaths of territory.

Soldiers carrying photographs of comrades killed in the war marched through the center of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. In Yerevan, the Armenian capital, thousands of people, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, went to the Yerablur military cemetery to pay respects to soldiers buried there.

Nagorno-Karabakh is within 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 Pashinian signed a Russia-brokered cease-fire that granted Azerbaijan control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as adjacent territories occupied by Armenians.

• RFE/RL

Marches and vigils in Yerevan and Baku commemorated the thousands killed in fighting that began exactly one year ago and resulted in Azerbaijan recapturing land held for decades by ethnic Armenians.

The truce accord negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin also led to the deployment of 2,000 Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and the so-called Lachin Corridor connecting the territory to Armenia.

Armenia says more than 3,700 Armenians and Nagorno-Karabakh residents died in the war. Azerbaijan said it lost 2,900 people.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement placing blame for the war on Armenia, saying: “One year ago today, the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan began responsive measures to counter another military provocation from the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia.”

In a speech to mark the occasion, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again said that Azerbaijan’s victory in the war put an end to the conflict. “Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity,” he said.

But Armenia's Foreign Ministry said “the 44-day war was a preplanned and prepared military aggression, the purpose of which was to finally close the Karabakh issue by exterminating the Armenian population.”

Armenia maintains that the conflict remains unresolved because there is still no agreement on Karabakh’s status, the main bone of contention.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers met in New York on September 24 for talks hosted by the U.S., Russian, and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the mediators reiterated that they are ready to “continue working with the sides to find comprehensive solutions to all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

With reporting by AP

The European Commission has backed Romania's nearly 30 billion euro ($35.1 billion) recovery and resilience plan, setting out the reforms and public investment projects that the Eastern European country plans to implement with the support of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The commission on September 27 adopted a proposal to provide 14.2 billion euros ($16.6 billion) in grants and 14.9 billion euros ($17.4 billion) in loans to Romania under the RRF to help it “emerge stronger” from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a statement.

EU member states now have four weeks to adopt the proposal, which would allow for the disbursement of 3.6 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to Romania in prefinancing.

Further disbursements will be conditioned upon the “satisfactory fulfilment of the milestones and targets outlined in the recovery and resilience plan, reflecting progress on the implementation of the investments and reforms,” according to the commission.

It said its assessment found that the recovery and resilience plan presented by Bucharest responded to the criteria set by the EU, including measures that support the green and digital transitions, address economic and social challenges, and contribute to economic growth and job creation.

“By focusing on measures to secure the green and digital transitions, from improving the energy efficiency of buildings to improving connectivity and digital skills, the measures set out in the plan have the potential to be truly transformative,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was in Bucharest on September 27.

EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni the said that if successfully implemented, Romania’s commitments “will bring tremendous benefits to Romania's citizens and businesses.”

The RRF is to provide up to 800 billion euros ($936.5 billion) to support investments and reforms across the EU as part of the bloc’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BISHKEK -- Jailed former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev says he is weighing whether to run as a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Atambaev made the remark in response to a question from RFE/RL as he was brought into court in Bishkek on September 27 for a trial in a case related to a deadly two-day standoff between security forces and his supporters in August 2019 that led to the death of a top security officer and more than 170 injured.

"I do not need a mandate. But people have asked me to be among the first to register for the election. I am thinking about that. If I take part, then my participation will be symbolic," Atambaev said.

Abdyjapar Bekmatov, a member of Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission, told RFE/RL that anyone convicted of a crime or on trial is barred from running for office in the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyzstan is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on November 28.

Atambaev and 13 other people are charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities, hostage taking, and the forcible seizure of power in the high-profile trial.

It did not open as scheduled on September 27 but was postponed until September 29 due to the failure of one of the defendants’ lawyers to turn up in court.

The trial has been postponed several times since April.

In June 2020, Atambaev, 65, was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison for his role in the release of a notorious crime boss.

Later that year in November, the Supreme Court sent that case back to a Bishkek district court for retrial, although it gave no reason for that decision.

Atambaev has long denied any wrongdoing.

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Iran had crossed "all red lines" in its nuclear program, and vowed that Israel “will not allow” Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at the world body’s annual meeting in New York on September 27, Bennett made no mention of Israel's decades-long conflict with the Palestinians and sought to portray Iran as a menace to global security.

The Islamic republic has taken "a major leap forward" in recent years in its nuclear production capacity and ability to enrich weapons-grade uranium, he said, adding: "Iran's nuclear weapon program is at a critical point, all red lines have been crossed."

Bennett, a right-wing politician who ended Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year rule as prime minister, wants U.S. President Joe Biden to harden his stance against Iran, Israel's regional archfoe.

He opposes the new U.S. administration's efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned in 2018.

The U.S. pullout from the agreement led to the return of painful economic sanctions on Iran.

Tehran, which says its nuclear ambitions are purely for civilian purposes, responded by breaching many of the accord’s core restrictions.

After six rounds of indirect U.S.-Iran talks this year in Vienna, negotiations were suspended in June when hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi was elected as Iran's new president.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on the sidelines of the General Assembly on September 24 that Iran would return to negotiations "very soon," but the United States responded by saying it wasn't sure what timeframe Tehran had in mind.

In his speech, Bennett said Iran was seeking to “dominate” the Middle East “under a nuclear umbrella," and urged a more concerted international effort to halt Iran's nuclear activities.

“Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning,” he said.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

The Kremlin has reiterated that any expansion of NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine would cross one of President Vladimir Putin's "red lines" as Belarus's authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka accused Washington of using training centers as a guise for setting up bases for the Western military alliance.

Ukraine, which is not a NATO member but has long sought closer ties with the West and its militaries, immediately rejected the statements saying it would determine its own security policy and that Moscow should worry only about issues inside of Russia's borders.

The latest flare-up in frayed relations among the nations started on September 27 when Lukashenka said the United States is "building up bases" in Ukraine and that he and Putin have "agreed we must do something about it."

Lukashenka, who has been hit with several rounds of sanctions from the U.S. and several other Western nations for his brutal crackdown on dissent at home after the opposition accused him of rigging a presidential election in August 2020, did not specify what Moscow and Minsk would do, other than to say the actions would "ensure the security of the two of our states."

Russia staunchly opposes the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Putin has repeatedly noted the issue of the potential broadening of NATO infrastructure on Ukrainian territory "would cross red lines."

Speaking in Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sharply rejected the notion of a Russian "red line" outside of its own borders.

"Putin's 'red lines' are limited to Russia's borders," he tweeted.

"On our side of the Ukrainian-Russian border we can figure out ourselves what to do in the interests of the Ukrainian people, as well as Ukraine's and Europe's security."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry rejected Lukashenka’s “baseless insinuations,” and stressed that Ukraine “has never interfered and will not interfere in the affairs of neighboring Belarus.”

"Preserving Belarus's sovereignty and independence, not becoming an appendage of Russia, is something that Minsk should really think about,” the spokesman, Oleh Nikolenko, told the UNIAN news agency.

Tensions have run high since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and then tightened its grip by staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by most of the international community.

The Kremlin earlier this year amassed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border and in the occupied territory of Crimea in what the United States called an act of intimidation against Kyiv.

The military buildup came as Ukrainian forces battle Moscow-backed fighters in two eastern regions in a low-intensity war that has killed more than 13,200 since 2014.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the fighting, even though there is substantial evidence of Russian fighters and arms crossing into Ukraine.

Ukraine began joint military exercises with the United States and other NATO member troops last week, while Russia and Belarus held large-scale drills that alarmed the West.

With reporting by Reuters, TASS, and BelTA

A bill allowing Russia's regional leaders to serve more than two consecutive terms in office has been proposed by a group of lawmakers in the State Duma, parliament's lower chamber.

The bill, proposed by Nikolai Klishas, a member of the State Duma, would allow Kremlin-backed leaders such as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to run for a third term when his current term ends in 2023.

Klishas told journalists on September 27 that the bill also envisions the establishment of a single, unified name for posts held by regional leaders, which would abolish titles such as president for republics inside Russia. That move would affect Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of the republic of Tatarstan.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, leaders of ethnic republics in Russia used to be called presidents. In 2010, a law was adopted that banned calling regional leaders president, but Tatarstan preserved the right to call its leader president.

Based on reporting by Meduza, TASS, and Interfax

A migrant rights defender who has been held at an immigration detention center at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since September 25 says she might be jailed and even killed while in custody if she is deported back to her native Uzbekistan.

Valentina Chupik, who runs the migrant center Sunrise of the World in Moscow, told Current Time on September 27 that officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) informed her that she has been deprived of her refugee status since September 17 and banned from entering Russia for 30 years.

"The documents I was handed say I presented either false information or forged documents [to Russian authorities] when I applied for refugee status [in 2006], which...I consider to be absolute nonsense," Chupik said.

Chupik also said that an FSB officer told her that the situation she faces is most likely linked to "complaints by law enforcement officers" across Russia over her activities to protect the rights of labor migrants from Central Asia and her accusations of corruption among Russian migration authorities and police.

"I was not informed that my lawyer had tried to reach me.... Nobody is allowed to meet me at this point," Chupik said.

"I think if I am deported to Uzbekistan, I will be immediately placed in an SNB (National Security Service) basement...and eventually killed there," Chupik added.

She said she fled Uzbekistan in 2006 after local authorities tried to force her to give them half of the grants her human rights group was receiving from international organizations, which she refused.

"They then demanded that I shut down the organization. They demanded to give them the organization. Then they wanted me to hire their person as my organization's accountant. And my response was 'no,'" Chupik said, adding that she then was questioned for hours each day until early in the morning for six weeks straight.

Chupik also said that for the first time since she was detained after returning to Russia from a trip to Armenia, a guard had switched off the extremely bright light in her cell for more than four hours, allowing her to have more proper sleep.

In a statement on September 27, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that "the sudden timing and manner of Chupik’s refugee status revocation, combined with the attempt to ban her for 30 years, strongly indicate that the decision was not based on a routine administrative process, but was instead an arbitrary and punitive move the authorities made in retaliation for her work on behalf of migrants."

In recent months, Russian authorities have "intensified their efforts to silence independent voices," the New York-based watchdog said, citing the adoption by parliament of "a battery of laws that allow even greater infringements on freedoms of expression, association, and assembly."

Several Russian groups and media outlets have been forced to close, while at least three civic activists have been convicted on criminal charges and two others are awaiting trial.

Jailed Belarusian opposition figure Maryya Kalesnikava has won the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to honor "outstanding" civil society action in the defense of human rights amid an ongoing crackdown in Belarus on pro-democracy activists and groups by authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The prize was presented by PACE President Rik Daems to Maryya's sister, Tatsyana Khomich, at a special ceremony on September 27, the opening day of the autumn plenary session of the PACE in Strasbourg.

"In standing up against a regime which has chosen force and brutality against peaceful and legitimate protest, Ms. Kalesnikava showed that she is ready to risk her own safety for a cause greater than herself -- she has shown true courage," Daems said.

Accepting the prize on her sister's behalf, Khomich said: “This award is a sign of solidarity of the entire democratic world with the people of Belarus. It is also a sign to us, Belarusians, that the international community supports us, and that we are on the right track.”

Kalesnikava and another opposition figure, Maksim Znak, were sentenced to prison terms of 11 and 10 years respectively on September 6, after being found guilty on charges with conspiracy to seize power, calls for action to damage national security, and calls for actions damaging national security by trying to create an extremist group.

SEE ALSO:

West Condemns Belarus After Two Opposition Activists Handed Harsh Jail Terms

Both pleaded not guilty, rejecting the charges.

Kalesnikava, 39, was a coordinator of the election campaign of an excluded presidential aspirant, former Belgazprombank head Viktar Babaryka.

After Babaryka was arrested weeks before the August 2020 presidential election, Kalesnikava joined forces with another presidential candidate, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whom the majority of Belarusians have called the winner in the election.

After joining Tsikhanouskaya's support group, Kalesnikava became a member of the opposition Coordination Council and turned into a prominent leader of protests demanding the resignation of Lukashenka, who was officially announced the winner of the election demonstrators say was rigged and which the West has refused to acknowledge.

SEE ALSO:

Five Belarusian Opposition Figures: Where They Are, What Fates They Face

Kalesnikava was snatched from the streets of Minsk in September 2020 by masked men along with two staffers. The three were driven early the next day to the border, where authorities told them to cross into Ukraine.

Security officers reportedly failed to deport Kalesnikava because she ripped her passport into small pieces after they arrived in the no man's land between Belarus and Ukraine. Her two associates entered Ukraine, but with no valid passport, Kalesnikava remained in the country and was subsequently detained.

A dozen human rights watchdogs based in Belarus have declared Kalesnikava and two other associates political prisoners and have demanded their immediate release from custody.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called her trial a "politically motivated conviction and shameful sentencing" on "bogus" charges.

Kalesnikava was shortlisted for the Havel award on August 31 along with the Paris-based media-freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Burund human rights defender Germain Rukuki.

With reporting by AP

A court in Kazakhstan has granted early release to ailing activist Kenzhebek Abishev, who has been declared a political prisoner by domestic human rights groups.

Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina, a leading member of the Almaty-based human rights group Ar, Rukh, Khaq (Dignity, Spirit, Truth), told RFE/RL that the Qapshaghai city court said on September 27 it had granted Abishev early release, with the ruling to take effect in 15 days if prosecutors do not appeal it.

In early February, the court ruled that Abishev could be released more than three years early for good behavior, a procedure allowed by Kazakh law.

However, the Almaty regional prosecutor's office appealed the ruling at the very last moment, arguing that the activist's good behavior in custody was not enough to secure his early release, since he still had more than three years to serve.

The court then scrapped the move, saying only that it was satisfying the prosecutor's request. Abishev's lawyers then reapplied for early release.

Abishev was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2018 after he and two other activists were found guilty of planning a "holy war" because they were spreading the ideas of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. His prison term was later cut by eight months.

In mid-April, Abishev, who has rejected all the charges and called the entire case politically motivated, was rushed from prison to a hospital in Qapshaghai after his condition worsened due to a hunger strike that he started to protest the February cancellation of his release and prison conditions in general.

Physicians then diagnosed Abishev with coronary heart disease.

The DVK was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government who has been residing in France for several years.

Ablyazov has organized unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet in recent years.

Security officials say they have apprehended five "members of a neo-Nazi group" suspected of plotting a series of terrorist acts against law enforcement in Russia's mostly Muslim-populated Bashkortostan region.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said on September 27 that the five suspects were residents of Bashkortostan's capital, Ufa, and were allegedly preparing terrorist acts using explosive materials and handmade explosive devices.

According to the FSB, investigators found a handmade explosive device and components for a detonator, nine bladed weapons, manuals for making explosive devices, portraits of Nazi leaders, and Nazi memorabilia in the suspects' homes.

The suspects are currently in pretrial detention on charges of plotting a terrorist act, receiving training to carry out a terrorist act, and illegal fabrication of explosive materials and devices, the FSB said.

No other details were provided.

Based on reports by Interfax and TASS

Hungary has signed a new 15-year natural-gas supply deal with Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom in a move sharply criticized by Ukraine.

The agreement was signed by Gazprom and Hungarian energy group MVM executives at the Foreign Ministry in Budapest on September 27, during a visit by the Russian company’s chief Aleksei Miller.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, which will lose millions in transit payments, said Hungary's supply deal was a "purely political, economically unreasonable decision" that was taken “to the detriment of Ukraine's national interests and Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.”

The Ukrainian statement said the deal would have “a significant impact on energy security of Ukraine and Europe,” and that it will ask the European Commission to assess whether the agreement respected European energy legislation.

In turn, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference that for Hungary, “energy safety is a matter of security, sovereignty, and economy rather than a political matter."

"You cannot heat homes with political statements," Szijjarto added.

A Gazprom statement quoted Miller as saying that Hungary “will start receiving Gazprom's gas starting from Oct. 1 already via TurkStream and the pipelines of South-Eastern Europe."

There were no immediate comments from the EU executive.

Russia, which used to ship natural gas primarily through Ukraine, has diversified exports routes, constructing the Nord Stream pipelines to Germany and the TurkStream link to Turkey.

Hungary has relied on Russia for most of its natural-gas imports delivered via a pipeline through Ukraine, but in recent years it has diversified gas imports, opening cross-border interconnectors with most of its neighbors and securing supplies from Royal Dutch Shell via a liquefied natural-gas terminal in Croatia.

The Hungarian government announced at the end of August it had agreed with Moscow on all the conditions for a new long-term gas supply deal to take effect from October 1.

The duration for the agreement with Gazprom would be for 15 years, with a clause to change purchased quantities after 10 years, Budapest said, adding that the price has also been agreed.

Under the deal, Gazprom would ship 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Hungary annually, allowing the supply of around half of Hungary's annual gas consumption.

Two routes will be used -- 3.5 billion cubic meters will come via Serbia and 1 billion cubic meters via Austria.

With reporting by Reuters

Russia plans to spend 900 billion rubles ($12.4 billion) over the next three years on financial support in the parts of eastern Ukraine that are held by Russia-backed separatists, according to government documents obtained by the Donbas.Realities desk of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service.

The funding described in the documents appears to largely target social spending in the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that have been controlled by the separatists since 2014, when a war against Kyiv's forces erupted after Russia fomented unrest following the ouster of Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych.

The areas held by the Russia-backed separatists have a combined population of about 2.9 million people, about 38 percent of them pensioners, according to the documents, whose authenticity could not be independently verified.

The planned spending described in the documents appears to represent a significant increase.

The average salary in the areas is currently 15,000 rubles ($206) a month and the Kremlin aims to increase it to 20,000 rubles ($274) by 2024, the documents said, bringing it in line with the neighboring Russian region of Rostov.

Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister for what Kyiv calls the occupied regions, estimated in 2020 that Russia spends a total of about $1.3 billion annually on salaries in the separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia occupied and seized Ukraine in March 2014.

The Russian Economic Development Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has not allowed international inspectors access to a centrifuge-component-manufacturing workshop as agreed under a monitoring deal reached two weeks ago, the UN nuclear watchdog says.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was denied access to the TESA Karaj centrifuge component manufacturing workshop near Tehran, the agency said in a statement on September 26.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi "reiterates that all of the agency's activities referred to in the joint statement for all identified agency equipment and Iranian facilities and locations are indispensable in order to maintain continuity of knowledge," it said.

Under a September 12 agreement reached with the IAEA, Iran agreed to allow international inspectors to service surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue recording there.

The deal averted the agency's 35-nation board of governors issuing a resolution criticizing Iran for stonewalling the IAEA. A resolution could have jeopardized the resumption of talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with international powers.

The IAEA said that from September 20-22 Iran permitted inspectors to service monitoring and surveillance equipment and to replace storage media at "all necessary locations," except for the TESA Karaj complex.

The IAEA's latest report comes amid stalled talks between international powers and Iran aimed at reviving the nuclear accord, which was abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018.

The U.S. withdrawal from the accord led to the return of sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded by restarting some of its nuclear activities.

After six rounds of talks this year in Vienna, negotiations were suspended in June when hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi was elected as Iran's new president.

At the UN this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran would return to negotiations "very soon." But the United States responded by saying it wasn't sure what time frame Tehran had in mind.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Two Serbian warplanes flew close to a border crossing with its former province of Kosovo on September 26 amid an intensifying dispute over license plates as U.S. and European Union officials scramble to calm the situation.

Serbs on September 20 began blocking two main roads leading into Kosovo to protest Pristina's ban on cars with Serbian license plates.

Embed share

Ethnic Serbs In Kosovo Continue To Block Road To Border Crossing Over License Plates

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:00:55 0:00

Direct link

• 240p | 2.7MB
• 360p | 4.3MB
• 480p | 7.2MB
• 720p | 14.6MB
• 1080p | 23.8MB

Pristina said its move mirrors a decision by Belgrade more than a decade ago when Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.

The tensions have boiled up into acts of violence with Kosovo on September 25 accusing Serbs of attacking two offices run by Kosovo's Interior Ministry, including setting one of them on fire.

There were no reports of casualties.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said both incidents were intentional, accusing Serbia of "encouraging and supporting" attacks on the state of Kosovo.

SEE ALSO:

Kosovo Police Say Interior Ministry Offices Attacked In Volatile North

Pristina has moved special units of the Kosovo police to the two border crossings.

Meanwhile, helicopters serving the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, have also been making regular flights over the area since the dispute erupted.

Media reported seeing Serbian jets circling the area on September 25.

In an effort to stem to tide of rising tensions, the U.S. State Department announced it will send Gabriel Escobar, its top official overseeing the Western Balkans, to Brussels this week to participate in European Union-led talks between the two countries.

"The United States is working with the EU, NATO, and the Governments of Kosovo and Serbia on immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and avoid actions which increase tensions, jeopardize progress under the EU-facilitated Dialogue and adversely impact the everyday lives of citizens," the State Department said in a statement to RFE/RL.

"We support the EU's offer to host discussions this week on this and other issues and encourage Kosovo and Serbia to re-engage openly, seriously, and immediately," the State Department said.

Kosovo's ban requires all drivers from Serbia to use temporary printed registration details that are valid for 60 days.

The government in Pristina says the ban resembles measures imposed by Serbia against drivers from Kosovo since 2008.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia are now at their highest for years despite an agreement reached last year at the White House to improve economic ties, including allowing the free flow of goods and people between the two countries. .

Kurti has asked Serbia to start recognizing Kosovo car license plates to allow the free movement of people and goods.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said Kosovo should first remove police units sent by Pristina into northern Kosovo to help enforce the license-plate measures.

Kosovo's independence is recognized by 110 countries -- including the United States, Britain, and most Western states.

With reporting by Reuters

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk defeated his English opponent in a 12-round bout to win the WBA, IBF, and WBO world heavyweight titles.

Usyk came close to knocking out reigning champion Anthony Joshua in the final round of the September 25 match in London before 66,000 spectators.

In a unanimous decision, the judges declared the 34-year-old Usyk the winner. It was only the second defeat for Joshua in his career.

"Usyk is very fit, he's got great feet, he threw a lot of punches,” Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said. "[Joshua] got beat by the better man on the night."

Following his victory, Usyk became only the third boxer in history to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

Englishman David Haye and American Evander Holyfield are the other two who have achieved that feat.

Ursyk is now 19-0 with 13 knockouts in his professional career.

The 6-foot-3-inch Usyk, who was born and raised in Crimea, won the gold medal in the heavyweight competition at the 2012 Olympics in London.

With reporting by ESPN

The Kremlin has said it would respond if the United States imposes new sanctions against Russia.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes bills that call for new sanctions against Russia to punish it for what lawmakers say are its malign activities.

The NDAA would need to pass the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden in order to become law. Biden is seeking to stabilize the tense U.S. relationship with Russia and has opposed some new sanctions pushed by Congress.

“We will have to answer wisely,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV on September 26.

He did not say how Russia would respond.

The House version of the NDAA includes a bill to sanction Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline and a bill prohibiting U.S. investors from buying Russian debt on the secondary market. U.S. investors are already prohibited from buying newly issued Russian debt.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. House Passes Measure Targeting Sales Of Russian Debt In Retaliation For Election Interference

The Biden administration opposes sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which will carry Russian gas to Germany, because it says it will harm relations with Berlin, a key NATO ally.

A third bill calls on the Biden administration to review 35 Russian officials, politicians, and businessmen for possible sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.

Peskov is included among those 35 individuals.

With reporting by RBC

A top official at Russian natural gas producer Novatek who was arrested in the United States last week on tax charges says he is innocent and will "vigorously" fight the case.

"On Thursday I was indicted for baseless tax charges that I already settled through a voluntary program, and pleaded not guilty. I will vigorously fight these charges and will continue to discuss gas topics as normal," Mark Gyetvay, the deputy chairman of Novatek’s management board, said in a tweet on September 26.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on September 23 that Gyetvay had been arrested on tax charges related to $93 million hidden in offshore accounts. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Gyetvay, who holds passports from both the United States and Russia, was released on a $80 million bond by a Florida judge, according to court filings.

As an American citizen, Gyetvay is required to pay U.S. taxes on his worldwide income even if he spends most of the year in Russia.

The 64-year old has been the face of Novatek to the Western investment community for more than a decade, conducting the quarterly earnings conference calls with stock and bond investors as well as speaking at industry conferences.

Novatek is Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer and analysts say its phenomenal rise from a bit player in the early 2000s to a $79 billion company today -- not far behind BP’s $89 billion market value -- is due in large part to the company’s connections to the Kremlin.

Gennady Timchenko, a key Novatek shareholder, is considered a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their friendship goes back to the early 1990s.

SEE ALSO:

Explainer: Putin 'Insider' Gennady Timchenko's U.S. Footprint

Gyetvay has been critical of U.S. energy policy toward Russia.

The United States has been seeking to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy over the years, including blocking the launch of Nord Stream 2, a pipeline designed to carry natural gas directly to Germany via Baltic Sea.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will reroute gas currently transiting Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of as much as $2 billion in revenue. The United States has called it a political project aimed at hurting Russia’s smaller neighbor.

The project was completed earlier this month and is now awaiting certification by German and European authorities, a process that could take several months.

SEE ALSO:

Winter Is Coming: Europe's Gas Markets Hit Unusual Turbulence -- And Eyes Turn To Moscow

In the meantime, European gas prices have surged to a record high amid a supply crunch. Washington is now accusing Russia of withholding additional natural gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine in order to pressure authorities to certify Nord Stream 2.

"Another laugher!!!" Gyetvay said in a tweet two days before his arrest after a U.S. official expressed concern that Russia was not sending enough gas to Europe. "Who tried to impose relentless sanctions while promoting [U.S. liquefied natural gas to Europe?] Reality -- we need ALL gas. Period."

Turkey’s president has signaled that he is considering buying more sophisticated Russian antiaircraft missile systems, a move that would further irk Washington.

Turkey, a NATO member, was kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program and Turkish defense officials were sanctioned after Ankara bought the S-400 system in 2019.

The United States says the use of Russian systems within NATO poses a threat to F-35s.

For its part, Turkey says the S-400s could be used independently without being integrated into NATO systems.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the U.S. news channel CBS that Turkey has not been given the option to buy American-made Patriot missiles.

And he complained that Washington had not delivered F-35 stealth jets despite Turkey making a payment of $1.4 billion.

CBS released a partial transcript of Erdogan's comments ahead of a full interview to be broadcast September 26.

Military experts have called the S-400 missile defense system one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world

Erdogan is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 29.

Based on reporting by AP and CBS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow supports mutual recognition by countries of COVID-19 vaccines approved by other states.

"COVID-19 is our common enemy," Lavrov said while speaking to the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25. "We support mutual recognition of vaccines approved by national oversight bodies, in the interests of lifting restrictions on international travel of citizens as soon as possible."

Russia primarily uses its domestically produced Sputnik V vaccine, which is also being administered in dozens of countries.

SEE ALSO:

WHO Suspends Approval Process For Russia's Sputnik Vaccine

However, Sputnik V has still not been approved by the European Union’s medicines regulator and the World Health Organization (WHO), meaning those who have taken the vaccine could face restrictions in countries where it isn’t recognized.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and TASS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the military junta in Mali has turned to "private Russian companies" for help in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the Western African country.

"This is activity which has been carried out on a legitimate basis," Lavrov said during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 25. "We have nothing to do with that."

The move comes despite warnings to Mali's military junta by the European Union, France, and Germany against hiring the Russian private security firm Vagner to fight against Islamic militants.

Vagner is believed to be controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Although private military companies are illegal in Russia, observers say Vagner has in recent years played an increasingly important role in buttressing the Kremlin's ambitions abroad.

SEE ALSO:

Mali's Junta Dismisses Warnings Not To Hire Russia's Vagner 'Mercenaries'

The group has been active for several years in combat operations in different countries -- including in Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

The group’s presence in Africa has been growing in recent years as the Kremlin seeks to expand its international influence amid a global retrenchment by Washington, analysts say.

Mali slid into political turmoil last year, culminating in a military coup in August 2020 against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

After overthrowing Keita, under the threat of sanctions, the military junta appointed an interim civilian government that was tasked with steering the country back to democratic rule by holding elections in February 2022.

But army strongman Colonel Assimi Goita overthrew that government in May and was later declared interim president.

Although Goita has pledged to respect the February 2022 deadline for civilian elections, observers say the likelihood of the vote taking place on schedule is increasingly in doubt.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly told reporters on September 20 after meeting in Mali with Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camarag that hiring Vagner to fight Islamic militants would lead the country to "isolation."

But with Paris planning to reduce its troop numbers across the region by early 2022, the military junta has accused France of "abandonment."

SEE ALSO:

French Defense Minister Warns Mali Against Hiring Russian Security Firm Vagner

It has said "everything had to be considered to secure the country."

Germany has also warned that it will reconsider its deployments in Mali should the government strike a deal with Vagner.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also warned earlier this week that the EU's ties with Mali could be seriously affected if it allows Russian private military contractors like Vagner to operate there.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, RIA news, and Interfax

Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu has won the leadership election of his ruling Liberal Party -- a vote seen as further reducing the chances of reuniting the fractured centrist coalition government that collapsed earlier in September.

Citu secured his leadership in a vote during the Liberal Party congress on September 25.

The demise of the Liberal Party-led coalition threatens Romania's economic recovery and efforts to reduce large state deficits.

The coalition included the junior partner USR Plus and the ethnic Hungarian group UDMR.

But USR Plus, a relatively new centrist party, withdrew its ministers from the cabinet in early September in a dispute over a regional development fund. It filed a no confidence vote in parliament against Citu's government and says it will not return until Citu is no longer prime minister.

USR Plus opposed a government decree to set up an $11.85 billion regional infrastructure-development-financing scheme that would give local mayors access to funds with limited oversight.

Political analysts say the vote for the leadership of the Liberal Party has dominated the public agenda for months and stalled policymaking.

Citu, a relative newcomer who is backed by centrist President Klaus Iohannis, challenged the unseated former party leader and prime minister Ludovic Orban.

Liberal Party lawmakers have objected to USR Plus's no-confidence motion at the Constitutional Court on technical grounds. A ruling is expected from the court next week.

Regardless of the no-confidence motion, Citu must still present a new cabinet lineup to parliament for approval in October to replace the former ministers from USR Plus who resigned.

A minority government of the Liberal Party and ethnic Hungarians would need backing from the opposition leftist Social Democrats, which would likely require political concessions.

With reporting by Reuters

MOSCOW -- More than 1,000 Russian demonstrators, angered by the official tally from online voting during last week's parliamentary elections, defied warnings from authorities on September 25 to protest in central Moscow.

The protest was organized by several Russian politicians, most of them Communists, who said they were cheated of victory by an online voting system.

Calling for the online voting system to be scrapped, the protesters held up posters with slogans, such as "bring back the elections."

"I came here today to express my will that we have once again been deceived," one woman demonstrator at the rally told reporters.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with leaders of political parties entering the State Duma that "elections and online voting" are "unstoppable, just like technological progress."

Despite widespread accusations of fraud and voting irregularities, and in spite of a harsh crackdown and bans against candidates who oppose Putin and the ruling United Russia party, the president declared that last week's elections were "free and fair."

"The elections themselves were held openly and in strict accordance with the law," Putin said.

Based on the final official results released on September 24, United Russia received 324 of the 450 seats in the State Duma -- enough to retain a supermajority and pass legislation unilaterally. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) finished second to United Russia with 57 seats.

Three parties -- A Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and New People -- all received under 30 seats each, while another three, smaller parties gained one seat each. Five non-party-affiliated candidates were also elected.

No opposition candidates recommended by jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's Smart Voting app won individual seats.

SEE ALSO:

For Russia's Opposition, 'The Least-Worst Option' Was Key In the Duma Vote. Did It Work?

In five of Moscow's electoral districts, three KPRF candidates, one candidate each from the Yabloko and New People parties, and one independent candidate saw their leads over the ruling United Russia party vanish after e-voting results were added to the final tallies.

“Three days [of voting] plus remote voting -- it's like a two-stage bomb that will blow up society’s stability and finally discredit that stability that the president has been creating for many years,” Communist Party General Secretary Gennady Zyuganov, stated during a September 23 online meeting with KPRF members.

Amid the controversy and confusion over the online voting results, concerns are rising that the Russian government's promotion of blockchain-based e-voting gives it a way to frustrate public scrutiny of the ruling United Russia party's hold on power.

SEE ALSO:

Navalny App Disappearance Shows Russia's Strength In The Battle Against Big Tech

Accusations of massive fraud and rampant voting violations also have put Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on the defensive over the offline vote from September 17-19. But CEC Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova has not acknowledged any major violations to date.

Russian police detained opposition activists on the eve of the September 25 protest. The Moscow mayor's office, the prosecutor's office, and city police all issued warnings that they would break up any other unauthorized demonstrations during the weekend.

There were no reports of arrests during the Moscow demonstration. But the Communists said about 60 of their activists were detained ahead of the protest. Many were released after being held for a few hours.

SEE ALSO:

Seeing Red: Russia's Communist Party Makes Gains In New Duma, But Does It Matter?

Many opposition allies of Navalny were barred from running for office. They accuse authorities of censorship.

Navalny's Smart Voting election-guide app aimed to evade United Russia's stranglehold on state media and politics. But it disappeared from the Apple and Google online stores on September 17, the day voting started.

A group of independent municipal and regional deputies has launched a petition demanding all results from all of the elections throughout Russia be invalidated due to numerous violations and irregularities in the voting.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa, Ekho Moskvy, and TASS