Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said today that it was decided to withdraw embassy staff from FYROM because the competent authorities provided evidence of very offensive intelligence against the bodies and institutions of Serbia.

Vučić told reporters in Baric, near Belgrade, that there were several reasons for that decision, but that "competent authorities" had established this and presented to him and the Government of Serbia evidence of such action.

RTS is reporting it received confirmation that the entire staff of the Serbian embassy in Skopje has been withdrawn for urgent consultations in Belgrade.

Serbian Ambassador Dusanka Divjak-Tomic and the staff, as stated, arrived last night (Sunday) in Belgrade. A detailed explanation of what is happening will be given during the day today by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, said RTS.

Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia signed today protocol for creation of a new border point in Stancic.

Kosovo’s Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Emanuel Demaj, said that this agreement is very important as it enables free movement of the people from both sides. “Kosovo has fulfilled all its obligations with regards to the opening of the border point,” Demaj said.

Turkey's president says "the ideas of some about the unification of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo into a Greater Albania" are "bad, and unacceptable to Turkey."

According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is loudly advocating "respecting sovereignty and integrity of countries in the Balkans."

One of the problems that emerges when U.S. officials and the news media are focused on a small number of foreign-policy issues is that troubling developments can occur below the radar in other areas. That appears to be happening in the Balkans, a region that was a foreign-policy priority of the Western powers in the 1990s, but which has faded to near invisibility in recent years.

STRASBOURG, June 15, 2017 - The European Parliament adopted the progress reports of three countries in the Western Balkans, which are key for keeping the stability in the region. Though Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo are in different phases on their European path, it is important to continue the reforms in order to meet EU’s democratic and economic criteria.

http://www.diplomaticintelligence.eu/european-union-news/2551-macedonia-serbia-and-kosovo-key-players-for-stability-in-the-western-balkans

The statement of Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Zoran Zaev that his country would opt to remain neutral regarding Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO, has caused reaction among the Albanian community, reports Koha.

There has been no official information about a Military Security Agency (VBA) operation that recently reportedly netted a large quantity of weapons.

Only Belgrade-based media have reported about this, saying that several thousand rifle parts, machine guns, mortars and hand grenades were seized during "the secret operation" - as they were illegally transported through Serbia to Macedonia.

Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimović and Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Đurić met with ambassadors of EU member-states in Belgrade on Thursday. The ambassadors were informed about the current situation in the region, positions of Belgrade regarding the open threats and negative reactions towards Serbia as well as the concerns of the Serbian government that the EU and its members turn a blind eye on all that.

Southeastern Europe is entering renewed crisis—and Moscow is fomenting more chaos at a dangerous time