US State Department

Archbishop Demetrios of America raised the issue of religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul during a plenary meeting last week of the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, held at the US State Department.

The US State Department is negotiating a potential deal to sell Turkey the Raytheon Co Patriot missile defense system as an alternative to the Russian-made S-400 system Turkey has agreed to purchase, an official said on Monday.

In a sign that bilateral relations are taking a turn for the worse, Greece's ambassador in Moscow was summoned on Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry over the the expulsion of two Russian diplomats by Athens.

Furthermore, in what was seen as a response to the US State Department's support for Greece's action, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US of being behind the move.

The US State Department has expressed its support to Greece after its decision on Wednesday to expel two Russian diplomats who are accused of meddling in the country's domestic affairs and trying to whip up opposition to the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which will allow it to join NATO.

The US State Department has backed a decision by Greece to expel two Russian officials for trying to bribe officials and foment demonstrations to thwart a deal to allow the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to join NATO.

"We support Greece defending its sovereignty. Russia must end its destabilizing behavior," tweeted State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

According to Brnabic, quoted on the Serbian government's website, "science, art and culture are key drivers of social and economic development."

Brnabic expressed her satisfaction with the opportunity to welcome more than 1,000 professionals, theoreticians and practitioners of theater and performing arts from around the world.

The gathering in London discussed the future of the Western Balkans - but, as Dacic put it, "the problems within the European Union and around it were visible."

Tanjug announced the event would take place in Belgrade on Tuesday at Hotel Metropol Palace.

Romania is resisting pressure to rush through legislation to regulate offshore exploitation of its Black Sea gas deposits - amid a spat with Hungary over the lack of infrastructure and the slow progress in adopting relavant legislation so far.  

Moldova Supreme Court on Monday decided on Monday to back a ruling by a local court that invalidated the June 3 local election result won by the pro-European candidate, Andrei Nastase.  Hundreds of people protested for a sixth day in Chisinau.