May 16, 2007:
The United States has agreed to sell
Turkey 30 more F-16D jet fighters. This is in response to a recent Greek
purchase of 30 more F-16s.
May 15, 2007: Serbia's parliament approved, by a
vote of 133-106, a pro-democracy
government. Since the January elections,
the Serbian Radical Party (ultranationalist and anti-West) had frustrated
efforts to form a new government. The Radical Party won the most seats of any
single party but did not have enough votes to form its own government. The
pro-Western coalition is fragile. The upcoming UN Security Council vote on
Kosovo independence could well cause the government to shatter. The Radical
Party is adamantly against Kosovo's independence. If the government falls the
Radical Party will portray itself as the only protector of Serbia.
May 13, 2007: One and a half million Turkish
pro-secular demonstrators filled the streets of Izmir, Turkey. Izmir is
Turkey's third largest city and is one of Turkey's major seaports. Turkish
secularists continue to put pressure on Prime Minister Erdogan's government.
The secularists oppose what they call "creeping Islamization."
May 12, 2007: A bomb exploded in the Turkish city
of Izmir, killing one person and wounding 14. The bomb was detonated in a
market area. Turkish police said the bomb was attached to a bicycle. No group
claimed responsibility for the attack but was similar to many carried out by
the TAK (Kurdish Freedom Falcons).
May 11, 2007: The US State Department said that it
believes the UN Security Council will ultimately vote to approve independence
for Kosovo. The US believes that at least ten members of the Security Council support
Kosovo's independence. Russia, however, once again indicated that it will
consider vetoing such a resolution.
May 7, 2007: The commander of the European Union
peacekeeping force (EUFOR) stationed in Bosnia said that Montenegro has agreed
to allow EUFOR to pass through Montenegro if NATO forces in Kosovo require
reinforcement. Montenegro will allow transit by road and air on "a very short
notification." Montenegro is signaling that it will not support Serbia in a
confrontation with the EU and UN over Kosovo.