Balkans

Neo-Ottoman foreign policies combined with a singular, egotistical attitude have earned Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the nickname ‘Sultan’ and even ‘Mad Sultan’.

Imperialism is generally associated with large nations that grow into great empires. However, in the age of modern warfare and mass propaganda, small, poor nations are now equally capable of such things.
The impoverished Republic of Albania is one such example of this. In spite of being among Europe’s poorest and most corrupt states, Albanian leaders who have long desired a distraction from the countries woeful internal problems, are turning increasingly towards something called Greater Albania.

With many eyes on Macedonia’s political situation which has been made worse by foreign interventions from the EU and NATO which both support the Tirana Platform which would effectively destroy the unity of the Macedonian state, internal events in Albania itself may soon jeopardise stability in the region.
READ MORE: Albanian flag on desk of Macedonian Parliamentary Speaker. Will Macedonia survive as a state?

A new political force is being formed in Macedonia to counter the ambitions of Zoran Zaev. Zaev is the Macedonian socialist leader who has formed an alliance with radical Albanian parties, including separatists and has attempted to form a government against the stated wishes of Macedonia’s President Gjorge Ivanov.
The People’s Movement is set to be a widespread patriotic coalition which will oppose Zaev and his Albanian nationalist and ultra-nationalist cohorts.

Civil War in the Balkan state of Macedonia is one step closer after a new Parliamentary Speaker took  office against the wishes of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov and a majority of Macedonians.
Talat Xhaferi from the Albanian party Democratic Union for Integration, has further provoked the tense situation in the former Yugoslav republic by placing a flag of the Republic of Albania on his desk beside the flags of Macedonia and the EU, of which neither Macedonia nor Albania is a member.

The Federal City of Moscow has a population of over 12 million. New York City has just over 8.5 million. By contrast, the country of Montenegro has just over 600,000 people. The small state, in which many regret legally separating from Serbia in 2006, is currently ratifying the necessary documents to join NATO.
The move is entirely political as the country is simply too small to represent any meaningful military contribution to NATO.

Russia’s contemporary involvement in the Balkans is comparatively minimal. Russia does do business with Serbia, including with Serbia’s military, but the business does not involve anything that one could call ‘make or break’ for either side. This is particularly true for Russia.

Serbia has responded to a threat from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to annex part of Serbia’s territory, if the EU doesn’t heed Albanian demands of ascension to the bloc.
READ MORE: Albanian PM threatens to annex part of Serbia if the EU doesn’t admit Albania

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has threatened to annex Serbian territory if Albania’s EU ascension is impeded.
Currently, Kosovo is a Serbian province which is governed by renegade ethnic Albanians who were put into power after an illegal NATO war on the former Yugoslavia in 1999.
In 2008, some EU member states and the US recognised the conflict ridden province of Serbia as an independent state.

Donald Trump has just approved Montenegro as NATO’s newest member state. The move is contentious as Montenegro was bombed in the illegal 1999 NATO war of aggression against Yugoslavia of which it was then a part.
Montenegro peacefully split from Serbia in 2006 to become a small independent state.
While the Montenegrin government has supported moves to join the US led alliance, socialist and pro-Serbia opposition parties have been dramatically opposed to such moves. The moves also roused public opinion during a series of anti-NATO protests in the small west Balkan state.