—🇲🇪/🇲🇰/🇧🇦/🇷🇸 UPDATE: Truck drivers from Montenegro and North Macedonia have lifted their blockades at freight border crossings towards the Schengen area, while hauliers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia plan to meet tonight to decide whether to end their own border blockades over the EU’s new Entry-Exit System stay rules.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️☦️ 🇷🇸❌🇧🇦 URGENT: Republika Srpska PM Savo Minić said his government will not allow Serbian Orthodox churches and cemeteries to be registered under Bosnian state authorities and announced the formation of an inter-ministerial group to “protect the Church and Serbian people” in the Federation.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸 (🇧🇦) /🇮🇱 NEW: Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said he asked Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to support a “return to the original Dayton framework,” including the restoration of Republika Srpska’s own army, finances, courts, intelligence services and all competencies granted under the 1995 peace agreement.

➡️ He framed the request as part of efforts to resist what he calls the dismantling of the Dayton system and to reassert entity-level powers within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇮🇱/🇷🇸 (🇧🇦) WATCH: Israeli President Isaac Herzog held talks in Tel Aviv with Ana Trišić Babić, Acting President of Republika Srpska, and Milorad Dodik, head of the ruling party in the entity, as part of Israel’s long-standing ties with Srpska.

➡️ The meeting underscores the close relationship that has developed over the years between Israel and Republika Srpska.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇮🇱/🇷🇸 (🇧🇦) WATCH: Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has awarded Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik the Jabotinsky Prize for Liberty, one of Israel’s highest distinctions, citing his role in fostering bilateral relations between Israel and the Republic of Srpska.

➡️ The recognition underscores the growing political ties between Israeli authorities and Dodik’s administration in Banja Luka.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🤝🇷🇸/🇭🇺 NEW: Serbia and Hungary are deepening cooperation through diplomatic co-location, jointly operating embassies or consular offices in Greece, Malta, Chile, Congo and Zambia, with new shared premises planned in Vietnam and Tanzania.

➡️ Diplomatic co-location allows both states to share buildings and services while fully keeping separate sovereignty, foreign policy and consular authority, cutting costs and boosting coordination without affecting independent decision-making.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—UPDATE: On 3 February, ministers from Western Balkan countries will meet European Commission representatives to discuss the Schengen-area restrictions that have triggered days-long border blockades by regional truck drivers protesting the EU’s Entry/Exit System and 90/180-day stay limit.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇺🇦🇷🇺🇲🇩🇲🇩Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, speaks on the plans to remove Russian troops from Moldova's Transnistria:

It is and remains Chisinau’s right to determine policy in this context. We, by the way, have heard and welcome statements regarding the development of a new plan for the reintegration of Transnistria and are ready to consider a request from friendly Moldova for further practical cooperation, including our contribution to Moldova’s security

We are already providing assistance — through the development of joint border infrastructure, reducing Moldova’s dependence on Russian energy resources, and through joint cooperation on the path to EU membership. It is very important that this is a coordinated effort

When asked whether Ukraine is considering the option of providing military assistance, Sybiha hinted that this would require a request from Chisinau

—🇽🇰/🇦🇱 NEW: Kosovo has lost around 50% of its population and Albania about 40% over the past 35 years, placing them among the countries with the highest population loss due to migration.

➡️ Both states continue to lose people, with the outflow concentrated among educated workers, deepening long-term demographic and economic pressures.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸 FACT: Serbia holds around 50–52 tonnes of gold, making it the clear regional leader in Balkan central bank bullion holdings.

—🇧🇬 Bulgaria: 42-43 tonnes.

—🇲🇰 North Macedonia: 6–7 tonnes.

—🇸🇮 Slovenia: 3–4 tonnes.

—🇧🇦🇦🇱 Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania: 3 tonnes each.

—🇲🇪 Montenegro: 1 tonne.

—🇭🇷🇽🇰 Croatia and Kosovo report no official gold reserves.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇪🇺 NEW: Epstein files show extensive correspondence between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Miroslav Lajčák, the former EU envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and ex-Slovak foreign minister, with Epstein referring to him as “Miro” and a “friend”.

➡️ Slovak media report that Lajčák’s name appears dozens of times in the documents, including emails about Slovak politics and his possible advancement to top UN or NATO roles, triggering a political storm in Bratislava.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English