🇮🇱🤝🇱🇧✝️❌🇱🇧❗️ — As the Israeli military begins a ground operation in southern Lebanon, Christian communities in the region have stated that they do not align themselves with Hezbollah and simply wish to stay in their towns and villages.

—🇺🇸🤝🇷🇸❌🇮🇷 NEW: Former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, published a statement praising Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for “full support” to the US in its war with Iran and accusing the Bosnian Federation of trying to expel Serbs to create a “unitary Muslim state” in Europe, with the post explicitly labeled as material distributed on behalf of Republika Srpska.

🔗 Full statement
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✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️☢️🇫🇷🤝🇬🇷 URGENT: President Emmanuel Macron has announced that Greece will join France’s “advanced deterrence” posture, bringing Athens under the French nuclear umbrella and formally tying Greek security to French strategic forces.

➡️ This move is framed as a powerful signal in the Eastern Mediterranean, with implications for deterring potential threats in the region, including from Türkiye.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇪🇺📞🇹🇷 NEW: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she held a “good” phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday night, stressing that both sides are deeply affected by regional instability and are in close contact with key partners to pursue de-escalation.

➡️ She welcomed Türkiye’s readiness to mediate, underlined that “diplomacy is the only viable path forward,” and noted Ankara’s preparations for possible migration fallout, saying EU–Turkish cooperation on Syria continues as regional and global stability is at stake.

🔗 Full statement

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇫🇷🪖❗️ — French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants "to build a coalition to resume and secure traffic in these essential maritime routes" as in the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, Red Sea

—✈️ 🇺🇸🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 NEW: Serbia has offered aircraft to evacuate Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens from the Middle East amid ongoing security risks, alongside repatriating its own nationals.

➡️ President Vučić stated Serbia's fleet—the largest in the region—is available, with additional flights planned as conditions allow and passenger safety prioritized.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇷🇸📞🇨🇾 NEW: Serbia's FM Marko Đurić spoke today by phone with Cyprus FM Constantinos Kombos about current events and the conflict escalation in the Middle East.

➡️ They exchanged views on regional circumstances, stressing the need for quick peace and stability restoration.

➡️ Đurić voiced full solidarity with Cyprus and condemned threats to the island's security.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🎉 Happy National Day to the People of Bulgaria!

—🇧🇬 Today Bulgaria celebrates its National holiday & commemorates its liberation from the Ottoman Empire 148 years ago, following the Russo-Ottoman war of 1877-78.

➡️ Some 30k Bulgarians took part in the war serving as armed units, logistics, medical support and reconnaissance.

🔗 Alexander Stoyanov

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇮🇹🤝🇧🇬 WATCH: Italy’s Embassy in Sofia has joined the celebrations marking Bulgaria’s Liberation Day, highlighting close ties with what it called the “friendly Bulgarian people.”

➡️ The gesture follows broader international congratulations to Bulgaria on its national day, including messages from NATO and regional partners underlining support for Sofia and its role in Euro-Atlantic structures.

🔗 Italian Embassy in Sofia

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇹🇷❌🇮🇷 — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Iran's strategy of unprovokedly bombing the Gulf countries without any discrimination is an unbelievably wrong one and condemns the strikes against Qatar specifically:

“A large part of the Gulf countries worked very hard to prevent this war from breaking out,

@BellumActaNews

—🪖🇫🇷🤝🇨🇾 NEW: France is sending anti-missile and anti-drone systems plus frigate Languedoc to Cyprus following the Iranian-made Shahed drone crash at RAF Akrotiri on March 2.

➡️ President Macron informed Cypriot leader Christodoulides of the move amid regional tensions from US-Israel strikes on Iran.

➡️ Greece has dispatched F-16 jets and frigates with anti-drone tech in support.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

⚡️🇦🇪🇫🇷❌🇮🇷❗️— BREAKING : French fighters began to intercept Iranian drones that were heading to the UAE - French Foreign Minister Barrot