NIKINCI Serbia (Reuters) - Russian soldiers parachuted into open fields in western Serbia on Friday as part of an unprecedented joint military drill that has stirred controversy in the European Union candidate-country given the West-Russia standoff over Ukraine.
The one-day anti-terrorist exercise, around 50 km (30 miles)from Serbia's border with NATO-member Croatia, illustrated the balancing-act Belgrade faces; safeguarding relations with its big-power ally while pursuing closer integration with Europe at a time of deep West-Russia tension.