| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
Statement on Kosovo Joint statement issued following a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries of southeastern Europe, Bonn, Germany, March 25, 1998 |
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Countries of South-Eastern Europe met in Bonn on 25 March 1998 to discuss the situation in Kosovo.
The Ministers expressed their high appreciation of the cooperation already established with the Contact Group states in this regard.
The Ministers agreed that the countries of the region should have a direct role in finding the solutions to the crisis in Kosovo. They expressed the readiness of their states to participate in regular consultations with the Contact Group. They also noted the importance of the dialogue on a bilateral basis between countries of the region and the Contact Group states.
The Ministers held a thorough discussion on the recent developments concerning the situation in Kosovo. They noted that there is a progress in recent days especially in view of the accord to implement the Agreement on Education.
The Ministers listened with particular interest to the intervention of Mr. Fatos Nano, Prime Minister of Albania. They expressed their appreciation of the responsible position of the Albanian government towards the crisis in Kosovo.
They agreed that the solution to the issue of the future status of Kosovo should be found on a mutually acceptable basis within the borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Ministers believe that international mediation may help the conflicting parties by political means to give up their extreme demands and adopt a reconciliatory and compromising approach.
The Ministers expressed a common view that any measures against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should take into account the political and economic stability of South-Eastern Europe and should not harm the interests of the states of the region. Sanctions, if necessary should be political rather than economic.
The Ministers expressed the view that there should be a balanced approach of measures and incentives in order to convince both conflicting parties to actively pursue their dialogue.
The Ministers called for enhanced international monitoring in Kosovo.
They underlined the importance of the inviolability of the borders of the states in the region including those of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. They paid a special emphasis on the final demarcation of the border between Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Ministers called on the Contact Group states to incorporate these common positions of the South-East European countries in the Statement to be issued after the joint meeting.
[End of Document]
Return to the DOSFAN Home Page.
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.
