Balkan States Break-Up Looming

Balkan states' break-up entailing inevitable armed clashes is highly likely to happen in the light of the current situation in this region, said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov at a press conference in the Russian Association of International Research. According to Ivanov, a complex approach is needed to the settlement of the Balkans crisis so as to prevent the region from turning into a major hot-bed of terrorism and crime in Europe. Unfortunately, Ivanov stressed, the worst fears and forecasts currently come true in the region. This is largely due to the actual laisser-faire attitude to the activities of Albanian extremists and separatists. This is the reason for Russia's initiatives on the settlement of the Balkan crisis. In essence, the initiatives suggest that the countries of the region assume clear-cut international obligations on mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity, while the international community become the earnest of these legally binding agreements.

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