BELGRADE RECEIVES SUPPORT OF BALKAN NEIGHBOURS

The Presidents of Bulgaria (Petar Stoianov), Romania (Ion Iliescu) and Turkey (Ahmet Necdet Sezer) have pledged their support for Belgrade’s peace initiative in the Balkans and have criticised the Albanian terrorists fighting for a separate enclave around Presvo in the south of Serbia. In a joint declaration made on Friday in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the three presidents said: “We categorically deny the violent and illegal acts by armed groups in the south of Serbia and appeal for an immediate and complete stoppage to the violence in the area”. They appealed to both the Albanians and the Serbs to refrain from future actions of violence. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has issued a statement against the Albanians: “Any attempt at an increase in nationalist actions in Kosovo and the region of Presevo will destroy the fragile equilibrium in the area”. It will be remembered that the Albanian separatists fighting for a secession of Presevo-Medveja-Bujanovac from Serbia now control 200 kilometres squared of territory. The three presidents appealed for investment to be made in Yugoslavia, to stabilise the country.

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.RU LISBON