[ALBSA-Info] Albanian-Serb rift unbridgeable

[Kreshnik Bejko]

[05] Rift between Albanians and Serbs unbridgeable in Kosovo
Athens, 04/12/2000 (ÁÍÁ)

A conference on Albanians in the Balkans came to an end in Athens on 
Saturday night with Albanians and Serbs failing to agree on the future of 
Kosovo, while indicative of the negative mood prevailing was the exclusion 
of the media from the conference and a hasty conclusion to a press 
conference on grounds that a repetition of its discussion in the presence of 
journalists was pointless.

The conference was organized by Princeton University was attended by leaders 
of the Albanian Kosovars, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), 
Montenegro, the political leadership of Tirana and representatives of the 
democratic wing of Yugoslavia's leadership, as well as diplomats and 
dignitaries from many countries.

The publisher of Kosovo's "Koha Ditore" newspaper Veto Suroy said the 
majority of the Serbs was responsible for the "genocide" of the Kosovar 
Albanians and reminded that the Serbs lost the war.

Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic accepted a return to the status 
anticipated for Kosovo by the Yugoslav constitution of 1974, but added that 
the principle of the inviolability of borders overrides the principle of 
self-determination for nations.

Almost all Greek diplomats and officials responsible for Balkan affairs 
attended the conference, while Foreign Minister George Papandreou gave a 
reception for the delegates.

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