10 December 2004 -- The presidents of six Balkan countries resumed their two-day summit on ethnic and religious tolerance in Albania's capital Tirana today.
The conference participants pledged yesterday to work together to prevent the return of ethnic violence that wracked the region in the 1990s.
The presidents of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro stressed the need for closer ties.
Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic said solving the status of Kosovo, which remains under UN administration, will be a major test for the Balkan countries as they aspire to integrate with their Western European neighbors.
In a separate meeting on the sidelines of the summit yesterday, Marovic and Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano agreed that contacts between Belgrade and Kosovo should intensify, according to a statement from Nano's office.
(AP)
Visit RFE/RL's new Religion And Tolerance webpage for stories of religious tolerance in our broadcast region, biographies of leading religious figures, and profiles of religious minorities.
The presidents of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro stressed the need for closer ties.
Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic said solving the status of Kosovo, which remains under UN administration, will be a major test for the Balkan countries as they aspire to integrate with their Western European neighbors.
In a separate meeting on the sidelines of the summit yesterday, Marovic and Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano agreed that contacts between Belgrade and Kosovo should intensify, according to a statement from Nano's office.
(AP)
Visit RFE/RL's new Religion And Tolerance webpage for stories of religious tolerance in our broadcast region, biographies of leading religious figures, and profiles of religious minorities.