Croatia's Foreign Minister Tonino Picula and his Albanian counterpart Paskal Milo voiced hope Wednesday that Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic would attend a forthcoming summit of western Balkans and EU states.
"We would like to see President Djukanovic there (at the summit) because we think that he has played a very important role for democracy in Montenegro and in the fall of the (Slobodan) Milosevic regime in Belgrade," Milo told journalists here after meeting Picula.
Picula said that an invitation for the summit, due on November 24 in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, was sent to Djukanovic through the office of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica.
"Now we have to see if President Djukanovic will accept the invitation," he said, adding he would like to see the Montenegrin leader at the Zagreb summit.
Montenegro, Serbia's junior partner in the Yugoslav federation, refuses to recognize the new Yugoslav government, after its leadership and almost two-thirds of the population boycotted September presidential elections.
Picula said problems on how Belgrade and Podgorica delegations could participate in the summit were currently being resolved.
Picula said he expected for later Wednesday or Thursday information on the issue from France, which currently holds the EU presidency.
He said he hoped that the summit would be a chance that Europe recognizes European ambitions of both Croatia and Albania.
At the summit, Croatia will also begin negotiations on a stabilization and association agreement with the European Union.
Picula said he expected the agreement to be signed in the first half of 2001 -- DUBROVNIK (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
