OSCE to welcome Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as participating State

VIENNA, 7 November 2000 - The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica, handed over a letter to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Benita Ferrero-Waldner in Belgrade yesterday, which expresses the readiness of the FRY to join the OSCE as a participating State.

The OSCE will hold a special session of the Permanent Council on Friday, 10 November, at 10:00, to formally admit the FRY as its 55^th participating State. The Foreign Minister of FRY, Mr. Goran Svilanovic, is expected to attend. Apart from adopting a formal decision, there will be a ceremonial exchange of flags, replacing the old flag in the conference hall with the new one. The meeting is open to the press.

President Kostunica has also accepted the invitation by Ms. Ferrero-Waldner to attend the OSCE Ministerial Council on 27 and 28 November, and to sign the OSCE documents there.

In the letter, President Kostunica writes that: "the FRY is ready to sign and accept in their entirety the Helsinki Final Act, the Paris Charter for a New Europe and the Charter for European Security, as well as to adopt the Vienna Document together with all other relevant CSCE/OSCE documents, demonstrating its willingness to accept fully all the commitments and responsibilities stemming from them, and to act in accordance with the provisions therein." (Full text of letter in PDF format)

During her one-day visit to Belgrade, Ms. Ferrero-Waldner met with other senior members of the Government, including Prime Minister Zoran Zizic, Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic as well as Coordinator of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia Zoran Djindjic and His Holiness Patriarch Pavle. She was pleased to receive an oral invitation by President Kostunica for the OSCE to observe the 23 December parliamentary elections. Ms. Ferrero-Waldner also appealed to the President to undertake all efforts to release all Kosovo Albanian prisoners. She was encouraged by his reply that one of the Government's first priorities would be the passing of an Amnesty Law that would comprise all political prisoners, including Kosovo Albanians.

Ms. Ferrero-Waldner stated that she expected the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to play an active role in the future peaceful development in the Balkans after its admission to the OSCE. She reiterated the OSCE's offer of hands-on assistance in building democratic institutions.

For further information contact the Press and Public Information Section of the OSCE Secretariat, tel.: (+ 43-1) 514 36 180 or e-mail: info@osce.org