Head of OSCE Mission welcomes agreement on multi-ethnic government in Bujanovac

BELGRADE, 21 October 2010 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, welcomed an agreement reached today by local political leaders to create a multi-ethnic local government in the central South Serbian town of Bujanovac.

"It is a crucial development that the ethnic Albanian leaders of Bujanovac decided to form a coalition with their Serbian co-citizens and to govern this important town together. I hope this decision, which underlines that constructive co-operation is, after all, possible, will receive the echo it deserves. This accord also implements an essential component of the Agreement on Principles of Reconstruction of the Co-ordination Body, signed in Belgrade in March 2009," Kypreos said.

"We appreciate the role played by Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Governance Milan Markovic, President of the Co-ordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, to make today's accord a reality, and encourage all parties to make further steps towards integration of ethnic Albanians in State institutions as stipulated in the 2009 Agreement."