Athens emphasises its opposition to any change of Balkan borders

Athens, 29/5/1999
Alternate Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis warned yesterday that any change of borders without the consent of the interested parties was tantamount to the overturning of international order, something that has prevailed for many decades.
Mr. Kranidiotis told a news conference that any such change would set a very poor precedent, in effect opening up a "Pandora's box".  The inviolability of borders and respect for the territorial integrity of every state are the fundamental principles on which not only Greece but all countries base their policy.
Referring specifically to Kosovo, Mr. Kranidiotis said the European Union summit in Cologne on June 3-4 provided an opportunity to re-position the entire problem within the framework of diplomacy.  At the Cologne summit, Mr. Kranidiotis continued, Greece will once again express the view that war cannot lead to a solution and "that we must persist with efforts for a diplomatic and peaceful settlement of the crisis on the basis of the principles whi ch we all want to see implemented, namely, the inviolability of borders, respect for human rights, the return to the United Nations framework and the need for the deployment of an international force which will guarantee the return of the refugees and obs erve the implementation of an agreement that would be reached".
Mr. Kranidiotis said the indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic by the International War Crimes Court "does not contribute in particular to diplomatic efforts for a settlement of the Kosovo problem".  While acknowledging that the court was an independent body, set up by the United Nations, with the right to function and express its opinion, Mr. Kranidiotis said that from a political viewpoint, the indictment did not come at "the right moment".