Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs George A. Papandreou met  Mr. Vuk Drakovic, leader of Serbian Renewal Movement in Athens today to discuss recent developments in Kosovo and Serbia. Mr. Draskovic expressed alarm over continuing violence in Kosovo and increasing civil unrest throughout Serbia, which he claimed could be on the brink of civil war. Mr. Draskovic said attacks on Serbs in Kosovo by ethnic Albanian rebels were rife, despite the fact that KFOR troops had called for the disarmament of the KLA and an end to all violence. Mr. Draskovic estimated that about half the Serb population had fled the province as a result. Mr. Papandreou spoke firmly on the need to prevent such violence spiraling out of control: “Just as we condemned the ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians by Serbs in Kosovo, we condemn the ethnic cleansing of Serbs by ethnic Albanians. The international community and KFOR have a responsibility to support and protect all ethnic populations within Kosovo, because our goal is to create a multi-cultural Kosovo, a multi-cultural Yugoslavia, and a pluralistic Balkan peninsula.”

Both leaders agreed that Serbia must carry out sweeping democratic reforms in order to stabilize the current political crisis and restore relations with the international community. Greece has repeatedly insisted that Yugoslavia should not be isolated from the Balkan reconstruction process and called for NATO sanctions on Yugoslavia to be lifted. Mr. Papandreou reaffirmed his view that the West should not exclude Serbia from its humanitarian programs; instead he suggested that, if necessary, humanitarian aid could be dependent on Serbia meeting certain conditions that would speed up the democratization process.

Mr. Papandreou announced that the Greek government has undertaken a joint initiative with Holland to address the urgent question of humanitarian aid to Yugoslavia. The two countries will put forward a joint proposal at the next EU Council of General Affairs? this coming Monday, which has two main axes:

1.   Humanitarian aid must be dispensed to all citizens in the FRY without discrimination.

2.   The EU must make provisions for the reconstruction of the FRY, including vital infrastructure such as electrical plants, oil distilleries, and other energy sources. In exchange, the EU could  impose certain conditions that contribute to democratic reforms in Yugoslavia.

“This initiative does not represent the overall views of either Greece or Holland regarding Yugoslavia or the reconstruction of the Balkans. Indeed, we do not see eye to eye on all issues,” Mr. Papandreou conceded. “However, we reached a compromise on this critical issue which we hope will have significant results.”

Mr. Draskovic expressed confidence that a democratic government would be elected in Yugoslavia very soon. He called for the immediate establishment of a provisional government that would carry out radical reforms in the electoral system and pave the way for fully democratic elections. “As you know, our country is composed of two parts: Serbia, where democratic progress has been virtually arrested, and Montenegro, which thankfully is not afraid of democratic reforms. We propose that a Federal Provisional Government of Yugoslavia should be set up and led by a politician from Montenegro, and specifically a member of the Party led by Vladov Djukanovic. In this way, the progressive, democratic political mechanisms already established in Montenegro could act as a kind of tug that will pull the rest of Yugoslavia forward towards democratization.”

Mr. Draskovic stressed that this was the only way to safeguard the country against a potential civil war.