http://au.news.yahoo.com/080502/19/16pn4.html
Saturday May 3, 05:37 AM Kosovo threatens Balkans' stability: Crvenkovski OHRID, Macedonia (AFP) - The Western Balkans have made progress towards stability but risks to peace remain, notably over Kosovo, Macedonia's president said Friday at the opening of a summit of leaders from central, eastern and southern Europe. "Despite the obvious progress that has been achieved so far, it is a fact that the Western Balkans have still not been definitively stabilized and fully and irreversibly set on the path leading to Europe," Branko Crvenkovski said. "There are still certain risks, which must not be underestimated," he said. "I would particularly mention the issue of Kosovo, the complexity of which is illustrated by the fact that even the European Union could not reach a common position on this issue." Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February, prompting recognition by nearly 40 countries, including the United States and most EU states. But Serbia and its traditional ally Russia rejected the move and a number of other European countries, including the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Spain, have refused to recognise the independence of the Serbian province. Crvenkovski addressed officials from 18 countries of central, eastern and southern Europe at the beginning of a two-day meeting at the Macedonian lakeside resort of Ohrid. While Kosovo was discussed at the summit, its leader Fatmir Sejdiu was not invited to attend, as there was no consensus on the issue among participants. Besides Kosovo, the summit also discussed EU enlargement challenges, emphasising that there was no alternative to the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and was the only way to achieve longstanding stability and prosperity in the region. Leaders from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Montenegro and Slovakia attended the summit which has been held annually for the last 15 years. The presidents of Albania, Austria, Bosnia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine also took part in the meeting, while leaders of Italy and Romania sent representatives. Turkish President Abdullah Gul was invited to join as a guest.
