Members of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) and other left-wing organizations later Thursday staged a rally and marched to the U.S. embassy in Athens to protest the presence of NATO forces in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo.

Members of KKE's youth organization burned an American flag before the embassy, but protesters failed to hand a petition due to the presence of a strong police force.

In a related development, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panayiotis Beglitis announced Thursday that during the talks between a delegation of senior Greek diplomats and their Turkish counterparts, both sides agreed on the need for full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1244, respect for the inviolability of borders and the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and respect for the rights of all ethnic groups living in the province.

The Greek government has been extremely concerned over the escalating violence in Kosovo and urged the international community to coordinate their efforts for a quicker and viable solution to the Kosovo problem.