Yugoslavia, Slovenia Establish Diplomatic RelationsYugoslavia and Slovenia established diplomatic relations Saturday, leaving Bosnia- Herzegovina the only country of the former Yugoslavia that has yet to normalize ties with the rump Yugoslavia.Communiques were signed for this in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana by visiting Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and his counterpart Dimitrij Rupel, the official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported. The Slovenian side believes that the normalization will help create conditions for strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and settling the outstanding issues left over from the old Yugoslavia. Besides his meeting with Rupel, Svilanovic also held separate talks with Slovenian President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek. Slovenia is the third former Yugoslav republic which set up diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia recognized Slovenia in 1992, one year after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, but the two countries stopped short of establishing formal diplomatic ties. Yugoslavia established diplomatic relations with Macedonia and Croatia in April and August 1996, respectively. Yugoslavia has moved quickly to re-establish ties with its neighbours and with the international community as a whole since President Vojislav Kostunica took office in October. The normalization of ties between Yugoslavia and Bosnia is also imminent if the two countries can resolve some thorny issues inherited from the four-year Bosnian war. The three-member Bosnian presidium Thursday decided to establish diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia and authorized Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic to sign all necessary documents with Svilanovic. But the presidium also stressed that any documents signed by both countries on normalizing bilateral ties should not affect charges "of aggression and genocide" filed in 1993 by Bosnia at the International Tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands. After the collapse of the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Bosnia entered into a bloody war that also involved Croatia and Yugoslavia, composed of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. The war ended in 1995, but Bosnia and Yugoslavia still have no diplomatic relations between them. Bosnia's charges, which Bosnia said should not be mingled with diplomatic relations, is one of the key issues that hamper relations between the two countries. But the charges were dismissed by Yugoslavia, which argued that the conflict is due to individual responsibilities. |
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