Powell Meets His Counterparts of Southeast European CountriesUS Secretary of State Colin Powell met the foreign ministers of 11 Southeastern European countries in Macedonia's capital Skopje to exchange views on the situation in the Balkans, regional cooperation and the Macedonian crisis, Albanian Telegraph Agency (ATA) reported on Thursday.The meeting, which was held in response to a proposal by Powell, adopted an 11-point agreement, ATA said. Powell and his Macedonian counterpart Sergjan Kerim issued a joint statement at a press conference after the meeting, ATA said. The statement "speaks highly of U.S. commitments in the Balkans " as new unrest threatens regional stability, ATA said. All the foreign ministers attending the meeting said they respect the sovereignty of Macedonia and support the government's plan to resolve the problem through international organizations and relevant legitimate establishments. They also strongly condemned violence in the region and agreed to carry out the U.N. Security Council's Resolution 1244 and Dayton Agreement. According to the statement, they also reached consensus that ethnic groups should not be a cause of confrontations between countries in the Balkan region, but should serve as a "bridge" to strengthen economic cooperation between them. |
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