The growing threat of NATO military strikes against Yugoslavia dominated a summit of the heads of state and government of seven Balkan countries in Antalya, Turkey yesterday. Leaders from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia met and resolved to make a statement on the use of force in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
Yugoslavia, which had thus far refused to discuss the crisis in Kosovo, dropped its resistance and "agreed to be part of the declaration," Romania's Foreign Minister, Mr Andrei Plesu, said. "There will be only one final statement and it will mention Kosovo," Mr Plesu said.
The Yugoslav Prime Minister, Mr Momir Bulatovic, told the conference that NATO airstrikes would have "unforseeable consequences".
"NATO threats of military intervention are unacceptable, absolutely counter-productive and cannot resolve anything, but can only contribute to the destabilisation of the region," he said. His comments came just as NATO Council members convened in Brussels to vote an "activation order" giving allied military forces the green light to carry out air strikes against Serbia.
"The crisis in Kosovo ... poses an imminent threat to peace and stability of our region," the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz, said in opening remarks to the summit. His statement came days after Ankara decided to contribute to a NATO force preparing for possible military action against Yugoslavia.
The Antalya summit "may be the last chance" for a peaceful solution, Mr Yilmaz added in the conference's afternoon session. "I appeal to President Milosevic to clear all obstacles standing in the way of a return to negotiations for a political solution to this crisis."
The Albanian delegation, however, was lobbying hard for a more hawkish joint resolution, Turkish sources said, predicting that the Yugoslav side would veto any such resolution against Belgrade.
"We have a problem with the final declaration," a Turkish conference source said. "The Albanians have put a version forward that is considered derogatory by the Yugoslavs. They said that a foreign intervention in any shape or form will only make matters worse."
The Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Mr Zivadin Jovanovic, had on Sunday made it clear that his country would oppose any joint resolution calling for international action on Kosovo, which it called the "internal affairs" of Yugoslavia.
But, bowing to international pressure, Yugoslavia finally put forward a proposal for a final joint statement of the conference that mentioned Kosovo and called for a peaceful solution of the crisis.
In light of the possible NATO action, the French aircraft carrier Foch yesterday left Antalya on orders to head towards Yugoslavia. The Foch carries 33 aircraft including assault and interceptor jets equipped with missiles.