SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES KOSOVO PEACE TALKS

3 February 1999

Press Release
SG/SM/6884

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES KOSOVO PEACE TALKS

19990203 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the timely decision of the Contact Group to convene peace talks on Kosovo at Rambouillet. He is convinced that a peaceful settlement can only be reached through direct dialogue between the parties concerned.

He urges the Yugoslav authorities and the Kosovo Albanian leadership to shoulder their responsibilities and to use the opportunity offered by the international community to settle the Kosovo crisis by committing themselves to the Rambouillet peace talks without preconditions or delays.

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