ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BRUSSELS, 14-15 APRIL
Press Release
SG/T/2174
ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BRUSSELS, 14-15 APRIL
19990416 On Wednesday, 14 April, the Secretary-General departed Spain for Brussels, in order to attend a summit of the Council of the European Union at which the situation in Kosovo was discussed.Upon arrival at Brussels airport, the Secretary-General met with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Javier Solana. Prior to the European Union Council summit on Kosovo, he also met with Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. In a press encounter following his talks with Mr. Blair, the Secretary-General talked about the need to intensify the search for a political solution. "It is not going to be easy, we have to be careful", he said. "It is very delicate diplomacy to try and get the objectives achieved and also to stop what is going on." The Secretary-General also met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, who was in Brussels to discuss coordination of massive relief efforts under way with the NATO Secretary-General.
During his meetings in Brussels, the Secretary-General received strong endorsements from European leaders for his initiative on Kosovo of 9 April (see Press Release SG/SM/6952). They affirmed that they would work closely with the Russian Federation to find a solution and pledged to seek Security Council approval for whatever international force might be contemplated to provide security for the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes.
Following the summit meeting, the Secretary-General held a joint press conference with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at which he expressed his sorrow for the tragic air raid on a refugee convoy earlier that day. He said that the incident was "one more reason why we must intensify the efforts to find a political solution".
The Secretary-General returned to New York from Europe on Thursday, 15 April.
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