Balkan leaders adopt declaration on cultural heritage
05/06/2009
PODGORICA, Montenegro -- The heads of eight Southeast European countries adopted a declaration Thursday (June 4th) on managing cultural heritage and making its protection a top priority. Issuing the joint statement were the presidents of Bulgaria, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, following their conference in Cetinje. UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura and Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis also attended the forum. Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu was not invited, as his country is not a member of the UN and UNESCO.
On the sidelines of the forum, Slovenian President Danilo Turk and Croatian counterpart Stipe Mesic agreed to try to restore bilateral ties, strained by a long-standing border dispute. (Tanjug, RTCG, Jutarnji List, HINA - 04/06/09)