Recognition of Macedonia and Slovenia

At the beginning of April the acting Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Milovoje Maksic, drew up an analysis - "The International Position of Yugoslavia and Possible Directions for our Involvement". This sketch, as is written in the analysis, "has the aim of simplifying the appraisal of our actual position in a changed environment and of pointing out certain moves and directions which offer greater chances of overcoming the danger and risks we are exposed to".

The text precisely defines all that could eventually happen to Serbia, i.e. the new Yugoslavia, if in the meantime "circumstances do not change". VREME gives in whole the part which speaks of what the government must do to remove the danger of a blockade.

" - A strong, clear and binding statement which closes the problem of borders.

- Finding a solution to the voluntary and paramilitary formations, so that the regular army is the only armed defense system in the country.

- Mobilization of all the mechanisms of the CSCE, EC and UN, and those like them, as the dominant instruments in realization the optimal rights of Serbs outside Serbia, along with international guarantees. This is the most realistic chance in this area of achieving real and long-lasting results. With this - according to the prevailing opinion in the world - is tightly bound a resolution of the problem of Kosovo.

- Orientation towards the earliest mutual recognition with Slovenia and Macedonia and a more benign attitude towards their inclusion in international organizations.

- A conditioning of such an attitude towards Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina with an improvement in the honoring of collective and individual human rights in Croatia and the legitimate constituting of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of equal agreement of the three nations.

- A shared institution of the basic criteria for inheritance of rights and obligations, in a way that negates the suspicion that any one will be privileged.

- A mutual agreement that each republic that so wishes can inherit "its part" of the acquired rights of Yugoslavia in international organizations (for example, to have the status of founding country in the UN), so long as the redefined Yugoslavia continues to use this right. In this way the question of the continuity of international subjectivity is made relative and easier to achieve.

- Efforts to be made to solve the key questions inside the country on the basis of a vision of future relations, to present the results to the Conference on Yugoslavia in Brussels and in so doing make the conference an international verification and acceptance of our own agreements, instead of weapons to force issues.

It would be most fitting if, without delay and prior conditioning, a meeting were initiated between the responsible representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Macedonia. In this way, by marking out future relations, the problems of traffic, flow of goods, the circulation of people, etc. could be solved, followed by an agreement on mutual behavior on the international scene (cooperation, mutual support), on common obligations towards the protection of Yugoslav citizens abroad. at the same time, the foundation and basic criteria could be set for the international identity and subjectivity of Yugoslavia and her former republics, in a manner which would satisfy the interests of all sides and waylay suspicion."

Mr. Maksic considers that this kind of approach would meet with the understanding of the world.

R.V.