Vuk Jeremic, Serbia's foreign minister, has invited his counterparts from the former Yugoslav republics to meet in New York at the end of September and agree to jointly hold a summit of the non-aligned countries in 2011, the press in Belgrade revealed, quoting diplomatic sources.
Serbia's invitation to all the former Yugoslav republics represents an attempt by Serbia to end its isolation in the region following the ethnic conflicts of the 1990s, and to build on prestige gained in old times, diplomats told EurActiv.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organisation of states which consider themselves not formally aligned to the world's major powers, including Europe and the United States. It was founded in April 1955 largely in an attempt to thwart the Cold War.
Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, NAM lost its relevance. During successive wars in the former Yugoslavia, Serbia lost its NAM membership. All the former Yugoslav republics have now left the organisation and most aspire to NATO and European Union membership. However, some have attended NAM summits as observers or 'guests'.
At the invitation of Serbia, foreign ministers from the ex-Yugoslav republic would meet during the UN General Assembly session, in the building of the former mission of Yugoslavia, which is now occupied by Serbia.
The Belgrade daily Blic quotes from the letter by Jeremic: "That meeting is to mark an important part of our mutual history for the purpose of further affirmation and welfare of us all," the minister wrote.
Montenegrin minister Milan Roćen welcomed the Serbian initiative, the Tanjug agency reported. Bosnia was said to be preparing a positive response. Macedonia also acknowledged receipt of the letter, but its minister Antonio Milososki has not yet answered it as he is too busy, the Macedonian daily Dnevnik reported. The daily indicates that the "coldest" reaction so far came from Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar. Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic is reported to be preparing a response for his Serbian counterpart, the HINA agency announced.
It would be difficult to imagine current NATO members Slovenia and Croatia, as well as aspirant countries such as Macedonia, co-sponsoring a non-aligned summit, a diplomat from the region told this website.
He added that Belgrade's aim was probably limited in scope, representing a desire to secure full integration into the non-aligned movement and sending out a signal that the country will stay away from NATO.
The first president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), from 1961 to 1964, was Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. Yugoslavia played a pivotal role in the organisation until the late 1980s, but lost its membership following the country's disintegration.
