Lord Robertson in Skopje and Pristina
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With the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia¹ yet to implement constitutional reform and Kosovo preparing for elections on 17 November, NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, travelled respectively to Skopje and Pristina to meet with government officials.
He went to Skopje on 7 November where he met with President Trajkovski, Prime Minister Georgievski and political leaders, at a time when civil unrest has resumed in the country. The parliamentary vote on the 15 constitutional amendments due on 12 November was cancelled following, on the one hand, clashes between police forces and Albanian extremists and, on the other hand, tension provoked by nationalist hard-liners opposed to the parliamentary reforms.
He travelled to Pristina the following day to meet with KFOR commander General Valentin, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Hans Haekkerup and with representatives of civil society. The elections for a new Assembly are to be held on Saturday 17 November. Elections have already been held in Kosovo since the 1999 crisis: municipal elections took place on 28 October 2000 with a turnout of approximately 80 % of the population.
KFOR troops will be contributing to these elections by continuing to provide a secure environment for the local population. KFOR has been working for the preparation of these elections with the OSCE and the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
- Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.