Foreign Minister Tuomioja to visit Yugoslavia

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on February 19-20, 2001. He will first visit Kosovo on Monday, Feb 19 and continue to Belgrade in the evening to conduct his programme there on Feb 20.

Mr Tuomioja will be the first high-level politician from Finland to visit Yugoslavia since the change of regime in Belgrade last October.

In Kosovo, he will meet the new head of the UN Mission there, Hans Haekkerup, the Deputy Commander of KFOR General Ledeveze, the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and the representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Serb community Momcilo Trajkovic. Mr Tuomioja will also familiarise himself with the work of the Finnish KFOR battalion and have talks with Finnish specialists working in Kosovo.

In Belgrade, Foreign Minister Tuomioja will have talks with his host, Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and meet Federal President Vojlislav Kostunica, Prime Minister of the YFR Zoran Zizic, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus and the Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Djindjic. A meeting with representatives of Otpor, the popular movement that promoted the democratic change, is also included in his programme.

A short press conference will be held after the meeting with Foreign Minister Svilanovic.