Belgrade Renews Diplomatic Ties With U.S.

Calling it a “debt we owe to an entire generation,” Yugoslavia’s new democratic government resumed diplomatic relations Friday with the United States, Germany, France and Britain--its foes during last year’s conflict in Kosovo.

President Clinton marked the event with a promise of about $45 million in emergency food aid to help the Yugoslav people through the winter. A White House statement said Clinton was consulting with Congress on how to use $100 million in assistance appropriated for Yugoslavia’s main republic, Serbia, and $89 million appropriated by Congress for the smaller republic, Montenegro.

Standing before envoys of the four nations, Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said at a low-key ceremony that official letters had been exchanged, formally restoring ties that Belgrade severed at the start of the 78-day NATO bombing campaign in March 1999.

“This is a moment when I want to remind everyone how difficult it was to live in this country at a time of war,” Svilanovic said. “Some mistakes of the past can never be put right and lives that perished can never be recovered.

“But today we can start creating a future for the brothers and sisters of all those who died, a future in which we shall live in a better country in peace with these nations.”

His voice quaking and tears welling in his eyes, Svilanovic said the restoration of ties with the outside world “was a debt we owe to an entire generation.”

Since former President Slobodan Milosevic’s ouster after an uprising following Sept. 24 elections, Yugoslavia has made strides to end its isolation, rejoining the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

President Vojislav Kostunica, who took office last month, has also attended a European Union summit and held talks with several world leaders.

U.S. envoy William Montgomery said the occasion “marks the formal end to a very difficult period between our two countries and the beginning of a new era.”

“It’s an era in which I am very sure that the traditionally warm relationship between the people of Yugoslavia and the people of the United States will be quickly restored,” Montgomery said.

He added that he believes cooperation between the two countries “will be stronger than ever before.”