New Yugoslav Leader Requests U.N. Seat
Yugoslavia’s new president asked Friday that his nation be admitted to the U.N.--the first step toward ending eight years of isolation at the world body.
In a letter sent to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Vojislav Kostunica applied for membership as the successor state to the Yugoslav federation that broke apart in 1992.
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke told Kostunica at a Balkans summit in Skopje, Macedonia, that he hoped Yugoslavia would soon rejoin the “community of nations.”
Kostunica’s request is expected to be approved, ending an isolation that began after Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia declared their independence. That left the republics of Serbia and Montenegro in the rump federation.
In the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, on Friday, Holbrooke said: “This . . . will open many other doors for regional cooperation.”
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