KOŠTUNICA: UNILATERAL APOLOGY WOULD HAVE NO SIGNIFICANCE

HNA 3704 HR-CROATIA-SUMMIT ZAGREB, November 24th (Hina) - Before leaving Zagreb on Friday, Yugoslav President Vojislav Koštunica stated that he had not apologised to Croatia during the Summit because a unilateral apology would have had no significance. He also said that, being a democrat, he would accept any decision regarding Yugoslavia's future, provided that such decision is made in accordance with democratic procedures. Vojislav Koštunica participated in the Zagreb Summit but did not hold the press conference at the Summit's Press Centre; instead, he held a meeting with the representatives of the Serbian National Council at the Zagreb Airport and gave a statement to journalists afterwards. "So much has happened in this part of the world, not just in the last decade, but also over the last fifty years - there was a lot of suffering, misery, pain, crimes and victims on all sides", he said in his answer to a journalist's question why did he not use the Summit as an opportunity to apologise to Croatia, since many expected him to do so. "I believe that a unilateral, formal excuse cannot solve such a difficult issue. The only thing that will set us free is the truth, and the truth is a lot more complex than that", said Koštunica, adding that he had said the same thing in Sarajevo. In his speech at the Zagreb Summit, Koštunica stated that Kosovo was the only region where terror and ethnic cleansing had not ended yet and that, without the implementation of the relevant resolution of the Security Council, there could be no peace in the Balkans or in Europe, namely, that other, seemingly dormant hot spots could be reactivated. When asked whether this was a threat, Koštunica answered negatively, saying it was "a benevolent and well-meaning warning, which is at this moment completely in line with the viewpoints of the international community.