OIC, EU share views and approach for settlement of Kosovo crisis

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union said Thursday in Bonn that they share the same views and approach for the settlement of the Kosovo crisis.

At a joint news conference held with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, whose country is holding the OIC chairmanship, head of the German diplomacy, Joschka Fisher, said the Islamic organization backs the peace plan proposed by Germany for the settlement of the Kosovo issue.

He stated that the two sides decry the ethnic cleansing war waged by the Serbs against Kosovo Muslims. The Serbs' policies, they said, have caused the deportation of thousands of civilians from their homelands, and they called for the respect of human rights in Kosovo. Kharazi and the German foreign minister also urged Russia to join the international efforts seeking to end the sufferings of the Kosovar people.

The visit of the Iranian foreign minister to Germany is part of the OIC's efforts to contribute to the settlement of the Kosovo crisis. The OIC has set up a contact group on Kosovo, formed of Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Senegal, Qatar, Senegal and Turkey.

The OIC contact group had already visited Moscow and will go after its German trip to Italy for talks on peaceful means of defusing the Kosovo crisis.

The OIC chief, Azzedine Laraki, had called recently for an end to the forced exodus of Kosovars and for additional assistance to the refugees.

He urged the international community to intensify assistance to the Kosovar refugees and to make more efforts with the United Nations and the Security Council to stop the exodus. He also called for the trial of all persons responsible for the atrocities in Kosovo.