Warning over South Serbia violence

Leaders of the eight Balkans states have strongly condemned ethnic violence in southern Serbia, the scene of clashes between Serbian security forces and ethnic-Albanian separatists.

The leaders, meeting in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, said what they called violent terrorist actions by armed extremists had the potential to destabilise the entire region.

But the statement stopped short of openly blaming the ethnic-Albanian guerrillas active in the area.

Albania had earlier expressed concern over a proposal to condemn the guerrillas.

The leaders also gave their backing to Serbian attempts to reach a negotiated settlement to the crisis. During the meeting, Yugoslavia and Macedonia signed an agreement on their common border.

Our correspondent says the deal should make it easier to police the frontiers and stop smuggling.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service