Slovenia should be allowed to secede from Yugoslavia without further violence, the nation's federal vice president said in comments reported Friday.
Branko Kostic said he believes Yugoslavia "has written off" Slovenia, and that he supported the withdrawal of federal forces from the breakaway republic.Kostic's remarks are significant because he is a member of the nation's collective presidency and represents the republic of Montenegro, a close ally of Serbia, Yugoslavia's largest republic.
Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on June 25, and Serbia has been most vehemently opposed to their proposal that the nation be transformed into a loose confederation of states.
Last week, however, Serbia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, suggested he would drop objections to Slovenia's secession, provided it was carried out peacefully.
But there has been no sign Serbia is willing to give in to Croatia's independence drive. Croatian officials have refused to consider giving up Serb-populated areas of their republic, and Serbia has vowed to annex those regions if Croatia does secede.
The nation's eight-member presidency met Friday to consider an accord committing all sides in the secession dispute to peaceful negotiations.