BLAIR TO MEET NEW YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT LONDON, NOV 23 (KUNA) -- BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WAS TONIGHT FLYING TO THE BALKANS FOR HIS FIRST FULL MEETING WITH NEW YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT VOJISLAV KOSTUNICA, DOWNING STREET CONFIRMED THURSDAY.
BLAIR WAS PLANNING TO ATTEND TOMORROW'S EU-BALKANS SUMMIT IN ZAGREB, CROATIA, WHERE MOVES TO SPEND ABOUT 2.4 BILLION POUNDS IN EU AID FOR THE REGION WILL BE DISCUSSED.
IT WILL ALSO BE THE FIRST OCCASION WHEN ALL HEADS OF EU GOVERNMENTS WILL MET THE LEADERS OF BALKAN STATES SINCE THE BREAK-UP OF THE OLD FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA.
SEVERAL BALKAN STATES WANT TO BECOME EU MEMBERS, HOPING TO JOIN THE LARGEST SINGLE MARKET IN EUROPE.
BLAIR DID MEET KOSTUNICA BRIEFLY AT AN EU SUMMIT IN BIARRITZ, FRANCE, AFTER HIS ELECTION, BUT THIS WILL BE THEIR FIRST FULL DISCUSSIONS, A DOWNING STREET SPOKESMAN SAID.
HE ADDED THAT THE SUMMIT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT MARKED A NEW STAGE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EU AND THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID THE SUMMIT ALSO MARKED THE BEGINNING OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND CROATIA ON THE STABILISATION PROCESS FOR THE COUNTRY.
BLAIR WILL BE ACCOMPANIED ON HIS BRITISH ROYAL AIR FORCE FLIGHT TONIGHT BY HIS IRISH COUNTERPART BERTIE AHERN.
THE DOWNING STREET SPOKESMAN SAID BLAIR AND AHERN WOULD NORMALLY TALK IN THE MARGINS OF SUCH SUMMITS, BUT AS THERE MIGHT BE LITTLE TIME FOR THAT ON THIS OCCASION IT MADE SENSE FOR AHERN AND THE BRITISH LEADER TO HOLD TALKS ON THE PLANE. (END) HE.MAB KUNA 232045 Nov 00NNNN