Balkan countries vow to maintain lasting peace, stability

Foreign ministers of Balkan countries vowed on Thursday here in Istanbul to maintain lasting peace and stability in the region in an international conference held on the occasion of centennial anniversary of the Balkan Wars. Addressing the meeting themed "From Balkan Wars to Balkan Peace, " Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that "It's time for the Balkan countries to be away from the fragmented identities and start solving its problems itself ... The joint culture of the Balkan peoples should be utilized to overcome disagreements between politicians." Davutoglu pointed that lessons from the sufferings of the Balkan Wars should set a guide to avoid similar tragedies in the 21st century, urging Balkan countries to leave behind ideological, ethnic and religious differences while exerting efforts to create a Balkan axis within Europe. "We are ready to extend any support in NATO, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations to make sure that a golden era of the Balkans begins," he added. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Zlatko Lagumdzija, said that "The year of 1914 has caused many changes and our countries lost a lot. Today, either under the flag of NATO or the EU, we will remember our features and live in peace altogether." Montenegro's Foreign Minister Nebosja Kaludjerovic said that cooperation and dynamism provide opportunities to solve regional challenges. Countries of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey are generally reckoned to be on the Balkan Peninsula, recently also as " Southeast Europe." The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.