Five western Balkan countries, Japan, the European Union and other parties reaffirmed Monday their commitment to consolidating peace and stability in the western Balkans as they wrapped up a one-day ministerial conference in Tokyo.
"The western Balkan countries, in partnership with the international community, will continue to work together to promote stability, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights," they said in a statement issued after the conference.
Delegates to the Ministerial Meeting on Consolidation and Economic Development of the Western Balkans also condemned last month's clash between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, which was the worst violence in the U.N.-administered Serbian province since the 1999 Kosovo war.