Montenegro insists on referendum

Djukanovic has long boycotted the central authorities in Belgrade

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia -- The EU's foreign policy chief failed on Wednesday to persuade Montenegro's leadership to abandon plans for a referendum on independence.

Javier Solana, the EU high representative for security and foreign affairs, met with Montenegro's president, Milo Djukanovic, in the hope of persuading him to not take steps towards autonomy.

"I tried to convey to all the leaders a very simple message ... that Montenegro and Serbia should continue forming a federation," Solana said on Wednesday.

He held the talks with leaders of Serbia and the federal Yugoslav government, made up of representatives of both republics, in Belgrade on Tuesday.

Montenegro distanced itself from its federal partner, the much larger republic of Serbia, during former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's autocratic rule.

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But Djukanovic's independence drive continued even after Milosevic was ousted a year ago, despite international opposition to the break-up and deep divisions within Montenegro over the issue.

Recent polls indicate that only a slight majority of Montenegro's 600,000 people favour independence from Yugoslavia, dominated by Serbs who make up most of its more than 11 million people.

After the meeting, Djukanovic said in a statement he intended to go ahead with plans to hold a vote on independence in the spring, saying the referendum was "inevitable."

Djukanovic's statement said he and Solana "exchanged views on all relevant issues, although agreement was not reached on all of them."

Djukanovic has long boycotted the central authorities in Belgrade, who have offered to reform the federation to give both republics broad autonomy with only basic functions remaining in common, such as defence, foreign affairs and currency.

Solana has repeatedly warned that secession would hurt Montenegro's chance to join the EU and other Western organisations. But he said on Wednesday that the EU's was aim was to merely offer advice.

"We are not forcing the will of anybody," Solana said, adding that any "legitimate referendum" would be respected by the EU.

Alluding to the many Montenegrins opposed to independence, Solana stressed that "a very solid majority" is needed in the tiny Adriatic republic if it is to become a sovereign state.

The West is opposed to independence, fearing that the ultimate breakup of Yugoslavia could further encourage secessionists elsewhere in the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo and Macedonia.

Solana continued on Wednesday to Kosovo, the province in southern Serbia which has been under NATO and U.N. control since 1999, when a NATO bombing campaign ended Milosevic's crackdown on the separatist Kosovo Albanians.