World

Stars & Stripes Waves Over Belgrade

November 21, 2000 / 1:55 PM EST / AP

A flag-raising ceremony Tuesday marked a symbolic opening of the U.S. embassy in Belgrade after the two countries restored diplomatic ties last week.

"It was a very moving moment for me," said William Montgomery, the top U.S. diplomat in the Yugoslav capital.

The honor of hoisting the Stars and Stripes fell to the former Yugoslav ambassador, Richard Miles, currently posted in Sofia, Bulgaria. Miles traveled from the Bulgarian capital for the low-key ceremony Tuesday, attended by about 20 people.

Yugoslavia resumed diplomatic relations Friday with the United States, as well as Germany, France and Britain, heralding a new era in ties between this country and its bitterest enemy during last year's conflict in Kosovo.

Relations were severed in March 1999 when NATO launched an air war to force former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to halt his crackdown on Kosovar Albanians. After the 78-day campaign, Milosevic's troops pulled out of Kosovo, handing the province to NATO and a U.N. peace mission.

Milosevic's ouster from power in October paved the way for pro-democracy candidate Vojislav Kostunica's takeover, marking an end to Yugoslavia's isolation from the rest of the world.

But Kostunica was cautious about moving too quickly on strengthening ties with the United States, as anti-American sentiment remained strong among Yugoslavs just a little more than a year after the bombings.

With the exchange of letters, the Yugoslav embassy in Washington and the U.S. embassy in Belgrade will also reopen for consular services and staffs will be hired.

Montgomery said the restoration of diplomatic ties marked the "formal end to a very difficult period" between the two countries and the beginning of a new era.

Much remains to be done, however, to restore the U.S. embassy building, located at the old embassy site in Kneza Milosa Street, a busy downtown boulevard. Enhanced security is also a concern since the embassy is not surrounded by a fence.

During the NATO bombings, vandals smashed most of the abandoned embassy windows, sprayed painted swastikas and obscene messages on the facade, while the inside was left to ruin and dilapidation.