Washington, 6 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says the peaceful integration of Europe will not be complete until Dayton peace accords in Bosnia are fulfilled.
Albright said yesterday that she went to the Balkans at the weekend to deliver in person the message that the parties there must meet their commitments, including full cooperation with the international war crimes tribunal.
She said the war crimes tribunal represents a choice not only for Bosnia and for Rwanda but for the world because all nations have a stake in establishing a precedent to deter future atrocities.
Albright made the comment in remarks prepared for delivery at Harvard University, commemorating the 50th anniversary today of the launching of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.
She said that 50 years ago, all countries were not able to become part of an international system based on democratic principles.
But today, Albright said if a country remains isolated from the international community "it is because it is too weak to meet international standards or because its leaders have chosen wilfully to disregard those standards."
She said America is willing to help but others must take responsibility for their own affairs and join in building the kind of secure and prosperous world envisioned by the Marshall plan in 1947.