PODGORICA -- A summit of Balkan leaders in Montenegro will include the presidents of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia, Albania, and Bulgaria, but the president of Kosovo was not invited, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reports.
The regional meeting -- which opens today in the medieval town of Cetinje -- will focus on the cultural heritage of the Balkans.
Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic will host the meeting, but no one in his cabinet would comment on the absence of Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu.
A Montenegrin official told RFE/RL that the lack of diplomatic relations between Kosovo and Montenegro is the reason why Sejdiu was not invited to the summit.
Montenegro, which became independent in 2006, recognized Kosovo as an independent country on October 9, 2008.