Greece yesterday appealed to the ethnic Albanians and Serbs of Kosovo to stop the violence and to hold talks to solve the problems of the Serb province, which has been under NATO's protection since 1999. A day earlier, Greek troops who are part of the international force in Kosovo were attacked by some 1,000 Albanian protesters. The Albanians then burned down the church of St Urus in Urosevac which the Greeks were guarding. The soldiers were not involved in any violence yesterday.

«We call on the two sides in the conflict to desist from every form of violence and and to respect life and basic human rights. The dialogue that has begun constitutes the only means of solving the complicated problems of Kosovo,» said Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos. «Greece, as a Balkan country and member of the EU, is prepared to help substantially in the economic development and stability of Kosovo and the broader region of the Western Balkans.»