OPINION

March 10, 1959

TITO’S VISIT TO GREECE: On his arrival in Skopje by train from Thessaloniki, Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito told a large crowd that the Bulgarian and Albanian peoples were not the enemies of the Yugoslav people but happened to be subjects of people who were acting on orders from abroad. If they had an ounce of honesty, they would resist those orders, he said. Albanian leader Enver Hoxha would not be able to go it alone, he would not dare to be a warmonger in the Balkans while the whole world was trying to reduce international tension. Tito accused Hoxha and Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov of setting their sights on Yugoslav territory and in particular on Yugoslav Macedonia and Kosovo. He added that Yugoslavia would never allow anyone to seize parts of territory that had belonged to it for centuries. Meanwhile, in reference to Greece, he said that the Albanians were saying that while in Greece, he had talked about the dissolution of Albania. «What I actually talked to Greek politicians about was further stabilizing our friendly relations. It is good that at least with Greece we have friendly relations that we cannot have with the leaders of other peoples, for which we are not responsible.»

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