Issue of refugees must be resolved so Balkans become

Turkey's Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz attended a donor conference on "Permanent solution for refugees and displaced persons" in Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on Tuesday.

Speaking at the conference, Yilmaz said that Turkey would continue to support the return of refugees to their hometowns.

"The issue of refugees must be resolved so that the Balkans become a model to the whole globe," Yilmaz said.

Today's conference is crucial for regional stability and international peace, Yilmaz underlined.

Turkey will continue to extend support to the implementation of Article 7 of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Constitution related to the return of refugees and displaced persons to their hometowns, Yilmaz stated.

The regional countries have made important progress on the way to European Union (EU) membership and for permanent peace between themselves. Turkey will support the conference with a donation of one million euros, Yilmaz underlined.

The conference in Sarajevo aims to find a solution for 27,000 refugee families in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, EU's Special Enovy in Bosnia-Herzegovina Peter Sorensen, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, a senior diplomat with the U.S. State Department David Robinson, and Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Rolf Wenzel are in attendance at the conference.

EU Commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy Stefan Fule will participate in the conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The conference is also being attended by the foreign ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Around 727,000 Bosnians returned back to their homes in the past three years after 2.5 million of them became refugees after the Bosnian war of 1992-1995.

Approximately 600 million euros is expected to be raised during the Sarajevo gathering.