France, Yugoslavia Exchange Envoys

PARIS —  France on Thursday became the first European Union country to restore diplomatic ties with the rump Yugoslavia at the level of ambassador since war erupted in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. The action signaled that Belgrade’s isolation is ending.

Gabriel Keller, a 48-year-old career diplomat who has served as charge d’affaires in Belgrade since 1994, has been appointed France’s ambassador, the French Foreign Ministry said.

The rump Yugoslavia, composed of Serbia and Montenegro, has appointed Bogdan Trifunovic, president of the federal constitutional court, as its ambassador to Paris, a Belgrade Foreign Ministry statement said.