By Katarina Kratovac
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, Sept. 7, 2000; 6:11 p.m. EDT

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia –– President Slobodan Milosevic rebuffed the Greek foreign minister's efforts Thursday to pressure him on fairness in upcoming elections and indicated that the vote was not a matter for outside interference.

Milosevic and other officials apparently gave George Papandreou a cool reception after the Greek minister suggested that Yugoslavia could take its first step out of international isolation by safeguarding a fraud-free vote.

Instead, the government insisted that the Sept. 24 elections for president, parliament and local office were a matter for Yugoslavs alone. Milosevic lashed out at the West's "shameful policies of pressure and blackmail."

"Our people see our future, as well as our common future in Europe, only under conditions of free development and open and equal cooperation, free from all discrimination and tutorial attitude," Milosevic said in a statement carried by state-run Tanjug news agency.

Papandreou told Yugoslav leaders that, "irrespective of the exact outcome, if the elections are free and democratic, this will be taken as a positive sign in the European Union."

"I understand your feelings of pain toward the international community, but Europe must not have an isolated country in its midst," Papandreou said.

Opposition politician Vojislav Kostunica, Milosevic's chief challenger for the presidency, said he was "encouraged" by Papandreou's visit.

"There is a consciousness abroad that the people of this country deserve to live without sanctions, in a democratic society," Kostunica told reporters. He and Papandreou talked Thursday.

Papandreou is the only top envoy from a NATO nation to visit Yugoslavia since NATO airstrikes drove Yugoslav forces from Kosovo province last year. Greece is considered an ally that supported Yugoslavia even during NATO's bombing.

Yugoslavia has been subject to sanctions for nearly 10 years because of its role in fomenting wars in the Balkans and its crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Belgrade blames many of its troubles on sanctions, calling them a massive violation of human rights.

The Yugoslav elections will be the biggest test of Milosevic's strength since the end of the Kosovo conflict. The government has rejected election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe but invited monitors from "friendly nations" such as Russia, India and China.

Although Papandreou said he had no EU mandate for talks with Milosevic, he said the European Union considered this a "critical moment." He would not comment on reported criticism of his visit by the United States.

Meanwhile, police arrested four activists from Otpor, or Resistance, a student group critical of Milosevic, who were on their way to a reception honoring Papandreou.

It was not known whether Papandreou would meet other Otpor activists. One of the group's leaders, Vukasin Petrovic, was arrested. Fifteen other students from Otpor were detained earlier Thursday in downtown Belgrade.

Papandreou was to travel Friday to Kosovo, now run by the United Nations and NATO-led troops, and to Montenegro, Serbia's junior partner in the Yugoslav federation.