Subject: YDS 8/18 (2nd) From: ddc@nyquist.bellcore.com (D.D. Chukurov) 18. AUGUST 1995. YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY CONTENTS: BELGRADE DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITIES - SERBIAN PRESIDENT MEETS SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER - SOLANA: CRISIS SETTLEMENT WILL LEAD TO LIFTING OF SANCTIONS - MILOSEVIC RECEIVES GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER PAPOULIAS - SERBIAN PRESIDENT, U.S. OFFICIALS URGE POLITICAL SETTLEMENT OF CRISIS - ARMY OF YUGOSLAVIA CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RECEIVES U.S. GENERAL YUGOSLAVIA - REFUGEES - YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR URGES AID IN SEARCH FOR MISSING SERB REFUGEES - YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT URGES ICRC TO HELP FIND MISSING SERB REFUGEES BOSNIA - FIGHTING - GEN. MILOVANOVIC DENIES REPORTS ON FALL OF BOSNIAN SERB TOWN OF DRVAR - CROATIA BRINGING IN REINFORCEMENTS AROUND DRVAR, LOOTING KRAJINA BELGRADE DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITIES SERBIAN PRESIDENT MEETS SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia expects Spain to take advantage of its role as Chairman of the European Union and make the greatest possible contribution to increasing E.U. influence in preventing the escalation of armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. This was underlined in a statement issued Friday in Belgrade following the meeting between Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana. The E.U. should work with determination for the immediate cessation of all hostilities and demonstrate its adherence to the principles of equality among states and peoples, respect of human rights and protecting the legitimate interests of all peoples, by adopting an unbiased attitude and taking effective measures, the statement says. The statement pays homage to Spain as a country which has taken an objective approach to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, and underlines that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will pursue its principled policy of peace and contribute in the highest possible degree to the speediest possible stabilization of relations in the Balkans. The statement also expresses the conviction that the international community will understand and recognize the importance of removing the economic blockade against Yugoslavia in the interest of establishing a lasting peace and preventing another postponement of a political settlement of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. During the long and cordial meeting, President Milosevic expressed satisfaction with the unbiased stance of the E.U. mediator for the former Yugoslavia Carl Bildt and his profound understanding of the fundamental reasons of the crisis, thus reaching full harmony with Belgrade regarding the principal elements contained in the peace package proposed by the international community. In this context, the statement also notes that unilateral approach was the key reason for the earlier postponements of a definite political settlement of the crisis, and that the most effective solution would lie in the equal treatment of all protagonists of the Yugoslav crisis and in an objective attitude of the international community towards them. Minister Solana expressed a particular interest in Yugoslavia's views and its stance on the most effective way of ending the crisis by political means and ensuring the success of the peace process, the statement says. The meeting was attended also by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic. CRISIS SETTLEMENT WILL LEAD TO LIFTING OF SANCTIONS B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - The Chairman of the European Union Council of Ministers, Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana said Friday in Belgrade that if a comprehensive settlement were to be reached for the former Yugoslavia, the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would be removed. Following his first round of talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Solana told the press that the dialogue was very frank and sincere. Solana said he had come to Belgrade with a very clear E.U. message, i.e. that time was running out for finding a settlement to the conflict and that efforts must be exerted to reach political agreement in the remaining short time. This must be done through a joint agreement of all parties which could be implemented in a short time, Solana pointed out. The Spanish minister added that the opinion that a political agreement must be sought to provide an opportunity for peace was shared by all. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, who attended the meeting between Solana and Milosevic, pointed to the importance of the present opportunity. Yugoslavia will fight for peace at all costs, he added. Milutinovic said it was too early to assess the just ended talks between Yugoslav officials and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke and Minister Solana, as the overall package for the settlement of the crisis was still under discussion. It is a process progressing very fast, he said. The U.S., Russian and E.U. plans are all aimed at the same objective - i.e. the fastest possible reaching of a peaceful settlement, especially for Bosnia. Yugoslavia wants to be free of sanctions and to get recognition for its constant endeavors for peace in the region, Milutinovic said. In the interest of peace, all parties must overcome the details they find not to their liking, and concentrate on what is essential and seek a way out of the present situation for the sake of a better future, the Yugoslav Minister said. The greatest interest must be peace. If this awareness prevails, success will come quickly, Milutinovic concluded. MILOSEVIC RECEIVES GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER PAPOULIAS B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and visiting Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias agreed Friday that a decisive step had to be taken towards reaching definitive peace in the Balkans and securing conditions for the equality of the states and peoples in the region. Milosevic and Papoulias underscored that the two countries held concurrent views on the resolution of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia by political means, a statement released by the Presidential Office said. Milosevic and Papoulias exchanged views on the major aspects of the political situation in the region, in particular the need to spur all-encompassing efforts to step up the peace process and definitively create conditions for an end to the military confrontation in the former Yugoslavia. Greece supports Yugoslavia's peace efforts, convinced that a policy of peace is the only means of eliminating the existing tensions, calming the situation and extinguishing the war conflagration in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the statement said. The meeting was attended also by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, until recently Yugoslavia's Ambassador to Greece. MILOSEVIC, U.S. OFFICIALS URGE POLITICAL SETTLEMENT OF CRISIS B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian affairs, said on Friday it was necessary to direct negotiations towards seeking a political settlement of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. A statement released by the Office of the Serbian President said the two sides agreed in their two-day talks that lasting and durable peace could be reached only if the negotiation process was accelerated. Milosevic and Holbrooke emphasized that peace was the vital interest of all Balkan states and peoples, the statement said. An expectation was also expressed that the United States would help find a political settlement to the conflict with its objective stand, it added. ARMY OF YUGOSLAVIA CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RECEIVES U.S. GENERAL B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - Army of Yugoslavia Chief of General Staff, Gen. Momcilo Perisic received Friday U.S. General Wesley Clark. Gen. Clark represented the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in the U.S. delegation which held talks Thursday and Friday with Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic headed by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Generals Perisic and Clark and their aides discussed in an open talk the vital aspects of the situation in the former Yugoslavia in the light of the latest U.S. initiative, the Army of Yugoslavia Press Service reported. YUGOSLAVIA - REFUGEES YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR URGES AID IN SEARCH FOR MISSING SERB REFUGEES G e n e v a, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav U.N. Ambassador in Geneva called Friday on Geneva-based international humanitarian organizations urgently to establish what was happening to the more than 10,000 Serb Krajina refugees detained by Croatia's authorities while making their way to Yugoslavia. Ambassador Vladimir Pavicevic turned for assistance in the search for the missing refugees to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. He has presented the problem also to Director-General of the Geneva U.N. headquarters Vladimir Petrovski and Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg. YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT URGES ICRC TO HELP FIND MISSING SERB REFUGEES B e l g r a d e, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav Government urged Friday the International Committee of the Red Cross immediately to join the search for the 10,000-15,000 Serb Krajina refugees, of whom all trace had been lost on Croatia's territory. Head of the Commission for Humanitarian Affairs and Missing Persons Pavle Todorovic informed head of the ICRC's Belgrade Office Francois Steiner that Croatia's troops had intercepted a column of refugees on the Zagreb-Belgrade highway and taken them to camps, where they lacked the basic means of survival, a Government statement said. The Yugoslav Government official underscored that, according to the available information, the largest number of the refugees had been incarcerated in camps in Ivanic grad, Kutina (Western Slavonija) and the Spacva forests (near the border with Yugoslavia). The Yugoslav representative drew special attention to the displaced persons held in the Spacva forests, where he said strong Croatian troops were massed. Todorovic reminded the ICRC official that Danish U.N. peacekeepers had recently been used by Croatia's troops as a human shield and made to walk in front of Croatian tanks. He underscored that the Yugoslav side was rightly concerned that the Serb civilian refugees could be used in the same way. The Yugoslav official urged the ICRC also to help the Serbs held in Croatia's prisons. The ICRC official promised that he would intercede with Croatia's authorities to enable refugees in question to reach the destination of their choice, bearing in mind that Croatia's authorities were alleging that the respective individuals did not want to leave Croatia, the official statement said. BOSNIA - FIGHTING GEN. MILOVANOVIC DENIES REPORTS ON FALL OF DRVAR D r v a r, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Serb Army Chief of General Staff, Gen. Manojlo Milovanovic denied Friday that the town had been overrun by Croatian troops. Gen. Milovanovic said reports about the occupation of Drvar by Croatian forces were 'incorrect, tendentious and ill-intentioned.' 'I am in Drvar, which is defended by the Bosnian Serb Army, and all who doubt the credibility of this statement have a standing invitation to contact me,' Manojlovic said. He underscored that Bosnian Serb units were firmly in control of their positions towards Glamoc and Grahovo and also the occupied part of the Republic of Serb Krajina. The General confirmed that Drvar, just as other towns and villages in the area, were being shelled. He said there had been casualties and also material damages. CROATIA BRINGING IN REINFORCEMENTS AROUND DRVAR, LOOTING KRAJINA N e w Y o r k, Aug. 18 (Tanjug) - The Croatian army is bringing in reinforcements around Drvar, a Serb town in Western Bosnia, while in Krajina Croatians are systematically looting and torching villages, the latest U.N. peackeepers' report to the President of the Security Council said. The report said that U.N. observers observed artillery pieces, rocket systems and engineering equipment crossing the Croatia-Bosnia border on Thursday and that the Croatian army had set up a rearguard in Strmica, from where its troops were heading towards the East (towards Drvar). The report also said that widespread, systematic looting and torching of villages was observed throughout Krajina, in the so-called U.N. Sector South. =============================================================== -- I speak for no one and no one speaks for me -- D. D. Chukurov ddc@nyquist.bellcore.com ===============================================================