U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 95/10/04 DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

U.S. State Department Directory

Subject: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 95/10/04 DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

[...]

FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

NATO Airstrikes...........................................2-3

Bosnian Serb Flights over No-Fly Zone.....................3

Assistant Secretary Holbrooke's Schedule/Activities.......3-4, 6

Ceasefire Issue...........................................4-8

-- Signing Ceremony.......................................10

Bosnian Gov't Fighting within Sarajevo Exclusion Zone.....4-5, 8-9

Eastern Slavonia..........................................6-8

Possibility of Peace Conference...........................8

Contact Group Meeting.....................................9-10

NATO Peacekeeping.........................................12

U.S. Commitment to Peacekeeping...........................12-15

U.S./Bosnian Government Military Training.................13-14

Arms Embargo..............................................14

MACEDONIA

Assassination Attempt on President Gligorov...............10-11

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Q Do you have anything on the NATO air strikes in Bosnia today?

MR. BURNS: I do. Actually there is a lot of activity in Bosnia today, and let me just try to take you through what I have in three respects.

First, as you know, NATO has long been flying daily air missions in support of enforcement of the U.N. mandated no-fly zone. And these missions were continued throughout the recent NATO air campaign. Of course they were begun well before that, and have continued after the recent NATO air campaign.

In two separate incidents today, NATO jets were illuminated by SA-6 fire-controlled radars, Bosnian/Serb SA-6 fire-controlled radars, and following longstanding rules of engagement, three HARM anti-radar missiles were fired by the NATO jets in response.

This was a narrow, limited, and very much proper exercise of self- defense by the NATO air crews. You understand that under the rules of engagement for Operation Deny Flight, which is the operation that implements the no-fly zone, the NATO pilots in their planes have the right to respond when challenged.

This has not required dual-key authority from the United Nations. Under the longstanding rules of engagement, they can respond, and today they did. I understand from the Pentagon that after the three HARM missiles were fired, the SA-6 radar sites were turned off. Whether they were turned off because they were hit by the HARM missiles or whether they were turned off because they wanted to avoid being hit by the HARM missiles, we do not know. We do know, according to the Pentagon, that the NATO jets returned to their bases safely and the pilots are safe, and I can confirm, according to the Pentagon, that the NATO jets were not fired upon. They were illuminated by these radars.

Q Do you know what countries these jets were from?

MR. BURNS: I would just refer you to the Pentagon for that. I have had a briefing from the Pentagon and they told me that these were F-l8 aircraft. I don't have the nationality of the pilots.

Q Do we know if this had anything to do with the Serbs pushing the envelope in the last number of about ten days having a larger number of flights over northern Bosnia?

MR. BURNS: Well, I think there has been some indication that the Serbs, the Bosnian-Serbs, have been pushing the envelope. They have been engaging in some activities which are not proper under the no-fly zone, but I don't know if this morning's incident was related to those other incidents in any way.

The fact is that these jets were illuminated, and they took the proper procedures by firing the missiles in response.

Q Are you aware of any planning for a response from the Bosnian-Serbs pushing the envelope in the no-fly zone?

MR. BURNS: Well, there shouldn't be any further response by the Bosnian-Serbs because, you know, we have certainly an understanding with the Bosnian-Serbs around Sarajevo. They offered a unilateral cease-fire around Sarajevo, which is being implemented, and we are working very closely with the Serbian Government -- and through the Serbian Government through its joint delegation with the Bosnian-Serbs -- to try to end the fighting all over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Which leads me to the second part of today's story; and that is that Ambassador Richard Holbrooke was in Sarajevo today for talks with the Bosnian Government, with President Izetbegovic and Foreign Minister Sacirbey.

He is now en route to Belgrade where he will be meeting in just a couple of hours with President Milosevic. He intends to return to Sarajevo tomorrow.

Upon leaving Sarajevo, Ambassador Holbrooke felt that he had made progress in our quest for a cease-fire. He believes the Bosnian Governments have accepted in principle a cease-fire plan. He is now en route to Belgrade to discuss this particular and specific plan with the Serbian Government.

We are encouraged by the progress that has been made today. We are encouraged because a cease-fire is a very important objective of the United States and our Contact Group partners, and we think that the achievement of a cease-fire would help us in our quest to then move on to actual peace negotiations.

I do want to emphasize, however, that there is no agreement yet among all the parties for a cease-fire. We have a tentative agreement in principle by one party, by the Bosnian Government. Of course, this is a highly complex negotiation. It includes some requests that have been made by the Bosnian Government and, of course, these will have to be discussed by Ambassador Holbrooke with the Serbian Government and with the Croatians and others.

So I don't want to indicate that somehow we have reached a cease- fire. We have not. But we certainly made more progress today than we had in other days. This was the intention of having Ambassador Holbrooke return to the region, and that was to put a cease-fire proposal squarely on the table in front of all the parties, to encourage them to accept that cease-fire proposal.

We have been disturbed by the recent outbreak of fighting all over Bosnia-Herzegovina. I think it is well known that we have been disturbed by the fighting around the Bihac pocket, and specifically the Bosnian Serb counteroffensive near the Bihac pocket.

We have been disturbed by the continuation of the Bosnian and Croatian offensive in western Bosnia. And just yesterday we were very displeased and disturbed by the fact that the Bosnian Government itself fired at least four missiles from within the Sarajevo exclusion zone. This was highly counterproductive, and we have called upon all parties, including the Bosnian Government, to refrain from military activities that could jeopardize the peace process.

Ambassador Holbrooke raised this specific issue this morning with President Izetbegovic, and as a result of that conversation we do not believe that there will be a repetition of yesterday's incident in which these missiles were fired from Sarajevo.

Our basic view is this: none of these parties is going to achieve a military solution or a military victory, and the sooner they stop shooting and the sooner they start talking, so much the better for them and for us.

Q What was Izetbegovic's explanation as to why they violated your understandings with them, that they would not fire anything in the Sarajevo area?

MR. BURNS: I don't know what explanation was offered, what specific explanation, in this morning's conversations in which Dick Holbrooke participated. I think if you look at what they have said publicly and what the Bosnian Serbs have said publicly, there are always provocations that these parties can point to.

We think that after four years of war, with now the prospect of a cease-fire, with the offer of an internationally-sponsored peace conference in the future, we think these parties should accept the negotiating role of the West, and specifically of the United States, and move towards a cease-fire and a peace conference.

But the actions yesterday certainly weren't consistent with that, and we are confident that, as a result of our conversation this morning, this will not be repeated.

Q What kinds of requests were attached to the cease-fire plan that the Bosnian Government has agreed to in principle, and does the U.S. agree with these requests or regard them as reasonable?

MR. BURNS: Well, that unfortunately is in the realm of the negotiations that are underway right now, and so I can't really go into them. And I think, again, we are pleased that the Bosnian Government wishes to move towards a cease-fire, and we applaud the political courage and will of the Bosnian Government to undertake this very important step.

However, a cease-fire will only be effective if it is accepted by and agreed to by all the parties, and that includes the Serbians and the Bosnian Serbs, as well as the Croatians.

So we do need to tackle that part of the equation, and we need to make progress there for this to be truly meaningful.

Q Nick, to follow that, will Richard Holbrooke be staying in the field, in Bosnia, continuing the physical shuttle on the cease-fire matter specifically, or will he go on to the telephone shuttle, or what's the plan?

MR. BURNS: Dick Holbrooke is going to be actually doing an airplane shuttle. He may be landing now in Belgrade. He'll be there this evening, back in Sarajevo tomorrow. He hopes to make progress on this particular issue of the cease-fire.

After that, I believe he will be heading to Rome for a meeting of the Contact Group, and then an expanded meeting of the Contact Group which may include some of the parties to the conflict -- the Bosnian Government, the Serbian Government, and the Croatian Government.

Q Could that be the occasion for the signing of a cease-fire?

MR. BURNS: It is just very hard to say now, Mark. We hope to achieve a cease-fire as soon as we can, but we are mindful of how hard it is, how hard the slogging, the diplomatic slogging, here is, the negotiations. And we are mindful of how complex it is. I think you have seen some of the public conditions that have been laid down by the Bosnian Government, by the Bosnian Serbs, for a cease-fire. And whether or not these parties can agree on it is really a guess at this point.

But I do want to put the accent on the following: we have made some progress. We are moving forward, and this is exactly why the President and Secretary Christopher asked Dick Holbrooke to return to the region to work on this issue of a cease-fire.

Now, in addition to that, Dick had a very good conversation with President Izetbegovic on constitutional principles which, again, in addition to the territorial aspects of cease-fire, is an important pillar of the peace process underway, and will be an important issue at any peace conference.

Let me just mention another positive development from this week and that is the news that was reported yesterday out of Zagreb. There is a tentative agreement between the Croatian Government and those Serbs who represent the Serbian population in Eastern Slavonia for a framework to resolve the Eastern Slavonia problem, a framework that would set up a transitional authority that would lead to the reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia.

This is a highly significant development, because it speaks to the number one objective of the Croatian Government in this complex of issues, and that is the return of Eastern Slavonia to the sovereignty and territorial control of Croatia itself.

This was described by Ambassador Peter Galbraith yesterday, the American Ambassador, as a skeletal agreement, which is what it is. These are a set of principles, 11 principles, that provide a framework for the resolution of this problem.

This needs to be filled out now by some concrete negotiations by the Serbian population, the Croatian Government, and I think they will do that under the auspices of the United States and the United Nations, and we will do everything we can to help these parties come to an agreement on this.

So it's been so far a fairly positive week: we've made progress on Eastern Slavonia, we seem to be making some progress on a cease-fire, but we have been disturbed by the inclination of the parties to return to fighting, highly disturbed by yesterday's incident in Sarajevo. We would like to call upon the parties to cease and desist from military activity and turn to these positive developments at the negotiating table.

Q If there is a cease-fire, what additional obstacles must be overcome before you get to the point of a peace conference?

MR. BURNS: Certainly, we've said all along -- and Secretary Christopher reaffirmed this yesterday, I think, on two occasions, yesterday publicly -- that a cease-fire is highly desirable. It will make the convening of a peace conference easier. It will make the adjudication of a peace conference, the negotiations at a peace conference, easier and smoother.

If, for some reason, we cannot achieve a cease-fire, we won't wait for years before convening a peace conference, and perhaps not even for many, many months. There are historic examples in recent history -- Korea and Vietnam are most prominent -- when peace conferences were convened while fighting continued.

That is not what we want to have happen, but we're prepared to drive forward towards a peace conference as hard as we can.

Q But can you lay out sort of the road map from now to a peace conference? What has to happen before that occurs?

MR. BURNS: I think these parties, these countries, have to agree, certainly they have to attempt to agree, on a cease-fire, and we are working on that today. Secondly, they have to agree on an agenda for a peace conference, a substantive agenda. They have to agree on the structure of a peace conference. I think all of you understand from, again, the historical examples that I just set out, that sometimes the shape of the table and sometimes who is at the table and the logistics and modalities around a peace conference are every bit as daunting, sometimes, as the substantive issues.

So there has to be a framework, an agreed upon framework, and an agreed upon agenda for a peace conference to be convened.

Q Nick, who is dealing with Zagreb in these cease-fire talks? You have Dick going from Sarajevo to Belgrade and back.

MR. BURNS: Dick Holbrooke is orchestrating the activities right now of a number of our Embassies in the region as he shuttles back and forth among the capitals. A good example was yesterday when he asked Ambassador Peter Galbraith to travel to Eastern Slavonia, to have a meeting in that region with a representative of the Croatian Government and with the Serbian leaders of Eastern Slavonia.

So Ambassador Galbraith, of course, is dealing with the Government in Zagreb, but this is all being coordinated by Ambassador Holbrooke who is ever present in this shuttle mission.

Q But Galbraith is dealing with Zagreb on the cease-fire. We know he's doing Eastern Slavonia.

MR. BURNS: As a result of the activities today, certainly he is, and our Charge in Belgrade, Rudy Perina, is also engaged in this, as well as Ambassador Menzies. I can say Ambassador Menzies, because he will soon be formally an American ambassador. The hold on his nomination was lifted last Friday night, and we're all very pleased by that.

Bill.

Q Nick, Mike McCurry stated this morning that the United States is making clear that the exclusion zone around Sarajevo also applies to the Muslim-led Bosnian Government. I would ask a question I've asked you before: Is there any enforcement implied in this statement by Mike or that might be conveyed by our government regarding violations in the exclusion zone by any side?

MR. BURNS: Mike was certainly correct in saying that, in this sense: that we fully expect that the Bosnian Government will be true to the spirit of the agreements that we have worked out for the lifting of the siege of Sarajevo and for the cessation of hostilities -- the cease- fire within the 20-kilometer exclusion zone around Sarajevo.

I would remind you, however, that the cease-fire around Sarajevo was produced by a unilateral Serb offer to the Bosnian Government and to the Contact Group. You remember that unilateral offer that came out of Belgrade.

So, therefore, the party that you could say by the terms of the agreement must uphold that agreement is the Bosnian Serbs. But certainly the Bosnian Government bears a responsibility for the maintenance of a cease-fire. Yesterday's actions were not consistent with the spirit of that agreement.

Q You're asking them to enforce their own commitment to that exclusion zone.

MR. BURNS: We asked them this morning in Sarajevo to refrain from military activities within the 20-kilometer exclusion zone, specifically the firing of missiles out of that zone, which could very well provoke a counter-reaction.'

We are also warning the Bosnian Serbs not to react, not to use this as a provocation. I understand the Bosnian Serbs wanted to move some heavy weapons back into Sarajevo yesterday after this attack. They will not be allowed to do that by the United Nations and by NATO. They've got to understand, I think, that we are working with the Bosnian Government to make sure this does not happen again. But we want to call on the Bosnian Serbs not to take advantage of this incident.

Q Is Izetbegovic -- what was his response to our objections --

MR. BURNS: As a result of these conversations, as I said earlier, we are convinced that this type of incident will not recur.

David, you had a question.

Q Yes. I just wanted to ask you, will the warring parties be represented at the Contact Group meeting and at what level?

MR. BURNS: That is a little bit unclear right now. I think there will be a two-step process in Rome. First the Contact Group will meet, and then it will meet in expanded session, and there is a possibility, as Mr. Bildt said yesterday, that at least some of the Foreign Ministers of the three parties will be in Rome, which will be a very good thing.

But I don't believe we have final confirmation on the travel of all three of the Foreign Ministers. These were the Ministers who were in New York last week and in Geneva in early September.

Q Would you rule out a cease-fire signature ceremony in Rome?

MR. BURNS: It certainly can't be ruled out. We want to make quick progress, but it can't be ruled in either. We haven't achieved it yet.

Q You're not thinking of a ceremony in Washington, are you? There's been some suggestion of that on the wires.

MR. BURNS: I guess I'd answer that -- and I'm not trying to be flip here -- but I guess I'd answer it the same way I'd answer a question about NATO implementation forces. It would be a great luxury in this government and in many Western capitals if we could think about that kind of thing. We're far from it. What we're thinking about right now is a cease-fire agreement, if it can be worked out. What it will take to convene a peace conference. What it will take to actually get the parties to the door of the peace conference and seated at the table; then what it's going to take to achieve a successful conclusion of that peace conference.

Only then will we be talking seriously about signing ceremonies and implementation forces to seal the victory. We want to get there, and there's been some advance planning, as you know, in NATO about the implementation force. But we're really dealing right now with much more immediate pressing problems along the way towards that objective.

Q Nick, do you have any statement on the assassination attempt of the Macedonian President?

MR. BURNS: I had a statement yesterday, and I'd just like to reaffirm today we have the greatest sympathy for President Gligorov, for his family, for the government and the people of Macedonia. This was a vicious terrorist attack. I don't believe there's been an indication from Skopje as to who specifically may have been responsible for this attack -- who was behind this attack.

It's the kind of incident that we deplore, and we criticize in the strongest terms. We hope for the speedy and complete recovery of President Gligorov. As you know, he has undergone an operation. I can tell you that two American doctors have tried to be helpful as consultants to the Macedonian doctors who have been trying to heal President Gligorov's wounds.

It's the very least we can do. We have great respect for him. He's someone we've worked with very well, including just a couple of weeks ago when Dick Holbrooke was in Skopje; when we and the United Nations were able to help the Macedonians and the Greeks achieve some progress over their own disputes.

[...]

(The briefing concluded at l:58 p.m.)

END