-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------

                     B o s N e t  - Aug. 30, 1995

==========================================



NATO planes bombed overnight and early on Wedesday arious
nationalist

Bosnian Serb targets. A large contingent of U.S. Air Force
fighter planes

was taking part in action - mostly from the Italian base Aviano,
and aircraft

carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt located in Adriatic Sea. The
Roosevelt has

more than 50 combat planes aboard, including 36 F/A-18's, 14
F-14's. Aviano

based squadrons include F-15E Strike Eagle strike aircraft, F-16
Fighting

Falcon attack planes, OA-10 ground-attack planes, EF-111 radar
jamming

planes and AWACS airborne warning and control aircraft.



According to television reports, an estimated 60 allied planes
took part in

action, including air navigation, radar jamming, fighter and
bomber planes.

The  spokeswoman at NATO's southern command in Naples,
Lieutenant Colonel

Janis Witt, said the operation began shortly after 2 a.m. local
time

(midnight GMT, 8PM EDT).



Planes are believed to have targeted first the air defense
system which,

run from and by Serbia. Pentagon plans initially called for
three or four

days of sustained bombing. Several U.S. officials, speaking on
condition

of anonymity, said NATO was prepared to continue the air
attacks. ``It's

round one,'' one official said.



A second, big wave of NATO warplanes struck nationalist Bosnian
Serb positions

on Wednesday morning. Loud detonations were heard from the
direction their

stronghold of Pale. "I hear repeated detonations from the
direction of Pale

and see some flashes in the skies... It was the heaviest
concentration of

detonations since the bombing started two hours ago" Reuters'
Kurt Schork

said.



According to early television reports, areas hit also included
nationalist

Serb positions around Mostar, Gorazde and Tuzla. Rapid Reaction
Force made

up mostly of French and British troops and deployed on Mt. Igman
fired an

estimated 600 shells on Serbian gunners.  Nationalists tried to
retaliate,

but apparently their mortar positions were hit shortly.



The decision to initiate such a response was made on Tuesday
during

conversations between all parties, including NATO commander Adm.
Leighton

Smith and United Nations commander in Sarajevo Gen. Rupert Smith.



"The operations were initiated after the United Nations
concluded beyond

reasonable doubt that Monday's brutal mortar attack on Sarajevo
came from

Bosnian Serb positions... We hope to convince the Bosnian Serbs
of the

futility of further actions. The objective is to reduce the
threat to the

Sarajevo safe area," NATO source said.



The rumble of high-flying jets could also be heard high above
Belgrade

at 2.30 a.m. (0030 GMT), indicating the possible presence of
NATO backup

aircraft.



In a move to prevent nationalist  Bosnian Serbs hostage-taking,
United Nations

moved its remaining troops from Gorazde, and presently only two
unarmed

monitors remain in the U.N.-declared safe haven.



Earlier Tuesday, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said,
"Everything

you're hearing from us indicates that a military response is
appropriate"

The coordinated UN-NATO effort comes as UN investigation proved
"beyond all

reasonable doubt" that Bosnian Serbs are responsible for
Monday's brutal

slaughter of Bosnian civilians.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
------------



US President Clinton, vacationing in Wyoming confirmed the
airstrikes, stating:

"I strongly support this operation. I think it is an appropriate
response to

the shelling of Sarajevo... It is consistent with the commitment
that was made

by the United Nations, by NATO, and by the United
States...Furthermore, I do

not expect it to interrupt the peace mission... The United
States' peace

activities will continue, and I hope that they will be
successful."



He declined to comment on details of the operation, and said
that no US ground

troops were involved.



Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, head of the US
delegation

is scheduled to visit Belgrade and  meet with Serbian President
Slobodan

Milosevic today.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------



U.N. spokesman Alexander Ivanko strongly denounced Monday attack
on civilians:

"A single mortar shattered the lives of more than a hundred
citizens of

Sarajevo... As a result of an unprovoked and barbaric attack
against a city,

over 30 people were killed and over 80 wounded. ... The area
that was

targeted didn't have any military installations, but was simply
an area of

markets, shops and cafes, where people were busy enjoying the
treacherous

calm. ... After reviewing  results of the investigation
conducted by U.N.

military experts, the commander of UNPROFOR, Lt. Gen. [Rupert]
Smith,

concluded beyond any reasonable doubt that the attack against
the civilians

of Sarajevo came from Bosnian Serb positions."



Showing disregard for international outtrage at Monday's attack,
nationalist

Bosnian Serbs fired a shell which killed a four-year girl and
wounded two of

her friends on Tuesday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
------------



Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who recently played highly
controversial

role in Bosnian conflict received a "statement" from nationalist
Bosnian Serb

leader Radovan Karadzic.



According to Carter, Karadzic - also indicted on war criminal
charges,

advocates the resumption of peace talks and "sets forth a basis
for his

willingness to accept the U.S. peace initiative" as soon as an
agreement is

reached.



"This is an important statement which I have already shared with
the U.S.

government... As the recent tragic attack on Sarajevo has
demonstrated, peace

will not come easily, but there is good reason to take
Karadzic's statement

and put it to the test, and to seek comparable efforts from all
the other

parties involved, to move rapidly to talks,"  Carter said.



In addition, Karadzic  allegedly acknowledges that any future
Bosnian entity

would enjoy "the full range of human rights and fundamental
freedoms"

including the right for refugees to return to their homeland.
While the

alleged war criminal Karadzic has some serious credibility
problems,

statements of this nature also question the necessity of
nationalist Serb

aggression, and ethnic cleansing, which has been taking place in
B&H for

over three years.



Carter asked that Karadzic's statement be put to the test. "He
has been

completely stubborn since last December in his unwillingness to
'accept'

the peace proposal as a basis for negotiation, and now he has
agreed to

accept it."



=====================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 169

30 August 1995



NATO LAUNCHES AIR, ARTILLERY ASSAULT AGAINST BOSNIAN SERBS. Jets
of

several members of the Atlantic alliance appeared over Sarajevo
around

2:00 a.m. local time on 30 August, after taking off from bases
in Italy

and from aircraft carriers in the Adriatic. They continued to fly

bombing missions throughout the morning with a brief
interruption around

dawn. British, French, and Dutch heavy artillery of the Rapid
Reaction

Force lobbed more than 600 shells into Bosnian Serb positions by
mid-

morning, international media reported. Bosnian Radio said that
the fire

was directed against targets in Lukavica, Bogosca, Ilidza, on Mt.

Jahorina, and elsewhere. The extent of the damage is not clear,
but the

VOA reported that most targets appear to have been hit. The aim
was to

secure Sarajevo as a "safe area" following the Serbian shelling
of a

market on 28 August, which killed 37 and wounded 85. Serbian
positions

near the "safe areas" of Tuzla and Gorazde were also attacked. --

Patrick Moore



SERBS RETURN FIRE. Bosnian Serb forces responded with
antiaircraft fire

directed at the planes and with rockets aimed at Sarajevo,
including a

Bosnian army base. Radio Pale said on 30 August that the damage
from the

NATO intervention could be "massive" and that there was "no
excuse" for

such a move. The UN had taken precautions in advance to get its

peacekeepers out of the area lest they be taken hostage. The
only "blue

helmets" in exposed positions now are Russians, and it is
doubtful that

the Serbs will want to anger Moscow, one of their few friends.
The VOA

quoted President Bill Clinton as saying that he hoped the
attacks will

help promote the peace process by bringing the Serbs around to
negotiate

seriously. The BBC, however, cited The Independent as
criticizing the

attacks and a British UN spokesman as warning the Bosnian army
not to

take advantage of the new situation. There was no official
reaction from

the Bosnian Serb leadership as of mid-morning. -- Patrick Moore
(see

related story in the Russian section above)



SILAJDZIC SAYS RAIDS RESTORE CREDIBILITY. Bosnian Prime Minister
Haris

Silajdzic told Reuters on 30 August that "this is a very
important step

toward peace because it restores the credibility of the
international

community. I hope the Serbs and the regime in Belgrade have got
the

message." The BBC noted that the overnight developments mean
that the UN

has switched from peace-making to peace-enforcing, while Reuters
spoke

of the "most intensive military intervention in the Bosnian
conflict."

Another dispatch called it the biggest single combat mission in
NATO's

history. The VOA, however, asked why such moves had not come
sooner,

such as during the Serbian attack on Srebrenica and Zepa or even
at the

start of the war. Serbian shelling of Sarajevo has killed 10,500
and

wounded 50,000 since 1992. The 28 August attack apparently was
the last

straw, however, the broadcast concluded. -- Patrick Moore



CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE IN SARAJEVO. The population of Sarajevo had
come to

expect nothing from the international community, but were
pleasantly

surprised by the developments in the early hours of 30 August,
the VOA

noted. Reuters quoted one man who watched the spectacle from his
balcony

as calling it "beautiful, just beautiful." Impromptu street
parties

broke out in the capital, with the besieged Sarajevans jubilant
that

their tormentors were now themselves being hunted. One crippled
woman

told Reuters: "NATO and the United Nations are to be applauded,
cheered

for finally acting after the suffering of our city's innocent
people.

This is the only thing the Serbs understand--force. They're
brutes,

beasts, and they're getting what they deserve." -- Patrick Moore



OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONFLICT REGION. Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan

Karadzic has written to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to
tell him

of his support for the latest peace plan, the BBC reported on 30
August.

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic continued his visit to
Paris, but

what was billed as an important diplomatic event has become
totally

overshadowed by developments in and around Sarajevo. Slobodna
Dalmacija

wrote that the next two weeks will be decisive for Bosnia. With
regard

to the Krajina conflict, Hina quoted top Croatian government
officials

as saying that known casualties from Operation Storm have
reached 402

Serbian soldiers, 116 Serbian civilians, 211 Croatian soldiers,
and 42

Croatian civilians. Slobodna Dalmacija reported that Croatia has

identified 217 Serbian rebels it wants to try as war criminals.

Meanwhile in Rijeka, the independent Novi list criticized the
governing

party for trying to claim all the credit for what the daily said
was

really a national victory. -- Patrick Moore



RUGOVA PROPOSES INDEPENDENT KOSOVO FOR PEACE PLAN. Kosovar
shadow-state

President Ibrahim Rugova has suggested putting Kosovo under

international control as part of a peace plan for former
Yugoslavia, AFP

reported on 29 August. According to Rugova, Kosovo should be

independent, neutral, demilitarized, and "open to both Albania
and

Serbia," thereby forming a "bridge of peace between Belgrade and

Tirana." As an intermediary measure, he proposed "a regime run
by an

international administration" with "a limited mandate." -- Fabian

Schmidt



SERBIAN SOLDIER REPORTED KILLED BY KOSOVO ALBANIANS. One rump
Yugoslav

soldier was killed and another wounded 300m inside Kosovo when
an armed

group opened fire on a rump Yugoslav patrol near the Albanian
border,

Reuters and AFP reported on 29 August. The rump Yugoslav army
claims

that a group of ethnic Albanian "terrorists" ambushed the patrol
with

automatic weapons before fleeing into Albania under the cover of
a

storm. The killing may be related to an incident in which three
drunken

soldiers killed an ethnic Albanian on 27 August (see OMRI Daily
Digest,

28 August 1995). -- Fabian Schmidt



FIVE ALBANIAN SOLDIERS APPLY FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN U.S. Five
Albanian

soldiers, who participated in the first joint U.S.-Albanian
military

exercises on U.S. territory have applied for political asylum,
Gazeta

Shqiptare reported on 30 August, citing the BBC's Albanian
Service.

There has been no official confirmation by Albanian officials.
Gazeta

Shqiptare adds that the chances of the five achieving their goal
are

rather limited. -- Fabian Schmidt





==========================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 171

1 September 1995



OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE SWINGS INTO THIRD DAY. International
media on

1 September reported that the UN and NATO attacks on Bosnian Serb

positions are continuing. Planes have completed more than 500
sorties,

and artillery on Mt. Igman blasted Serbian guns and other
targets. Bad

weather caused a temporary let-up in operations the previous
day. A NATO

spokeswoman in Naples told reporters that the operation is
nonetheless

taking place in stages and that "things are going on" even if
this is

not readily apparent. The Serbs claimed that their "capital" in
the ski

resort of Pale was being hit as well, and reporters there said a
loud

boom caused windows to rattle. UN spokesmen said press reports
that UN

commander General Bernard Janvier would meet with the Serbs'
General

Ratko Mladic were "premature." -- Patrick Moore



CLINTON BLASTS SERBIAN "SAVAGERY." U.S. President Bill Clinton
told

reporters in Hawaii that Operation Deliberate Force is "the right

response to savagery." He said that the Serbs have "everything
to lose

and nothing to gain" by continuing the war and that "NATO is
delivering

that message loud and clear." International media on 1 September
also

noted that NATO spokesmen stressed that the attacks will
continue until

the Serbs end their stranglehold on Sarajevo, Tuzla, and
Gorazde. NATO

efforts continue to be popular in Sarajevo, where one policeman
told

Reuters that the alliance should "bomb them and bomb them some
more

until these Chetnik [Serbian] bastards beg for the mercy they
never

showed anybody in this war." -- Patrick Moore



KARADZIC CALLS RAIDS UNNECESSARY . . . Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan

Karadzic said that military action against his side is
unwarranted

because the Serbs have signed on to the peace process. AFP on 1

September reported that he wrote UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi
that

the attacks' purpose is "to weaken our power and our negotiating

position." Karadzic added that further raids "would accelerate

preparations for a long conflict that the international
community would

not be able to win." The internationally wanted war criminal
concluded

that "if NATO continues its attacks, that means it wants to put
an end

to the peace process." -- Patrick Moore



. . . WHILE MLADIC URGES RESISTANCE. General Mladic took a
different

tone from that of his civilian rival, Nasa Borba reported on 1

September. He called on both the army and the general population
to

resist the attacks. Novi list said that the Serbs fired rockets
at the

besieged town of Gradacac and other areas of northern Bosnia.
The Serbs

claimed to have captured the two French pilots shot down on 30
August,

but it appears that the men are at large and hiding on Bosnian
Serb

territory. The BBC said that they had sent radio signals to that
effect.

Meanwhile, the five EU monitors that the Serbs originally
reported as

dead were taken to Visegrad, once a mainly Muslim town on the
Drina that

was the site of some of the first massacres and "ethnic
cleansing" in

1992. After some hesitation, the Serbs released them to go to
Zagreb,

Reuters reported. In Pale, there was great anger over the air
attacks

among Bosnian Serb military personnel and civilians, while some
"spoke

about taking revenge on any foreigners they could get their
hands on."

-- Patrick Moore



HOLBROOKE PRAISES BELGRADE-PALE AGREEMENT . . . U.S. special
envoy

Richard Holbrooke, before leaving Belgrade for Zagreb on 31
August, said

that "serious substantive negotiations" could begin after Serbian

President Slobodan Milosevic and the Bosnian Serbs formed a joint

negotiating team, Reuters reported on 31 August. Holbrooke is
quoted as

saying: "We consider President Milosevic's announcement that he
can now

negotiate for the Bosnian Serbs something of a procedural
breakthrough."

Milosevic announced that the Bosnian Serbs will give him a veto
over the

terms of a peace deal. -- Fabian Schmidt



..WHILE NEGOTIATIONS MAY END IN DEADLOCK. Milosevic, however, is

reported to have guaranteed the Bosnian Serbs that he will
achieve

certain "minimums," such as the division of Sarajevo, the
widening of

the Brcko corridor, and the delineation of a "compact territory"
that

would include the handing over of Gorazde to the Serbs. The
Bosnian

government and Croats would doubtless reject such proposals.
Meanwhile,

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel met with Bosnian Prime
Minister

Haris Silajdzic in Bonn and encouraged him not to accept any
solution

violating the territorial integrity of Bosnia. French President
Jacques

Chirac also insisted Bosnia should retain its integrity as a
state,

adding that "any other solution would be an insult to our values
and to

the future." -- Fabian Schmidt



RUSSIA PROTESTS NATO ATTACKS IN BOSNIA. On 31 August, Russian
political

leaders of all persuasions continued to condemn the ongoing NATO

airstrikes against Bosnian Serb positions. A statement issued by
the

Russian Foreign Ministry said that the bombardment "must be
stopped,"

because it "goes beyond the framework" of existing UN Security
Council

resolutions, Interfax reported. Ministry spokesman Grigorii
Karasin

reiterated Moscow's position that the Yugoslav conflict can only
be

resolved through negotiations and criticized NATO Secretary
General

Willy Claes for his "tendentious" comments on Yeltsin's reaction
to the

airstrikes. -- Scott Parrish



RUSSIA POWERLESS TO INFLUENCE YUGOSLAV EVENTS. Russia has lost
all

influence over events in the former Yugoslavia, according to
commentary

in the Russian press over the last two days. Izvestiya on 1
September

noted that the recent NATO airstrikes were launched without even

consulting Moscow, despite the fact that Russia formally remains
a

member of the international Contact Group seeking a negotiated

settlement of the conflict. Sergei Rogov, director of the
USA/Canada

Institute, told The Washington Post that the airstrikes
demonstrate the

"complete collapse of the notion of Russian-Western partnership"
and

show "how much the West ignores Russia." -- Scott Parrish



=============================================================

DATE=9/2/95

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-184630

TITLE=BONN / HOLBROOKE (LONG UNVOICED)

BYLINE=KYLE KING

DATELINE=BONN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT: 



INTRO:  U-S ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE RICHARD HOLBROOKE SAYS 

THE BOSNIAN PEACE TALKS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE IN GENEVA NEXT 

WEEK ARE A STEP TOWARD ENDING THE CONFLICT IN THE FORMER 

YUGOSLAVIA.  BUT, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS IN BONN, THE U-S ENVOY 

SAID THERE IS STILL MUCH WORK TO BE DONE.  VOA'S KYLE KING 

REPORTS.



TEXT:  MR. HOLBROOKE SAYS ALL THE MAJOR ISSUES WILL BE ON THE 

TABLE WHEN THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA 

AND YUGOSLAVIA MEET IN GENEVA NEXT WEEK.



AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF THE ONE DAY 

MEETING, MR. HOLBROOKE CALLED THE TALKS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD.



                       // HOLBROOKE ACT //



         THAT MEETING WILL  NOT  END THE WAR IN BOSNIA.  IT WILL 

         HOWEVER, WE HOPE, INCREASE THE MOMENTUM AWAY FROM WAR 

         AND TOWARDS PEACE. 



                          // END ACT //



MR. HOLBROOKE SAID THE GENEVA MEETING WILL BE USED TO LAY OUT THE

BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT THE WARRING FACTIONS CAN AGREE TO.  THE 

LARGER ISSUES, HE SAID, ARE TO BE SETTLED AT AN INTERNATIONAL 

CONFERENCE.



EUROPEAN UNION MEDIATOR CARL BILDT, WHO WAS IN BONN WITH MR. 

HOLBROOKE, SAID THE KEY ISSUES ON THE AGENDA IN GENEVA WOULD BE 

TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF BOSNIA.  THE PROBLEM, HE SAID, WILL BE 

WORKING OUT HOW TO ALLOW THE BOSNIAN SERBS TO HAVE TIES TO 

SERBIA, AND THE BOSNIAN CROATS TO HAVE TIES WITH CROATIA.



MR. BILDT SAID THE PLIGHT OF REFUGEES WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO 

FLEE THE FIGHTING WILL ALSO BE A KEY ISSUE, AS WELL AS 

RECOGNITION OF ALL THE STATES IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.



GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER KLAUS KINKEL, WHO MET WITH MR. BILDT AND 

MR. HOLBROOKE BEFORE THE BOSNIAN CONTACT GROUP SESSION IN BONN, 

SAID HE SAW A REAL CHANCE FOR A DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH.



MR. KINKEL SAID THE SERBS SHOULD REALIZE THEY HAVE TO ACCEPT THE 

PEACE PLAN.  HE ALSO WARNED THE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT  NOT  TO 

UNDERTAKE ANY FURTHER MILITARY ACTION TO RECLAIM LAND CONTROLLED 

BY THE SERBS,  AND HE APPEALED TO THE GREEK AND MACEDONIAN 

GOVERNMENTS TO RESOLVE THEIR LINGERING DISPUTE.



NOW THAT WESTERN OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TO DATE ON HIS 

MISSION, MR. HOLBROOKE SAID HE WILL TRAVEL ON TO GENEVA TO 

CONSULT WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF ISLAMIC STATES.



THE U-S ENVOY WILL THEN RESUME HIS SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY WITH ANOTHER

TRIP TO BELGRADE FOR FURTHER TALKS WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT 

SLOBODAN MILOSOVIC.  (SIGNED)



NEB/KBK/DW/CF 



02-Sep-95 12:08 PM EDT (1608 UTC)

NNNN



Source: Voice of America





=========================================================

DATE=9/2/95

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-184635

TITLE=NATO/BOSNIA (S ONLY)

BYLINE=WAYNE COREY

DATELINE=VIENNA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT: 



INTRO:  NATO IS CONSIDERING ISSUING A NEW ULTIMATUM TO THE 

BOSNIAN SERBS TO WITHDRAW THEIR HEAVY WEAPONS THAT THREATEN 

SARAJEVO OR FACE MORE NATO AIRSTRIKES.  V-O-A'S CENTRAL EUROPEAN 

CORRESPONDENT, WAYNE COREY, REPORTS.



TEXT:  THE ULTIMATUM WAS BEING CONSIDERED AT A NATO MEETING IN  

BRUSSELS AFTER THE SERBS ATTACHED CONDITIONS TO ANY PULLBACK OF 

THEIR HEAVY WEAPONS FROM SARAJEVO.



ONE OPTION BEING DISCUSSED IS TO GIVE THE SERBS SEVERAL DAYS AT 

THE MOST TO REMOVE THEIR HEAVY WEAPONS THREAT TO THE BOSNIAN 

CAPITAL.



AMERICAN PEACE ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE TOLD THE NATO MEETING 

MILITARY PRESSURE MUST BE MAINTAINED ON THE SERBS.



ACCORDING TO NATO SOURCES, MR. HOLBROOKE SAID THE SERB REPLY TO 

UNITED NATIONS AND NATO DEMANDS TO RESPECT THE HEAVY WEAPONS 

EXCLUSION ZONE AROUND SARAJEVO WAS INSULTING.



JUST BEFORE THE NATO MEETING, A SHELL INJURED SEVEN CIVILIANS IN 

SARAJEVO.  THAT PROMPTED MORE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT CRITICISM OF THE

DELIBERATE PAUSE IN OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE, NATO'S CODE NAME 

FOR ITS ATTACKS ON THE SERBS.



BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MUHAMED SACIRBEY HAS WARNED HE MAY 

BOYCOTT A PLANNED MEETING WITH HIS CROATIAN AND YUGOSLAV 

COUNTERPARTS NEXT FRIDAY UNLESS THE SERB SIEGE OF SARAJEVO IS 

LIFTED.  (SIGNED)



NEB/WC/CB/SKH



02-Sep-95 6:04 PM EDT (2204 UTC)

NNNN



Source: Voice of America





=================================================================

DATE=9/2/95

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-184631

TITLE=BOSNIA MEETING 3RD UPDATE (S ONLY)

BYLINE=DAVID FOLEY

DATELINE=SARAJEVO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT: 



INTRO:  A SHELL HAS LANDED IN A SUBURB OF SARAJEVO INJURING SEVEN

PEOPLE, INCLUDING TWO CHILDREN, AND THE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER 

SAID IT WAS A RESULT OF THE PAUSE IN NATO AIR STRIKES AGAINST THE

BOSNIAN SERBS.  NATO AND U-N OFFICIALS ARE STILL DISCUSSING THE 

RESULTS OF AN OVERNIGHT MEETING BETWEEN THE U-N AND BOSNIAN SERB 

MILITARY COMMANDERS.  U-N OFFICIALS SAY  NO  AGREEMENT WAS 

REACHED AND THE BOSNIAN SERBS ATTACHED CONDITIONS TO ANY 

WITHDRAWAL OF HEAVY WEAPONS FROM AROUND SARAJEVO.  DAVID FOLEY 

REPORTS FROM SARAJEVO.



TEXT:  THE SHELL SLAMMED INTO A SARAJEVO SUBURB IN MID-AFTERNOON,

INJURING A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, AND SHATTERING THE ILLUSION OF 

SAFETY THAT HAD COME OVER THE CITY.  



THE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER SAID THE SHELLING WAS EVIDENCE OF 

CONTINUED BOSNIAN SERB DEFIANCE OF U-N AND NATO DEMANDS TO REMOVE

HEAVY WEAPONS FROM AROUND SARAJEVO.



ACCORDING TO U-N OFFICIALS THE SENIOR UN COMMANDER, GENERAL 

BERNARD JANVIER, FAILED TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH BOSNIAN SERB 

ARMY COMMANDER RATKO MLADIC DURING A 13-HOUR OVERNIGHT MEETING 

WHICH U-N OFFICIALS DESCRIBED AS "VERY DIFFICULT."  



GENERAL MLADIC REPORTEDLY SAID HIS GUNS WOULD PULL BACK, BUT ONLY

UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHICH HAVE  NOT  BEEN DISCLOSED.



THE NATO COMMANDER OF THE AIRSTRIKES, WHICH WERE PUT ON HOLD 

DURING THE MEETING, FLEW TO ZAGREB TO DISCUSS THE RESULTS OF THE 

NEGOTIATIONS WITH U-N OFFICIALS, BUT  NO  DECISION ON MORE 

AIRSTRIKES OR MORE NEGOTIATIONS HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED AND 

CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN OFFICIALS FROM THE U-N, NATO AND WESTERN 

CAPITALS ARE CONTINUING. (SIGNED)



NEB/DF/DW/CF







02-Sep-95 12:59 PM EDT (1659 UTC)

NNNN



Source: Voice of America





======================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 172, 5 September 1995



UN, NATO SUSPEND BOMBING OF BOSNIAN SERB POSITIONS . . . 

The Atlantic

alliance interrupted its air strikes against the Bosnian Serbs
on 1

September to see if the Serbs would then comply with key
demands. The

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 4 September said the points
included

an end to attacks on Sarajevo and other "safe areas," the
withdrawal of

heavy weapons beyond the 20-kilometer exclusion zone around the
Bosnian

capital, and complete freedom of movement for UN and NGO
personnel,

including access to the Sarajevo airport. The Serbs had until
11:00 p.m.

local time on 4 September to comply. International media on 5
September

noted that messages from the Bosnian Serb military and civilian

leaderships included unacceptable conditions. General Ratko
Mladic also

sent a fax indicating that he could not order a withdrawal since
that

would be a political decision requiring a popular referendum and
a vote

by the Pale legislature, the BBC reported. -- Patrick Moore



. . . AND THEN RESUME BOMBING AGAIN. A UN spokesman on 5
September said

that the Serbs moved only 20-25 heavy weapons out of the
exclusion zone.

Special envoy Yasushi Akashi noted that this was "limited
movement" only

and hence not likely to be acceptable, Reuters reported. The BBC
added

that the Serbs have 200-300 such guns in the area. AFP quoted
Akashi as

saying that "we need evidence of substantial movement--if not

completion--of the withdrawal of all heavy weapons from the
exclusion

zone." British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind told the BBC
from

Moscow that the Serbs had presented written acceptance of the
demands

and that "there will be no further need to contemplate air
strikes."

Reuters reported from Zagreb, however, that NATO had indeed
resumed

bombing. NATO and UN officials had been concerned that the Serbs
would

try various ruses to buy time. The International Herald Tribune
said

that a UN spokesman had warned Mladic that "if he doesn't play
ball,

he's going to get hit very, very hard." -- Patrick Moore



SERBS PRESS ATTACKS ELSEWHERE. The Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung on 4

September noted that Bosnian Serb forces continued to attack in
northern

and western Bosnia. They seemed interested in widening their
supply

corridor from Serbia and shelled Gradacac, which was held by
government

and Croatian defenders even during the Muslim-Croatian war of
1993.

There were also reports of shelling and sniper fire from Serbian

positions in Sarajevo. Slobodna Dalmacija on 5 September noted
that 400

shells fell on Lukavac near Tuzla. International media said the
previous

day that the Serbs had released the five EU monitors who were
first

reported dead and then held up in Visegrad by Bosnian Serb
forces. --

Patrick Moore



DIPLOMATIC UPDATE. International media on 5 September said that
Bosnian

President Alija Izetbegovic feels the current U.S. peace plan
has too

many "gray areas" to be acceptable. He specifically ruled out any

confederation between the Bosnian Serbs and rump Yugoslavia in
any

future settlement, although he reaffirmed certain rights for the
Serbs.

He had been speaking in Ankara with U.S. special envoy Richard

Holbrooke, who came from talks in Bonn, Belgrade, Athens, and
Skopje.

The details of the U.S. plan have yet to be made public, but it
is based

on the Contact Group project of July 1994 and likewise involves
the

effective partition of the republic. Holbrooke was nonetheless

optimistic about the chances for peace. Top Contact Group
political

officials will meet in Geneva with Zagreb's, Sarajevo's, and
Belgrade's

foreign ministers on 8 September. -- Patrick Moore



RAIDS FOLLOW SHOOT-OUT IN KOSOVO. The Serbian police raided more
than 60

houses following a shoot-out on 30 August, Kosova Daily Report
said on 4

September. According to initial reports, two Serbian policemen
were

killed and four wounded in an explosion following a shoot-out at
a

police station near the village of Irzniq. Later sources,
however, spoke

of two injured and no casualties. Police began raiding houses and

arresting people immediately after the shoot-out. Elsewhere, a
court in

Gnjilan sentenced nine ethnic Albanians to between six months
and four

years in prison for allegedly planning to forcibly secede from
the rump

Yugoslavia, BETA reported on 31 August. -- Fabian Schmidt



GREECE, MACEDONIA TO START TALKS. Greece and Macedonia agreed to
hold

direct talks aimed at improving bilateral relations,
international

agencies reported on 4 September. Dimitris Karaitidis, adviser
to the

Greek prime minister, said Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias
and his

Macedonian counterpart, Stevo Crvenkovski, will meet in New York
next

week for UN-brokered talks. The agreement was confirmed by the
U.S.

State Department. The announcement came a few hours after talks
between

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke and Greek
Prime

Minister Andreas Papandreou. U.S. President Bill Clinton called
the step

a "courageous and visionary decision" and a "major step toward
peace and

stability in the region." -- Stefan Krause



GREEK-ALBANIAN TALKS FAIL. Talks between Karolos Papoulias and
his

Albanian counterpart, Alfred Serreqi, failed to produce any
results,

Reuters reported on 1 September. According to Greek officials,
Serreqi

left the meeting after 15 minutes, angered by Greek demands to
open

schools for Albania's ethnic Greek minority. He also failed to
attend a

scheduled news conference. Greece has demanded three independent
Greek

schools in southern Albania in return for granting legal seasonal

employment to some of the 300,000 or so Albanians illegally
living and

working in Greece. The agreement was to be signed during
Serreqi's

visit, but the Greek side wanted "signs of goodwill" from the
Albanian

foreign minister. -- Stefan Krause





=============================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 173, 6 September 1995



NATO CONTINUES ATTACKS AGAINST BOSNIAN SERBS . . . War planes of
the

Atlantic alliance suspended their assaults late on 5 September
owing to

bad weather but resumed them again the next morning. The BBC
said they

were "revisiting" the targets they had hit the previous week. The

Lukavica barracks near Sarajevo appear to have been destroyed.
Nasa

Borba on 6 September reported that the Majevica communications
tower,

linking Pale with other Serbian conquests in Bosnia, has also
become

history. The Rapid Reaction Force near Sarajevo again shelled
Bosnian

Serb positions. A UN press release quoted Secretary-General
Boutros

Boutros Ghali as saying the Serbs must choose between continued
air

strikes and meeting the Security Council's demands. A U.S.
spokesman

told the VOA that the air attacks may continue even after peace
talks

begin on 8 September. In anticipation of those discussions, the
Bosnian

and Croatian presidents met in Split on 5 September to harmonize
their

positions. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



. . . WHILE MLADIC REMAINS DEFIANT. "If you bomb us, we will
defend

ourselves. The more they bombard us, the stronger we are." This
was the

reaction of Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic to the
air

strikes resumed around 1:00 p.m. on 5 September after a break of
more

than three days, the International Herald Tribune reported the
next day.

The VOA said Mladic was "true to form," and also threatened to
wage a

Vietnam-style protracted war against his attackers. His men
fired on

Sarajevo, wounding some civilians and sending UN forces to their

shelters. The BBC quoted Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic
as

saying the air strikes will accelerate the peace process. The
Rijeka

daily Novi list argued that the coming seven days will be
"decisive" in

the conflict. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL LAUNCHES INVESTIGATIONS OF CROATS. The
International

Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has formally begun
looking

into charges against the Croats stemming from their retaking of
Krajina

in early August. The Hague-based body had previously taken such
measures

only against the Serbs, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted
on 6

September. UN spokesman Chris Gunness told news agencies the
previous

day that 50 bodies have been found in the area and that the first

reports have emerged of the destruction or desecration of Serbian

Orthodox churches. Slobodna Dalmacija on 6 September discussed a
report

by the International Helsinki Federation on the alleged
systematic

torching of Serbian homes and property. Politika wrote that
Serbian

lawyers intend to challenge a threat by the speaker of the
Croatian

lower house of parliament to confiscate property left behind by
fleeing

Krajina Serbs. Novi list quoted liberal legislator Vlado Gotovac
as

warning that the ruling party's political behavior over the
re-conquest

foreshadowed "the Croatian way to totalitarianism." -- Patrick
Moore,

OMRI, Inc.



SERBS EXPEL MORE REFUGEES FROM BANJA LUKA. AFP reported on 5
September

that Bosnian Serbs have rounded up some 2,000 Croats and Muslims
in a

football field prior to deportation. Since 15 August, the Serbs
have

driven out some 17,582 people and another 11,000 are expected to
follow.

The Serbs began the systematic "ethnic cleansing" of the
region's once

large Croatian and Muslim populations in 1992. They have also
tried to

eliminate all physical traces of those communities and have
destroyed

all of Banja Luka's mosques, including two that were
UNESCO-registered

international cultural properties. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



HOLBROOKE MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC. U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke
continued

peace talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in
Belgrade on 5

September, Reuters reported the same day. Milosevic strongly
protested

the resumption of air strikes. But Holbrooke said "the meeting
in other

ways was productive," adding that he did not believe the NATO
attacks

would jeopardize the planned meeting of foreign ministers from
Croatia,

Bosnia, and rump Yugoslavia in Geneva on 8 September. Milosevic,
who has

formed an alliance with Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic against

Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, promised the
withdrawal

of Bosnian Serb weapons from the exclusion zone around Sarajevo.
Mladic,

however, has challenged Milosevic by resuming the shelling of the

Bosnian capital. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



VANCE SAYS GREECE TO LIFT MACEDONIAN EMBARGO. UN mediator in the
Greek-

Macedonian conflict Cyrus Vance on 5 September said Greece will
lift the

trade blockade on Macedonia as soon as an agreement between the
two

countries is signed, Western agencies reported the same day. In
return,

Macedonia will change its flag and amend certain articles of its

constitution. The agreement is expected to be signed by Greek
Foreign

Minister Karolos Papoulias and his Macedonian counterpart, Stevo

Crvenkovski, in New York early next week. Vance called the
meeting "the

culmination of a long mediation effort" and added that the
agreement

will cover all outstanding issues, except for the name of the
former

Yugoslav republic, which will be discussed separately. Vance
said that

he does not expect the name issue to be resolved before the
opening of

the next UN General Assembly on 19 September. Both the Greek
government

and Skopje hailed the announcement, with the former denying it
had bowed

to U.S. pressure. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.



SERBIAN MINISTERS IN HUNGARY. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister
Slobodan

Babic and Minister of Industry Oskar Fodor arrived in Hungary
for a two-

day visit on 5 September, Reuters reported the same day.
Hungarian

Political State Secretary Csaba Tabajdi, who is responsible for
national

minority issues, held talks with the delegation. He later said
that

"Hungary is monitoring the fate of the Hungarians in Vojvodina
very

closely and a long-term solution of the problem there is a test
of the

two countries' relations." About 300,000 ethnic Hungarians live
in

Vojvodina and have expressed fears that they will be driven out
by

ethnic Serbian refugees from Krajina. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI,
Inc.



==========================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 174, 7 September 1995



NATO AIR STRIKES AROUND SARAJEVO CONTINUE. International
agencies on 7

September reported that NATO jets continued the air strikes they
had

resumed the previous day. NATO targeted military installations
around

Sarajevo, including barracks at Lukavica and Butila. NATO
commander for

Southern Europe Admiral Leighton Smith said reports indicated
"very

successful results" but gave no details. The UN. Rapid Reaction
Force

joined in the attacks with artillery and fired rounds at a
Serbian

mortar that opened fire on traffic on the Mt. Igman road. NATO
insists

on the complete withdrawal of Serbian weapons from the 20
kilometer

exclusion zone around Sarajevo, the reopening of the airport,
free

movement for the UN and aid workers, and an end to all attacks
on the

capital as well as three other "safe areas." More than 1,500
sorties

have been flown since 30 August, when NATO planes began their
raids. --

Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



SERBS REFUSE TO WITHDRAW HEAVY GUNS. The Bosnian Serb Army is
quoted by

Reuters as saying that NATO's "unscrupulous and barbaric" air
strikes

have killed about 100 civilians in the past week and wounded
hundreds

more. Meanwhile, Bosnian Serb chief of staff General Manojlo
Milutinovic

talked of "minor losses" among his soldiers and "several"
civilian

casualties, BBC reported on 7 September. UN spokesman Alexander
Ivanko

said that Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic is in a
"defiant

mood" but that he hopes he will start complying with UN demands.
Bosnian

Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic called the raids a
"terrible

bombardment" of a magnitude that "hasn't been seen since the
Second

World War." However, he proposed only reopening Sarajevo airport
to UN

and humanitarian flights. Karadzic told reporters that "we have

withdrawn as much as we could. But we can't withdraw (all) what
we

possess [since we have] to protect ourselves." The UN. says the
Bosnian

Serbs have made no substantial withdrawals. -- Fabian Schmidt,
OMRI,

Inc.



IS THERE A RIFT BETWEEN KARADZIC AND MLADIC? Karadzic has denied
that

there is a rift between himself and Mladic, insisting that he is
running

the self-declared "Republika Srpska." Karadzic is quoted as
saying "I am

in control" after being absent since 1 September, Reuters
reported on 7

September. The Bosnian Serb leadership will meet in Pale the
same day to

discuss its strategy, the BBC reported. Meanwhile, the search
continued

for two French pilots shot down in the first round of the air
strikes.

NATO questioned Bosnian Serb allegations that the pilots were
captured.

-- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



DIPLOMATIC UPDATE. Representatives of the Conference of Islamic
States

and the Contact Group will meet in Paris on 7 September,
international

agencies reported. U.S. special envoy Robert Holbrooke will
explain his

peace proposal to the diplomats. The foreign ministers of Bosnia,

Croatia, and the former Yugoslavia are preparing to meet in
Geneva the

following day for preliminary peace talks. Holbrooke, continuing
his

shuttle mission, briefed Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on 6

September. He denied that Washington was deliberately using air
power to

bomb the Bosnian Serbs into taking their place at the
negotiating table.

"This has nothing to do with peace negotiations. It is related
to the

UN's attempt to enforce its mandate. . . . If it affects the

negotiations, that's not its intent," Reuters reported him as
saying on

6 September. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



WILL GREECE COMPROMISE ON NAME OF MACEDONIA? Greek Foreign
Minister

Karolos Papoulias on 6 September hinted for the first time that
Greece

may compromise on the name of its northern neighbor Macedonia,
AFP

reported the same day. Asked if he were ready to discuss names
including

the word "Macedonia," Papoulias said "We have . . . some
difficult

negotiations in front of us and I cannot prejudge the results."
He said

the Greek side continues to be against the use of the name
Macedonia but

talks were continuing. Meanwhile, the business community in the
northern

Greek town of Thessaloniki welcomed the latest developments
"with relief

and satisfaction." Iordanis Adamidis of the Union of Greek

Industrialists put the annual losses caused by Greece's economic

blockade of Macedonia at $90 million. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI,
Inc.







---------------------------------------------------------------------------



Newsgroup: bit.listserv.bosnet



   * BosNet NEWS - 8 September 1995 - OMRI DAILY DIGEST - Dzevat Omeragic

     (168)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - "It appears they have not yet had sufficient pain -

     Dzevat Omeragic (131)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - Finally, the leader of NATO leads - Dzevat Omeragic

     (106)

   * BosNet REPORT - The Bonn Declaration On GENOCIDE In B&H (Sept. 4) -

     Nermin Zukic (116)

   * BosNet NEWS - Update From Geneva - Nermin Zukic (141)

   * BosNet REPORT - Nationalist Bosnian Serb Military Armaments - Nermin

     Zukic (57)

   * BosNet NEWS - Action Council About NATO-UN Action - Nermin Zukic (72)

   * BosNet NEWS - Aug. 31, 95 (OMRI - Remaining reports) - Nermin Zukic

     (108)

   * BosNet NEWS - Aug. 31, 95 (Milosevic Leads Negotiating Team; Karadzic

     - Nermin Zukic (340)

   * BosNet REPORT - Transcript - Adm Smith Press conf. - Dzevat Omeragic

     (641)

   * BosNet REPORT - ACSB Hotline: NATO-UN Actions; Diplomatic Efforts -

     Nermin Zukic (75)

   * BosNet NEWS - 1 September 1995 OMRI DAILY DIGEST - Dzevat Omeragic

     (155)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - "If we get the order, we can take out every Serbian -

     Dzevat Omeragic (146)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - New York Times Editorial Sep'02 1995 - Dzevat

     Omeragic (105)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - "People always say there is sun after the rain... -

     Dzevat Omeragic (143)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - Holbrooke: "We are getting into a room at last, but -

     Dzevat Omeragic (155)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - Holbrooke: "The toughest issue is land - that is what

     - Dzevat Omeragic (199)

   * BosNet ARTICLE - Impasse Stalls Raids In Bosnia - Dzevat Omeragic

     (214)

   * BosNews: NYT -- Serbs Invoke Past + Latest News - Davor (184)



---------------------------------------------------------------------------



========================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 176, 11 September 1995



NATO HITS SERBS WITH CRUISE MISSILES. International media on 10

September reported that 13 Tomahawk cruise missiles were
launched from

the USS Normandy in the Adriatic against the Bosnian Serb air
defense

system around Banja Luka. NATO air strikes were suspended for a
few

hours earlier in the day while UN commander General Bernard
Janvier met

with the Serbs' General Ratko Mladic. The latter again refused
to agree

to the UN's key demand that he take heavy weapons outside the 20
km

exclusion zone around Sarajevo. He had earlier claimed that the

artillery is necessary "to protect the Serbian population," the
VOA

said. This marks the first use of the missiles in the Yugoslav
conflict,

a step taken because piloted aircraft have had difficulty
operating in

the current bad weather conditions. A NATO spokesman denied
Serbian

charges that the use of the Tomahawks constituted an escalation.
The

extent of the damage the missiles caused is not yet clear. --
Patrick

Moore



"BOSNIAN ALCHEMY." This is how Nasa Borba on 11 September
described the

brief document signed in Geneva on 8 September by the foreign
ministers

of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and rump Yugoslavia. The text is
the

result of weeks of shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Assistant Secretary
of

State Richard Holbrooke, who called it "an important milestone
in the

search for peace." The International Herald Tribune on 9
September also

quoted him as saying that "significant differences exist between
the

sides." Among the unresolved points of contention is mutual
diplomatic

recognition, particularly that of Bosnia by rump Yugoslavia. --
Patrick

Moore



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY? The accord is sufficiently broad and
vague as

to allow mutually contradictory interpretations. The Bosnian
government,

for example, might stress the point that the country will remain
one

state, while the Serbs would point to the provision for "parallel

special relationships" with neighboring countries. That clause
opens the

way for the Bosnian Serbs to have links to Belgrade similar to
those the

Croat-Muslim federation will have to Zagreb. Novi list on 11
September

cited Oslobodjenje's paradoxical headline that "Bosnia [remains]
whole

in two parts." The agreement does not even begin to deal with
the thorny

issue of territorial divisions, except to take the Contact
Group's 51-

49% figure as a starting point. It also allows for the
possibility that

the results of "ethnic cleansing" will become permanent by
stipulating

that displaced persons may either go home or receive
compensation for

what they lost. -- Patrick Moore



CROATIA REMAINS FIRM ON EASTERN SLAVONIA. Croatian Foreign
Minister Mate

Granic said in Geneva on 9 September that Serbia is trying to
"buy time"

and keep control of prosperous eastern Slavonia by not
recognizing

Croatia. Ranking diplomat Miomir Zuzul told news agencies that
Zagreb

wants a peaceful solution to the problem but that it is prepared
to wait

only two or three more months. Reuters reported the following
day that

there was no sign of Croatia or Serbia implementing an agreement
to

withdraw heavy weapons from the confrontation line there.
Slobodna

Dalmacija on 11 September quoted Health Minister Andrija Hebrang
as

saying that some 70% of the Croatian medical personnel, who fled
Krajina

following the Serbian conquest of it in 1991, now refuse to go
back.

Nasa Borba reported on the pilot project for Donji Lapac of the
Serbian

Community in Croatia's Commission for Human Rights. The aim is to

encourage Krajina Serbs to return home, but the Serbs fear their

property has been destroyed and that they will not enjoy full
rights. --

Patrick Moore



FIRST NATO MILITARY EXERCISE IN ROMANIA. A NATO exercise
involving 440

troops from Germany, Luxemburg, Holland, Turkey and the U.S.
(from among

member states) and Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania
(from among

the signatories of the Partnership for Peace program) began on 10

September near the Transylvanian town of Sibiu. The exercise,
the first

of its kind in Romania, will last five days and simulate the
setting up

of peacekeeping units and extending humanitarian help, National
Defense

Minister Gheorge Tinca said in an interview with Radio Bucharest
on 9

September. At a press conference in Sibiu, he said in response
to a

question about Russian President Boris Yeltsin's position on NATO

enlargement that Moscow was entitled to its own opinions but
that the

issue concerns "the sovereign decision of Central European
states that

wish to be integrated into NATO structures." -- Michael Shafir



GREECE, RUSSIA ON BOSNIA. Russian Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev on 8

September met with Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and
Foreign

Minister Karolos Papoulias in Thessaloniki, AFP reported the
same day.

Both sides criticized the NATO air strikes against the Bosnian
Serbs and

once again called for a political solution to the crisis.
Kozyrev told a

news conference that Russia and Greece will begin joint efforts
to end

the crisis. The three leaders also reached a verbal agreement to
go

ahead with the construction of a $1 billion oil pipeline from the

Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna to Alexandroupolis, in northern

Greece, international agencies reported the same day. -- Stefan
Krause



GREEK-MACEDONIAN UPDATE. The foreign ministers of Greece and
Macedonia,

Karolos Papoulias and Stevo Crvenkovski, on 9 September left for
New

York, where they are expected to sign a bilateral agreement on 14

September, AFP reported. Before leaving Athens, Papoulias said
the small

number of problems to be settled are no obstacle to signing the
accord.

He described the agreement as "a historical accord...that at
last frees

[Greek] foreign policy." Greek media suggested that Greece will
propose

that the name issue be resolved by Macedonia's using two or even
three

names--one for internal use and one or two for international and
Greek

use. -- Stefan Krause



DUMA PASSES RESOLUTION ON YUGOSLAV CONFLICT. At its special
session on 9

September, the State Duma criticized Yeltsin, Foreign Minister
Andrei

Kozyrev, and NATO, Russian and Western agencies reported. After
a heated

debate, during which extreme proposals to dispatch troops to
Serbia and

recall all ambassadors from NATO countries were discussed, the
Duma

passed a resolution calling on Yeltsin to fire Kozyrev, withdraw
Russia

from UN sanctions against rump Yugoslavia, impose a trade embargo

against Croatia, and suspend Russian participation in NATO's
Partnership

for Peace program. The resolution, which is not binding on the

president, passed 258-2 with 3 abstentions. Many liberal deputies

boycotted the session. -- Scott Parrish





