USA/RUSSIA: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY COMMENT ON NATO AIRSTRIKES AGAINST BOSNIAN SERB TARGETS.

Record ID: 342186

  • Title: USA/RUSSIA: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY COMMENT ON NATO AIRSTRIKES AGAINST BOSNIAN SERB TARGETS.
  • Date: 12th September 1995
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 12, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) REUTERS TELEVISION (A) 1. SLV U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER AND CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MATE GRANIC AT PHOTOCALL, US FLAG, CROATIAN FLAG NEARBY/MEDIA (2 SHOTS) 0.21 2. ZOOM TO SV CHRISTOPHER SPEAKING (ENGLISH)/OFFICIAL LISTENS (2 SHOTS) 0.52 MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SEPTEMBER 12, 1995) 3. GV FOREIGN MINISTRY BRIEFING 1.01 4. SV FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GENNADY KARASIN ANNOUNCING THAT DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV WILL GO TO ZAGREB AND GENEVA NEXT WEEK FOR MEETINGS WITH CROATIAN PRESIDENT TUDJMAN, BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADERS AND OTHER CONTACT GROUP MEMBERS (RUSSIAN) 1.29 5. SLV FOUR DUMA DEPUTIES WHO ARE GOING TO SERBIA ON WEDNESDAY; FROM LEFT VITALY SEVASTYANOV (COMMUNIST PARTY), SERGEI GLOTOV (NO FACTION), KONSTANTIN ZATULIN (RUSSIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY) AND LEONID ZHURAVYOV (NO FACTION) 1.33 6. SV ZATULIN SAYING THEY DON'T EXCLUDE THE FUTURE RECOGNITION OF SERBIA OR OF GIVING DIRECT OR INDIRECT AID TO PROTECT SERBIA. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF SERBIA'S OPPONENTS (RUSSIAN) 1.52 7. SLV FOUR DEPUTIES SEATED TOGETHER 1.55 BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA (SEPTEMBER 12, 1995) 8. SLV EU ENVOY CARL BILDT ARRIVING FOR TALKS WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC 2.07 9. GV EXT. BUILDING 2.13 10. MCU BILDT SPEAKING AFTER TALKS, (ENGLISH) 3.14 11. GV EXT. BUILDING 3.19 SEQ.2: TRANSCRIPT; CHRISTOPHER: "WHAT WE NEED TO STRESS IN DEALINGS WITH THE RUSSIANS IS THAT WE ARE EQUALLY COMMITTED TO THE PEACE PROCESS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME NATO IS DETERMINED TO TAKE FIRM ACTION WITH REGARDS TO THE BOSNIAN SERBS." SEQ.10; TRANSCRIPT; BILDT:" I HAVEN'T REALLY HEARD ANYTHING. I WISH THAT I HAD GOT INFORMATION THAT GENERAL MLADIC WAS READY TO START WITHDRAWING HEAVY WEAPONS FROM AROUND SARAJEVO. AS SOON AS HE UNDERSTANDS THAT IT'S NOW POLITICAL, THERE IS NO USE HAVING ALL THAT ARTILLERY AROUND SARAJEVO AND STARTS WITHDRAWING IT WILL BE THE END OF THE AIRSTRIKES. (ASKED TO COMMENT ABOUT RUSSIA)- THEY DO HAVE AN OPINION YES THAT'S VERY OBVIOUS BUT THE DECISION HAS BEEN TAKEN BY THE UN COMMANDERS, BY GENERAL JANVIER WHO WAS AUTHORISED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE UN AND THAT THERE HAS TO BE A WITHDRAWAL OF HEAVY WEAPONS FROM AROUND SARAJEVO. AS SOON AS THE WITHDRAWAL OF HEAVY WEAPONS STARTS THE SKY WILL BE CLEAR." Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 27th September 1995 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON D.C. UNITED STATES; MOSCOW, RUSSIA; BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA
  • City:
  • Country: EUROPE USA Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ASIA United States NORTH AMERICA Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVABF8MA7713RUO9EV9FJW9J9DZV
  • Story Text: United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Warren Christopher said on Tuesday (September 12) only the Bosnian Serbs held the ability to halt North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) air strikes on their targets and urged Russia to exert influence to persuade their traditional allies to comply with United Nations (U.N.) demands to remove their heavy weaponry from around Sarajevo.

    "It's in the hands of the Bosnian Serbs, when this air! campaign can come to an end. They understand what's necessary," Christopher said during a photocall in Washington DC with Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic.

    In Moscow on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigory Karasin said Russia was urgently investigating a reported secret memorandum agreed last month between the United Nations and NATO, which laid the basis for the current bombing campaign.

    "The existence of this document is an undisputed fact. We are urgently investigating the details at the United Nations and will draw the appropriate conclusions," Karasin said.

    He said First Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov would travel on Wednesday to Zagreb to meet Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian government representative, before travelling on to a meeting of the international Contact Group in Geneva.

    After the Geneva meeting at Russia's mission, Ivanov will visit Bonn for talks with the German government on September 15.

    A delegation of the Russian State Duma (lower house), which passed a series of pro-Serb resolutions on Saturday, told a news conference they would leave for Belgrade on Wednesday. They are also expected to visit the Bosnian Serb headquarters in Pale.

    Konstantin Zatulin, one of the group of five, called on Yeltsin to "match his words with deeds" and sign into law two bills ending Russia's participation in sanctions against rump Yugoslavia and imposing sanctions against Croatia.

    He said Russia should give massive aid to the Serbs and consider both recognising the Bosnian Serb state and supplying it with defensive weapons for protection against NATO strikes.

    European Union (EU) special envoy Carl Bildt met with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade on Tuesday. After their talks, Bildt told reporters that the authorities in Sarajevo had assured the EU that they would not take territorial advantage from the air strikes. This did not preclude the Bosnians gaining territory outside the operations of the air strikes.


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