Bosnian Serb Leader Accepts Mediators’ Peace Proposals

The leader of Bosnia’s Serbs said Tuesday that he accepts mediators’ peace proposals, apparently dropping demands for a separate state within the war-ravaged nation.

Radovan Karadzic, however, told Radio Belgrade that the proposals still leave “a lot of possibilities to achieve our objectives.” It was not known if he was trying to placate hard-line Serbs or raising the possibility that he might again seek a separate Serbian state.

Another Bosnian Serb leader predicted that lawmakers in the self-styled Bosnian Republic would not back the deal supported by Karadzic.

The developments illustrated the fragile state of efforts by mediators Cyrus R. Vance and Lord Owen to end the ethnic fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Serbs led by Karadzic control about 70% of the territory.

Combat continued in Sarajevo and along a strategic Serb-held land corridor in northern Bosnia, which government forces have cut several times in the past two months. The narrow strip connects Serbian-held land in western Bosnia with Serbia.

In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata appealed to Bosnian Serbs to let relief convoys reach besieged towns, where people are said to be dying from starvation and cold, a spokesman said Tuesday.

At Tuesday’s peace talks, Karadzic agreed to a constitutional framework offered by the mediators, who have proposed dividing Bosnia into 10 provinces among the three main factions: Muslims, Serbs and Croats. Karadzic said the deal was subject to approval by the Bosnian Serbs’ assembly within a week, a Yugoslav delegation statement said.

But Karadzic has previously agreed to cease-fires that have been quickly violated by Serbian forces. His critics have questioned his commitment to peace under anything less than his terms.