U.N. Again Eases Sanctions on Yugoslavia, With a Warning
The United Nations on Friday extended its easing of sanctions on Yugoslavia but said it will set stricter conditions in the future.
The 15-member Security Council voted 13-0 to ease the sanctions for another 75 days. Russia--a traditional Serb ally--and China abstained.
A previous measure had eased the sanctions for 100 days. The 75-day period reflected Western frustration that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has failed to persuade rebel Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina to accept an international peace plan.
Bosnian Serb approval of the plan “seems as remote today as it did six months ago,” U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright said, adding that sanctions on Yugoslavia will be eased more only if Belgrade recognizes Croatia and Bosnia.
The new measure closes loopholes in the previous measure and signals to the Serbs “that we expect them to live up to what they claim is a shared objective,” Albright said.
The resolution said Yugoslavia, made up of Serbia and Montenegro, would have to close off access by air to Serb-held parts of Bosnia if the relaxation of sanctions is to continue.
The previous measure required only cutting off land access, but helicopter flights between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia have aroused Western suspicion.
The council called for an investigation into about 80 flights observed by radar.
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