EUROPE:UN PEACEKEEPING IN BOSNIA MEETING скачать в хорошем качестве

EUROPE:UN PEACEKEEPING IN BOSNIA MEETING

(15 May 1995) English/Nat French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said France won't unilaterally pull its peacekeepers out of the former Yugoslavia without consulting its allies first. Juppe made his promise after a meeting in Paris with British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. Meanwhile, the future of U-N peacekeeping in Bosnia was high on the agenda at a meeting in Lisbon of European foreign and defence ministers. French threats to pull out of Bosnia sent British foreign minister to Paris on a diplomatic mission to calm French fears and save the peacekeeping force. French troops have become almost daily targets of Serbian snipers in Sarajevo and other areas where they are deployed. After the meeting Juppe told reporters that the UN peacekeeping force had played an important role in Bosnia and French troops would stay - for the time being at least. SOUNDBITE: "But I think the time is coming when the presence of UNPROFOR could become an obstacle to a peace settlement and we cannot accept that. That's why France is demanding very clearly three things. The first one is the prorogation and prolongation of the ceasefire agreement, the second is the strengthening of UNPROFOR - of its military means and also of its mandate, and third the resumption of negotiations on the peace plan. And on this third there are some good news coming from the Contact Group." SUPER CAPTION: Alain Juppe, French Foreign Minister Hurd spelt out the British position: peacekeepers still have an important job to do and the benefits of their presence outweigh the risks. SOUNDBITE: "There's no doubt that the presence of UN forces continues to save lives, continues to bring help and continues to prevent a substantial war." SUPER CAPTION: Douglas Hurd, British Foreign Secretary In Lisbon, defence and foreign ministers from 27 nations at a meeting of the Western European Union agreed to create joint army and navy units. These are viewed as a step towards the possible creation of united European armed forces. But the meeting was overshadowed by recent developments in Bosnia, particularly attacks on peacekeepers and French threats to withdraw their 45-hundred troops. Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana said his country would support Juppe's demand for a strengthened mandate for the UN soldiers. SOUNDBITE: "But I understood that others, which have troops deployed on the territory, on the ground, they do require a change in the mandate and we will support that." SUPER CAPTION: Javier SOLANA, foreign minister of Spain Solana said all should be done to prevent countries unilaterally withdrawing their peacekeepers. SOUNDBITE: "If we do withdraw we have to think about the consequences also, and the consequences are very tough." SUPER CAPTION: Javier SOLANA, foreign minister of Spain British Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind agreed with Hurd that the situation was still not dangerous enough to warrant a withdrawal by the 24-thousand UN peacekeepers. SOUNDBITE: "Is the UN carrying out its mandate? Is it doing so in a way that is not exposing its troops to unacceptable risks? Do we have a job still to do? The British view is that yes, on balance the arguments still point to continuing UN involvement in Bosnia but it is a fast-moving situation." SUPER CAPTION: Malcolm RIFKIND, defence minister UK The meeting was attended by 10 full W-E-U members plus 17 linked nations, including nine from the former communist bloc who gained W-E-U partnership status last year. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...