ACCESSION NUMBER:359580
FILE ID:POL302
DATE:09/07/94
TITLE:STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 (09/07/94)
TEXT:*94090702.POL
STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
(Bosnia, Pakistan/nuclear) (590)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Michael McCurry discussed the following topics:
SANCTIONS HIGH ON CONTACT GROUP AGENDA
The Contact Group meeting in Berlin will, during the next few days, focus
heavily on the question of sanctions against Bosnian Serbs, who "continue
to refuse to comply with the proposal" to end the war in the former
Yugoslavia, McCurry said.
He said the group will "continue to explore the question of sanctions -- how
to maintain and implement the existing sanctions and also how to take into
account...the Bosnian Serb refusal to accept the Contact Group map."
U.S. envoys no longer will talk with Bosnian Serb officials about the future
map of the former Yugoslavia, McCurry said, noting that Ambassador Charles
Redman previously met with Bosnian Serbs "in the process of formulating the
Contact Group proposal...and the Contact Group map. They were very
interested in having the views both of civilian and military leadership on
both sides" to find "a legitimate way to bring the Bosnian conflict to an
end."
"The circumstances changed" however, "once the Bosnian Serbs adamantly
refused to accept the Contact Group proposal," he added.
"The Contact Group has made it clear to the Bosnian Serb leadership that
there will be no further negotiations on the subject of the map itself,
thus leading us in the United States to believe it's not proper to have
that type of contact" with Bosnian Serb leaders, said the spokesman.
1raising all who travel to the former Yugoslavia to promote peace, McCurry
expressed the U.S. wish that the canceled visit by Pope John Paul II could
have been made. "But at the same time it is perfectly understandable that
the pope's concern for the citizens of Sarajevo and for the citizens of
Bosnia would lead him to reconsider that trip," he said.
Recently increased sniper and artillery fire in Sarajevo could have
endangered worshipers had the pontiff celebrated outdoor mass. "Given the
circumstances, the Vatican looked at the situation very carefully and made
a judgment based on the security of the citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia,
and obviously, that's quite appropriate," the spokesman declared.
U.S. NOTING FURTHER MISSILE PROLIFERATION
The United States "will continue to monitor very carefully" the transfer of
missile technology from China to Pakistan, in the aftermath of press
reports that critical missile parts may have been sent to Islamabad by
Beijing, McCurry said.
He noted that Washington imposed specific two-year sanctions on Islamabad
last year when confirmation was received that some technology for the M-11
missile system was transferred by China. Those are Category 2 violations
according to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) list, he said, or
"something short of a fully deployed weapon system."
When those sanctions were imposed "we said...that had there been a transfer
of Category 1 items, which is in effect a complete missile system; we would
consider that a very serious matter," the spokesman said. He said that
such a transfer "would result in additional Category 1 sanctions that would
be triggered under U.S. law" and based on MTCR guidelines.
"There have been persistent efforts in our diplomatic exchanges with China
to discuss our proliferation concerns," he asserted. "We will continue to
press...the importance of resolving our concerns about these transfers.
"It's something that we very vigorously pursue and monitor because it's a
source of very real concern," he said.
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