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Peace negotiations

Escalating Sanctions and Military Intervention Loom in Bosnian Conflict

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A meeting between the ambassadors of the 16 NATO countries in Brussels will assess the military situation in Bosnia and possible responses to an escalation in fighting, including increased activity by NATO naval and air forces. The discussion on escalating sanctions against Serbia and the Bosnian Serb militias is also set to take place, with a partial easing of existing sanctions being considered if President Slobodan Milosevic opposes a Bosnian Serb rejection of the international peace plan. If the peace plan is accepted by both sides, NATO leaders will discuss arrangements for sending a 50,000-strong ground force to enforce it.

Key Takeaways:

  • A meeting between the ambassadors of the 16 NATO countries will assess the military situation in Bosnia and possible responses to an escalation in fighting.
  • Escalating sanctions against Serbia and the Bosnian Serb militias are set to be discussed, with a partial easing of existing sanctions being considered if President Slobodan Milosevic opposes a Bosnian Serb rejection of the peace plan.
  • If the peace plan is accepted by both sides, NATO leaders will discuss arrangements for sending a 50,000-strong ground force to enforce it.
  • The Croatian parliament has called on UN troops to cut off the breakaway Serb enclave of Krajina from suppliers in former Yugoslavia and start returning Croat refugees to the region by September 30.
  • The 27-month-old UN protection force mandate expires on September 30, and the Croatian parliament has stated that it will not be renewed if there is no progress by then.
  • The EU foreign ministers have made an eleventh-hour appeal to the Bosnian government and the Bosnian Serbs to accept the peace plan, which would partition the former Yugoslav republic and reduce the share of Bosnian territory controlled by the Bosnian Serbs from 70 per cent to 49 per cent.
  • The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, has told the Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, that he does not believe he understands the consequences of rejecting the peace plan.

Statistics:

  • 50,000-strong ground force to be deployed to enforce the peace plan.
  • 70 per cent of Bosnian territory currently controlled by the Bosnian Serbs.
  • 49 per cent of Bosnian territory to be allocated to the Bosnian Serbs if the peace plan is accepted.
  • 16 countries represented at the meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels.
  • 27 months until the expiration of the UN protection force mandate on September 30.

Sources:

  • The United States, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany will discuss escalating sanctions against Serbia and the Bosnian Serb militias. (Source: The United States, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany)
  • The ambassadors of Nato's 16 countries will meet in Brussels to assess the military situation in Bosnia and possible responses to an escalation in the fighting, including increased activity by Nato naval and air forces. (Source: Nato)
  • The Croatian parliament has called on UN troops to cut off the breakaway Serb enclave of Krajina from suppliers in former Yugoslavia and start returning Croat refugees to the region by September 30. (Source: The Croatian parliament)
  • The EU foreign ministers have made an eleventh-hour appeal to the Bosnian government and the Bosnian Serbs to accept the peace plan, which would partition the former Yugoslav republic and reduce the share of Bosnian territory controlled by the Bosnian Serbs from 70 per cent to 49 per cent. (Source: The European Union)

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