US Brokered Agreement in Balkans Calls for Cease-fire and Withdrawal of Heavy Weapons

Strategic Insights -

The United States brokered an agreement Thursday with warring parties in the Balkans, calling for a 72-hour pause in NATO airstrikes, a cease-fire in Sarajevo, and the withdrawal of most Bosnian Serb heavy weapons from around the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. As part of the arrangement, Russian peacekeepers may be deployed around Sarajevo to enforce the cease-fire and protect Serb neighborhoods. The agreement was crafted during consultations in Belgrade between Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, with the endorsement of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his top military aide Gen. Ratko Mladic.

Key Takeaways:

  • The agreement calls for a 72-hour pause in NATO airstrikes, followed by a three-day extension if the Bosnian Serbs make substantial progress in withdrawing their heavy weapons.
  • The Bosnian Serbs will be required to withdraw most of their 300 tanks and artillery pieces 12.5 miles outside Sarajevo, while NATO will resume its air raids if the Bosnian Serbs do not live up to their commitments.
  • The agreement includes the opening of two major roads into Sarajevo, which will be enforced by Russian peacekeepers.
  • The Clinton administration is sensitive about any suggestion that it is dealing directly with Bosnian Serb leaders, whom a UN tribunal has formally charged with war crimes.
  • US and European officials say they have little doubt that Slobodan Milosevic and his Bosnian Serb surrogates are on the same wavelength, citing the 11-hour meeting between Holbrooke and Milosevic in Belgrade.

Statistics:

  • 72 hours: the initial pause in NATO airstrikes under the agreement.
  • 23:00 Bosnian time (2100 GMT/5 p.m. EDT): the start time of the pause in NATO airstrikes.
  • 300: the number of tanks and artillery pieces that the Bosnian Serbs are required to withdraw from around Sarajevo.
  • 12.5 miles: the distance from Sarajevo that the Bosnian Serb heavy weapons must be withdrawn.
  • 3 days: the additional time given to the Bosnian Serbs to remove their heavy weapons.
  • 2 weeks: the duration of NATO's air campaign in the Balkans before the agreement was brokered.

Sources:

  • United Press International (no date given)
  • The Clinton administration (no specific publication or date given)
  • Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke (no specific publication or date given)
  • Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic (no specific publication or date given)
  • Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (no specific publication or date given)
  • Gen. Ratko Mladic (no specific publication or date given)
  • State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns (no specific publication or date given)
  • Defense Secretary William Perry (no specific publication or date given)