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Elusive Arms Pact Signed in Florence Without the arms deal, 'one of the most important chapters of the Dayton (peace) process would have been missing.' —Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini By Steve Pagani FLORENCE, Italy, June 14 (Reuters) - Former warring parties from Bosnia, Croatia and rump Yugoslavia on Friday signed an arms reductions pact hailed as a huge stride towards consolidating peace in the region. The deal limits the amount of weoponry each party can hold, with some of the deepest cuts to be made the Bosnian Serbs. It also includes a strict regime of inspections to ensure the parties stick to its terms. It was signed after the five parties to the agreement resolved a dispute over the wording of the text in difficult talks on the fringes of a two-day international ministerial conference in Florence. "The signature of this agreement will be a step forward in the consolidation of peace in the area of former Yugoslavia," Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini said to applause from conference delegates at the ceremony. Without the arms deal, he said, "one of the most important chapters of the Dayton (peace) process would have been missing." U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy to Bosnia, John Kornblum, said the pact called for major reductions in categories of heavy armaments and an intrusive verifications and destruction schedule. "It represents the fact that the parties are willing to enter into a long-term and far-reaching arms stabilisation regime," Kornblum told a news conference. The bulk of the pact was agreed in six months of talks in Vienna mediated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). But a signing ceremony in Oslo scheduled for June 11 was scrapped after Bosnia's Muslim-led government objected to the preamble of the agreement. Sarajevo wanted to make clear that the signatory states were Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and that the Muslim-Croat federation and Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb territory) were merely entities. But, apparently after heavy pressure from Washington, it accepted the original preamble referring to all five signatories as "parties to the agreement," with the only change being the switching of the first two paragraphs. Norwegian General Vigleik Eide, who chaired the Vienna talks, said that apart from the slight change to the preamble the document relating to arms reductions remained the same. "It has come out in a compromise," Eide told reporters. "(Sarajevo) has been looking through the agreement, analysed it and seen the importance of it." The deal sets ceilings on the number of battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery of 75 mm and above, combat aircraft and attack helicopters for each party. Eide said an exchange of information updating figures on the weapons held by each party would take place in a week's time. After a four-month period of inspections there would be a 12-month period in which weaponry would have to be destroyed. Diplomatic sources said Bosnian Serbs had agreed to make substantial cuts, removing up to 400 battle tanks and more than 1,000 pieces of artillery. Weapons Count The following figures show the ceilings each party must reach in the individual arms categories after a 16-month period beginning in July. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1,025 battle tanks 850 armoured combat vehicles 3,750 pieces of artillery 155 combat aircraft 53 attack helicopters Republic of Croatia 410 battle tanks 340 armoured combat vehicles 1,500 pieces of artillery 62 combat aircraft 21 attack helicopters Bosnia-Herzegovina 410 battle tanks 340 armoured combat vehicles 1,500 pieces of artillery 62 combat aircraft 21 attack helicopters Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Arms are divided between . . . The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnian Government-Bosnian Croat Federation 273 battle tanks 227 armoured combat vehicles 1,000 pieces of artillery 41 combat aircraft 14 attack helicopters Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serbs) 137 battle tanks 113 armoured combat vehicles 500 pieces of artillery 21 combat aircraft 7 attack helicopters

Berserkistan, June 12 · Arms Talks Deadlocked Over Srpska Issue
Berserkistan, June 11 · Balkan Arms Control Still in Doubt in Oslo
Berserkistan, June 7 · Arms Deal Fails Over Republika Srpska Issue
Berserkistan, June 6 · Deadline Looms for Arms Control Talks
Berserkistan, June 5 · Bosnian Serb Recognition Derails Arms Talk
Berserkistan, June 5 · Bosnia, Croatia, Yugoslavia Close to Arms Deal
OSCE in Bosnia

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