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UN Security Council Lifts Former Yugoslavia Arms Embargo UNITED NATIONS, June 18 (AP) - The Security Council lifted its embargo of heavy weapons against the former Yugoslav republics Tuesday following an arms control agreement in the Balkans. The decision ended the last part of a weapons embargo imposed in September 1991 to curb fighting which erupted when Slovenia and Croatia broke with Yugoslavia and declared independence. The Muslim-led Bosnian government, which declared independence in 1992, had long complained the embargo denied it the right to defend itself against rebel Serbs who received weapons from Serbia. "All provisions of the embargo and deliveries of weapons... have been terminated," Security Council President Nabil Elaraby said. In an arms control agreement signed Friday in Florence, Italy, the former Yugoslav republics agreed to limit the number of tanks, artillery over 75mm, armored vehicles, combat aircraft and attack helicopters in their arsenals. The council voted in November to suspend its arms embargo in stages after the warring sides agreed to a peace pact ending 3˝ years of fighting in Bosnia. The council said the republics could begin importing defensive weapons such as anti-tank rockets 90 days after the agreement was signed and the arms embargo would end after 180 days. In Ljubljana, Slovenia’s defense minister, Jelko Kacin, said the lifting of the embargo would "annul an unjust and impossible situation" for his country.

Berserkistan, June 14 · Elusive Balkan Arms Pact Signed at Florence

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