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New Balkan Summit Called In Geneva June 2
By Nicholas Doughty
LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) — The United States and European powers will meet Balkan leaders in Geneva early next month to press for full compliance with the troubled Bosnian peace deal, European diplomats said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher will lead senior officials from Russia, France, Britain and Germany at the June 2 meeting with the presidents of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia.
Diplomats said the five major powers, which make up the Contact Group which coordinates peace efforts in former
Yugoslavia, would express their growing concern about civilian aspects of the Bosnian peace agreement. The international community has been trying to force Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, twice indicted as a war criminal, from power before elections due in September. The hardline Karadzic is seen as the biggest obstacle to lasting peace.
Those efforts have so far failed, despite pressure on Serbia to ensure that he is removed from office — as provided for under the terms of the peace agreement. Almost six months after the Dayton peace agreement was signed in Paris, there are also concerns about the return of refugees, the prospects for rebuilding a multi-ethnic Bosnia, and the workings of the shaky Muslim-Croat federation.
"We will be urging the leaders present in Geneva to bring the maximum pressure to bear in making sure the civilian
provisions of Dayton (the Bosnian peace agreement) go ahead," said one European diplomat, who asked not to be identified. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic are all expected to attend the meeting.
Carl Bildt, the former Swedish premier who is coordinating civilian peace efforts in Bosnia, is also expected to go to Geneva. He has been leading efforts to have Karadzic removed.
The meeting is not the first to review the state of the Bosnian peace deal. Major powers met the Balkan presidents in Rome in February. While a NATO-led peace force has worked effectively on the military implementation, attempts to rebuild the civil structures of Bosnia have run into serious trouble.
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Berserkistan, Feb 16 · Peace Isn't Built in a Day February's Rome Peace Talks
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