U.S. Department of State 96/01/05 Daily Press Briefing

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U.S. State Department Directory

U.S. Department of State

96/01/05 Daily Press Briefing

Office of the Spokesman

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #4

FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1996, 12:56 P. M.

[...]

In addition to that, the Secretary is planning his own diplomatic mission to the Balkans in early February, where he'll be visiting Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo and possible other capitals in the region to assess the degree of compliance with the Dayton Accords and to advance implementation of those Accords.

Ambassador Bob Gallucci, who is the American coordinator of the civilian issues, civilian affairs pertaining to Bosnia, will also be leaving this weekend for Zagreb, Belgrade and Sarajevo. He'll be meeting with senior government officials in all of these capitals, as well as with the IFOR commanders in Sarajevo, the members of the High Representatives Office, including Carl Bildt, and also the OSCE Mission in Bosnia.

In these meetings, Ambassador Gallucci will discuss the entire range of issues related to the implementation of the Dayton Accords. This is a very important mission because Ambassador Gallucci has been asked by the Secretary to coordinate all of the U.S. Government efforts -- financial and other -- that would help Carl Bildt and his team implement the civilian side of the Dayton Accords.

[...]

Q Will Ambassador Gallucci travel with Ambassador Holbrooke next week?

MR. BURNS: Bob Gallucci is leaving tomorrow morning, and he is taking a small team with him. The emphasis of his trip is to coordinate personally with Carl Bildt the construction of the civilian effort, both the international police training force, assistance to refugees, observance and monitoring of human rights; the important issue that we've dealt with this week on freedom of movement of civilians that ended happily at least for the 16 people who had been unjustly abducted by the Bosnian Serbs.

So all these issues are on the table. He's going to spend a great deal of time working through how the international effort there can build up very, very quickly now, so it can reach the level of intensity that the military, the IFOR mission, has already put into play. Then he'll be traveling, as I said, to some of the capitals in the region for particular discussions.

They may meet up, but they really are separate trips. Dick Holbrooke's trip is designed to advance in part the President's visit to the region.

Q You mentioned the Secretary going there in early February, and you mentioned the three capitals.

MR. BURNS: That's right.

Q And perhaps other stops.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

Q Will those be to other European capitals?

MR. BURNS: The Secretary wants to make a trip to the Balkans, specifically to the three capitals that I mentioned -- Sarajevo, Belgrade and Zagreb -- but probably to some other points in that region, in the Balkans, in order to have a comprehensive set of diplomatic exchanges with the leaders in the area so that we can assure ourselves that the Dayton Accords are being implemented, as they should be implemented; that we deal with any problems that have arisen by early February, just about a month from now; and that we think through the challenges that are going to come down the road this summer and next autumn as IFOR begins to pull out next autumn, and as a civilian implementation force becomes that much more important in ensuring a Bosnian peace agreement.

So this trip that the Secretary will make will be quite different from the one you saw, for instance, Secretary Perry made, which was focused on the military issues. The Secretary will focus on the diplomatic and political side of the equation.

Q Might he go to places like Turkey and Greece?

MR. BURNS: He hasn't made any decisions on that. He has specifically decided to travel to the Balkans. Whether he goes outside the Balkans just remains to be seen at this point.

Q What are the destinations of Holbrooke's travel then, if this is preparation for the Secretary?

MR. BURNS: He's going to Belgrade, he's going to Sarajevo, and he's going to Zagreb.

Q Is the President planning to go to those capitals?

MR. BURNS: The President's trip was announced by Mike McCurry in very specific terms, and I would just leave it to Mike to characterize the President's trip.

Q If I can ask, is the situation in Macedonia considered so routine now that, despite the presence of American troops there, it's not necessary for him to stop there?

MR. BURNS: For Dick Holbrooke?

Q Yes.

MR. BURNS: I think Dick Holbrooke has had a longstanding personal as well as professional interest in Macedonia, and he was there in September and made an important contribution to diplomacy between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the time. Whether he has time to go this week in advance of the President, I just don't know. But the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia remains a large concern for us, and we'll continue to give it the concern that -- the importance that it certainly deserves.

Q Thank you.

MR. BURNS: Thank you.

(The briefing concluded at 1:20 p.m.)

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