UKRAINE PUSHES FOR LARGER ROLE IN BOSNIAN SETTLEMENT

In a September 15 statement, Ukraine’s foreign ministry welcomed the Bosnian Serbs’ agreement to withdraw heavy guns from around Sarajevo and the suspension of NATO actions. The statement repeated Ukraine’s readiness to participate in efforts toward a negotiated settlement in the framework of the Contact Group. In particular, the Ministry confirmed Ukraine’s offer to host and mediate negotiations, including a meeting in Kiev of all belligerent and interested parties. (14)

Ukraine originally made the offer in August, in the wake of its first attendance at a Contact Group meeting. Kiev’s mediation offer met with a more favorable reception than Moscow’s and served to underscore the failure of Boris Yeltsin’s proposal for a general peace conference at summit level in Moscow. By keeping its offer on the table, Ukraine evidently seeks to carve out for itself a role commensurate with its increasingly recognized weight in regional security.

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