BOSNIA-U.S.: Clinton Non-Committal on Carter Mediation Effort

WASHINGTON, Dic 15 (IPS) - The administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton said Thursday it was skeptical about any mediation effort by former President Jimmy Carter to gain a peace agreement in war-torn Bosnia.

State Department spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton and Carter both agree for now that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who invited the former president's participation, must first make good on a series of moves to improve the humanitarian situation in the former Yugoslav republic.

Karadzic told CNN late Wednesday that he would free all U.N. peacekeepers being held hostage by the Serbs, guarantee free movement of relief convoys, and order a ceasefire around Sarajevo and its airport.

He also promised to free all Bosnian prisoners of war (POWs) 19 years old and younger and uphold human rights in areas under Serb control.

The quid pro quo would be Carter's direct involvement in trying to arrange a ceasefire throughout Bosnia and possibly to negotiate a peace settlement to the three-year-old war.

McCurry said Carter had spoken at length with Secretary of State Warren Christopher Thursday morning and that they agreed that Carter should not meet with Karadzic until the Bosnian Serb leader's promises had been implemented.

"The former president has made quite clear he does not intend to travel unless he sees that those steps are carried forth, and we believe that's very prudent on his part," McCurry told reporters.

If Carter embarks on a Bosnian peace initiative, this would be his third high-profile foray into U.S. disputes with other nations this year.

Six months ago, he helped defuse tension between Washington and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear programme when he flew to the North Korean capital and met with late president, Kim il Sung.

The meeting became the basis of an accord between the United States and North Korea over the freezing and eventual dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

While his North Korean venture gained wide support here, his last-minute intervention in Haiti was less well received, especially by supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service