September 5, 1995
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said Tuesday that it is the Bosnian Serbs who will decide when NATO attacks will stop.
"The deadline imposed by the United Nations and NATO for the withdrawal of heavy weapons from around Sarajevo has passed with unsatisfactory evidence of compliance by the Bosnian Serbs," Boutros-Ghali said in a statement released Tuesday from the office of his spokesman. "The United Nations and NATO have therefore jointly decided that the NATO air operation aimed at ensuring the safety and security of the safe areas will continue.
"Air strikes have thus been launched at Bosnian Serb targets and will only cease when, in the common judgment of United Nations and NATO commanders, the objectives of the operation have been attained."
Boutros-Ghali renewed his plea for the Bosnian Serbs to end the bloodshed, and said the United Nations remains committed to a lasting negotiated settlement of the Bosnian conflict. "If, however, the Bosnian Serb military leaders persist in their intransigence, the United Nations will continue to support the sustained use of NATO air power to ensure that the suffering of civilians in the safe areas is not further prolonged," the statement said.
"As I stated last week, it remains my hope that the Bosnian Serb leadership will seize the opportunity created by the United States peace initiative, which I have fully endorsed, to achieve an end to this conflict," Boutros-Ghali said. The alternative is a continuation of the NATO air operation, with consequences the Bosnian Serbs fully understand. The choice is theirs."
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