§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts relating to the deployment of armed forces to(a) Kosovo and (b) the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what recent consideration he has given to the deployment of British armed forces to (a) Kosovo and (b) the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNo consideration has been given to the deployment of British forces into Serbia, of which Kosovo is a province. There is a CSCE civilian observer mission in Kosovo but the United Nations has made no proposals for a deployment there. In the case of 175W Macedonia, United Nations Security Council resolution 795 of 11 December 1992 authorised the deployment there of an infantry battalion and a number of United Nations military observers (UNMOs) and United Nations civil police to provide a monitoring presence on Macedonia's borders with Albania and the former Republic of Yugoslavia. The United Kingdom agreed to a United Nations request to redeploy one United Kingdom UNMO to Macedonia; and to redeploy temporarily nine personnel and three vehicles from the United Kingdom field ambulance unit in Croatia to assist with the provision of medical care for United Nations forces in Macedonia pending the arrival of the Nordic battalion with its own capability. In the event, however, the deployment of the United Kingdom field ambulance personnel was not required.