Yugoslavia (Hansard, 17 February 1992)

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the success or failure of the arms embargo on(a) Serbia and (b) Croatia; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
There are widespread and disquieting press reports of breaches of the embargo. We do not so far have independent evidence to substantiate them.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 4 February,Official Report, column 117, to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. Bellingham), whether he has had any success in establishing the identity and activities of the team in Yugoslavia which was reported in The Guardian on 17 January.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
No. There are various unsubstantiated reports but no clear evidence.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the criteria by which Her Majesty's Government decided to recognise the independence of Slovenia and Croatia and declined to recognise the independence of Macedonia and of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
We and our EC partners recognised Croatia and Slovenia on the basis of the report of the arbitration commission attached to Lord Carrington's conference. As for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia, there remain important matters which require further discussion among EC partners before a similar step is taken.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current position respecting the accreditation of representatives of Slovenia and Croatia to the United Kingdom; what is the position respecting United Kingdom representation in Ljubljana and Zagreb; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
The Governments of Slovenia and Croatia have made no approaches concerning the accreditation of diplomatic representatives. There is currently a British consulate in Zagreb, but no representation in Ljubljana.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has had discussions with representatives from Yugoslavia about the proposed referendum in Bosnia-Herzegovina on 28 February in respect of that republic's independence; what Her Majesty's Government's policy is on the issue; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
We await the outcome of the referendum with interest and will discuss its implications with European Community partners before establishing a firm policy.