§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they or any of the European members of NATO or Russia intend to contribute to the $800 million—$1 billion fund for arming and training the Bosnian Government's forces in Turkey and elsewhere, as a result of the fundraising conference mounted by the United States in Turkey last week, and attended by European and Islamic states.
§ Lord CheshamWe do not intend to contribute to the fund for training and equipping the armed forces of the Bosniac-Croat Federation. We cannot answer for other nations.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether all the signatories to the Dayton Agreement and members of the UN Security Council are agreed that the billion dollar arming of one Dayton signatory is compatible with the "need" mentioned in the Agreement "to avoid an arms race in the region" (Annex 1-B, Article 1, Dayton Accords).
§ Lord CheshamWe are content with US assurances that the programme they are leading to train and equip the armed forces of the Bosniac-Croat Federation will be consistent with all aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. We cannot answer for other nations.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the United States project to set up a Muslim state armed by a $800 million—$1 billion fund, in ex-Yugoslavia is being discussed either in NATO (in the light of the responsibilities NATO is now shouldering in the Balkans) or in the UN Security Council, and if not, whether they will start such discussions before NATO disagreements deepen, given the likelihood of the Orthodox Serbs and the Catholic Croats being armed by the Russians and the Germans.
§ Lord CheshamThe US-led programme is designed to train and equip the armed forces of the Bosniac-Croat Federation. It will be entirely separate from the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) and is not a matter for NATO or the UN.