§ 18. Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future deployment of British troops in the Balkans following the expiry of the SFOR mandate. [41313]
§ Mr. George RobertsonNATO is currently considering options for the size and shape of a force in Bosnia after June 1998. The Government will decide the precise nature of the UK's contribution in light of the recommendations of the NATO authorities and will announce the outcome to Parliament as soon as possible thereafter.
Whilst the UK is seeking a reduction from its current contribution to SFOR, we expect to remain the second largest contributor after the United States.