[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[July 7, 1992]
[Pages 1085-1086]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1085]]

Munich Economic Summit: Yugoslavia Communique

July 7, 1992
    We, the leaders of our seven countries and representatives of the 
European Community, are deeply concerned about the ongoing Yugoslav 
crisis. We strongly condemn the use of violence in the former Yugoslavia 
and deplore the suffering inflicted upon its population. We particularly 
deplore those actions directed against civilian populations, as well as 
the forced expulsion of ethnic groups.
    Although all parties have contributed to this state of affairs, the 
Serbian leadership and the Yugoslav army controlled by it bear the 
greatest share of the responsibility. We support the EC Conference on 
Yugoslavia chaired by Lord Carrington as the key forum for ensuring a 
durable and equitable political solution to the outstanding problems of 
the former Yugoslavia, including constitutional arrangements for Bosnia 
and Hercegovina.
    We call on all parties to resume negotiations in that conference in 
good faith and without preconditions. We welcome the close consultations 
between the conference chaired by Lord Carrington, the EC, the U.N., and 
other parties concerned with the Yugoslav crisis.
    These consultations could lead to the holding of a broader 
international conference to address unresolved questions, including 
issues related to minorities. We stress the absolute need for the 
parties in former Yugoslavia to show the will for peace which is 
indispensable to success and without which the peoples of former 
Yugoslavia will continue to suffer.
    The tragic humanitarian situation, especially in Bosnia and 
Hercegovina, is unacceptable. We fully endorse as heads of state and 
government the efforts of the international community to provide relief. 
We welcome the efforts made in achieving the opening of the airport of 
Sarajevo, and we support actions taken by UNPROFOR to secure the 
airport.
    The blockade of Sarajevo must be lifted and the shelling of the town 
stopped in order to sustain a comprehensive relief operation. We express 
our gratitude to all participants in the airlift to Sarajevo and the 
supply of its population. We appeal to all parties in Bosnia and 
Hercegovina not to imperil the humanitarian effort.
    We firmly warn the parties concerned, including irregular forces, 
not to take any action that would endanger the lives of those engaged in 
the relief operation. Should these efforts fail due to an unwillingness 
of those concerned to fully cooperate with the United Nations, we 
believe the Security Council will have to consider other measures, not 
excluding military means, to achieve its humanitarian objectives.
    The airlift to Sarajevo can only be the beginning of a larger 
humanitarian effort. Safe access by road to Sarajevo, as well as to 
other parts of Bosnia and Hercegovina in need, must be guaranteed. The 
needs of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons 
require further significant financial support. We are willing to 
contribute and ask others also to make fair contributions.
    We underline the need for Serbia and Croatia to respect the 
territorial integrity of Bosnia and Hercegovina and for all military 
forces not subject to the authority of the government of Bosnia and 
Hercegovina to either be withdrawn or disbanded and disarmed with their 
weapons placed under effective international monitoring.
    We call on all parties to prevent the conflict from spreading to 
other parts of the former Yugoslavia.
    We urge the Serbian leadership to respect minority rights in full, 
to refrain from further repression in Kosovo, and to engage in serious 
dialogue with representatives of Kosovo with a view to defining a status 
of autonomy according to the draft convention of the EC Conference on 
Yugoslavia.
    Sanctions decided by the U.N. Security Council in Resolution 757, as 
well as all other provisions of relevant U.N. resolutions, must be fully 
implemented. We support the efforts of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in 
implementing the U.N. peace plan

[[Page 1086]]

for Croatia and all its elements.
    We demand that Serbs and Croats extend their full cooperation to the 
U.N. peace plan and make every effort to bring the bloodshed in Croatia 
to an end.
    We do not accept Serbia and Montenegro as the sole successor state 
to the former Yugoslavia.
    We call for the suspension of the delegation of Yugoslavia in the 
proceedings of the CSCE and other relevant international fora and 
organizations.

                    Note: An original was not available for verification 
                        of the content of this communique.