[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 52 (Monday, January 1, 1996)]
[Page 2232]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia 
and Montenegro)

December 27, 1995

To the Congress of the United States:

    Section 1511 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 1994 (hereinafter the ``Act''), requires that the sanctions imposed 
on Serbia and Montenegro, as described in that section, shall remain in 
effect until changed by law. Section 1511(e) of the Act authorizes the 
President to waive or modify the application of such sanctions upon 
certification to the Congress that the President has determined that the 
waiver or modification is necessary to achieve a negotiated settlement 
of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina that is acceptable to the parties.
    In accordance with this provision, I have issued the attached 
Presidential Determination stating that the suspension of the sanctions 
described in section 1511(a) (1-5) and (7-8) and in conformity with the 
provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1021 and 1022 
is necessary to achieve a negotiated settlement of the conflict. As 
described in the attached Memorandum of Justification, this sanctions 
relief was an essential factor motivating Serbia and Montenegro's 
acceptance of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina initialed in Dayton, Ohio, on November 21, 1995 (hereinafter 
the ``Peace Agreement'').
    I have directed the Secretaries of the Treasury and Transportation 
to suspend immediately the application of these sanctions on Serbia and 
Montenegro and have authorized the Secretary of State to suspend the 
arms embargo at appropriate stages consistent with United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1021. The first stage would be 91 days after 
the United Nations Secretary General reports to the United Nations 
Security Council that all parties have formally signed the Peace 
Agreement.
    The measures taken to suspend these sanctions may be revoked if the 
Implementation Force (IFOR) commander or High Representative determines 
that Serbia and Montenegro or the Bosnian Serbs are not meeting their 
obligations under the Peace Agreement.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
December 27, 1995.

Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
December 28.