US LIFTS SANCTIONS, IMF SAYS YUGOSLAVIA COULD REJOIN IN MONTHS.
The US will take immediate steps to lift economic sanctions against Yugoslavia to support the new democratically elected government, Agence France-Presse reports US President Bill Clinton announced yesterday. In a statement, Clinton said he had directed the US State and Treasury departments to "take immediate steps to begin lifting the trade and financial sanctions against Serbia in 1998, except those targeted against members of the former regime."
The US has "a strong interest in supporting Yugoslavia's newly elected leaders as they work to build a truly democratic society," Clinton is quoted as saying. He added that the US move was "within the scope" of the EU's sanctions-lifting measure announced on Monday. "We will move forward in coordination with the EU."
Clinton insisted that the US would continue to enforce a travel ban against top members of the regime of former President Slobodan Milosevic but would "review our restrictions on Serbia's participation in international financial institutions." The International Herald Tribune (p.11) also reports.
Separately, the New York Times (p. A3) reports the meeting came as Clinton lifted the oil embargo and the ban on American flights to Yugoslavia that had been imposed in 1998 after President Slobodan Milosevic cracked down on Kosovo Albanians. Clinton said more significant sanctions, like the denial of much-needed lending from the World Bank and the IMF, would be reviewed as the democratic transition that began last week with a popular uprising against Mr. Milosevic proceeds. The Washington Post (p. A24) also reports.
The US will consider lifting the restrictions keeping Yugoslavia out of the international financial institutions after observing how the new Belgrade authorities handle themselves, AFP notes. "We're not going to make a judgment on lifting those sanctions in the short term; we'll make them as they finish the transition, and it's going to depend .... on an overall judgment of how that transition and how its effort to address its international obligations are going," White House spokesman Jake Siewert said late yesterday. "We'll be looking at their cooperation with the War Crimes Tribunal and how they handle the Dayton Accords and how they handle some of the issues we have with Kosovo," he added.
Meanwhile, an IMF spokesman said Yugoslavia could join the organization in a matter of months provided it takes steps to repay a $128 million debt incurred by the country's former socialist authorities. Fund spokesman Thomas Dawson added that once a new government was installed in Belgrade, it would also have to agree to replace the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the IMF on terms and conditions that prevailed in 1992, when the socialist republic was largely dismantled.
Meanwhile, the Washington Times (p. A15) reports the IMF said Yugoslavia could rejoin the lending body within months, paving the way for a restructuring of debt and an economic revival program. Yugoslavia was expelled from the IMF and the World Bank in 1992 for its role in the Bosnian and Croatian wars, the story notes.
Also reporting, the Financial Times (p.2) notes that the European Commission will today propose a "very substantial package" of short-term aid for the Balkans, with most destined for Serbia, European Commission President Romano Prodi said last night. It is thought the Commission will propose between $130 million and $200 million of urgent financial support to meet such needs as health and energy and will enable to raise the funds within the existing EU budget. Prodi stressed that the money would be additional to existing operations in the area and would not involve any reduction in support for Kosovo.
Separately, the Los Angeles Times (p. A10) reports the 15-member European Union has promised $2 billion in aid by 2007 to help rebuild Yugoslavia, where more than a quarter of the work force-by some measures, half--is unemployed.
The EU plans to hold a two-day summit beginning today in the French resort of Biarritz to discuss plans for aid to Yugoslavia. Foreign aid to countries in the former Yugoslav federation has had patchy results for years, largely due to bureaucratic delays and corruption.