Prague, June 19 (RFE/RL) - The lifting of the international arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia follows the signing of an arms treaty in Florence, Italy, last Friday by each of the former warring parties. Under that treaty, the following weapons ceilings must be reached by the end of October, 1997.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: 1,025 battle tanks; 850 armored combat vehicles; 3,750 pieces of artillery; 155 combat aircraft; 53 attack helicopters.
Republic of Croatia: 410 battle tanks; 340 armored combat vehicles; 1,500 pieces of artillery; 62 combat aircraft; 21 attack helicopters.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 410 battle tanks; 340 armored combat vehicles; 1,500 pieces of artillery; 62 combat aircraft; 21 attack helicopters.
Within Bosnia-Herzegovina, the armament ceilings breakdown as follows:
The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnian government-Bosnian Croat federation): 273 battle tanks; 227 armored combat vehicles; 1,000 pieces of artillery; 41 combat aircraft; 14 attack helicopters.
Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serbs): 137 battle tanks; 113 armored combat vehicles; 500 pieces of artillery; 21 combat aircraft; 7 attack helicopters.
Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, who chaired last week's signing ceremony, said the pact would "bring stability to the region at the lowest level of armaments compatible with (the parties') security."
The accord was hammered out in six months of negotiations in Vienna mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Reuters quotes sources close to the talks (unnamed) as saying that the reductions included the destruction of hundreds of tanks by rump Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Serbs. The deal also includes exchanges of military information and a regime of OSCE-led inspections.
