June 10, 1998 No. 155

AXWORTHY STEPS UP SANCTIONS

AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA AND SERBIA

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy announced today that Canada will implement further measures against the governments of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) following the offensive against Kosovar Albanians, which destroyed villages and created an outflow of refugees toward neighbouring Albania.

The measures include a ban on investment in the Republic of Serbia and a freeze of the assets of the FRY and Serbian governments in Canada. G-8 Foreign Ministers had agreed to these measures in May, but their implementation had been suspended in order to let Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic prove his good faith when he engaged in talks with Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova.

"It is now obvious that President Milosevic has chosen confrontation rather than negotiation," said Minister Axworthy. "Attacks against civilians leave the international community with no other option than to apply further pressure on the governments of Yugoslavia and Serbia."

The Minister expressed his wish that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accelerate its consideration of a full range of possible actions to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the region. Among the actions contemplated are preventive deployments in Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as well as joint exercises with these two countries in order to strengthen their security.

Mr. Axworthy added that Canada is encouraging the United Nations Security Council to hold urgent discussions on the situation in Kosovo and to provide the necessary basis for international action aimed at preventing further actions against the civilian population in the region.

On March 9, Canada announced measures including:

instructing EDC (Export Development Corporation) to suspend consideration of export credits for the FRY until further notice;

suspending discussions with Yugoslav Airlines concerning charter landing rights in Canada and;

putting on hold discussions of other bilateral agreements until further notice.

On June 12, the Minister will meet with his G-8 counterparts in London to discuss a co-ordinated response to this matter.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca