US: The US yesterday announced it was ending a freeze on economic aid to Yugoslavia, which began on March 31st because of Belgrade's failure to co-operate fully with the UN war crimes court in The Hague.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said he approved a resumption of aid, which is critical for the devastated country's recovery, in the light of increased co-operation between Belgrade and the court. "Earlier this morning I signed a certification required under US law that we have been receiving the necessary co-operation from the authorities in Belgrade with respect to the International Criminal Tribunal on Yugoslavia," he said.
At stake is $40 million in bilateral aid for the current fiscal year. Perhaps more important is US support for Belgrade in international lending bodies, where Washington's vote is often crucial. Mr Powell was speaking after meeting Mr Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia, the dominant republic in what is left of the former Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Mr Goran Svilanovic, who are visiting Washington to lobby for an end to the freeze.
Mr Svilanovic said: "We take this as an acknowledgment for what we did in the last year and a half. You can be sure that this will continue."
Mr Djindjic and Mr Svilanovic are both reformers who took office after the fall of Mr Slobodan Milosevic, whose trial is now taking place in The Hague.