President Clinton said yesterday the US would not sign an international treaty outlawing antipersonnel mines, after it failed to win exemptions to the proposed ban. Speaking in Washington, Mr Clinton expressed regret at the decision but added that "in good conscience" he could not add the US's name to the treaty which is in the final stages of negotiation in Oslo.
US proposals for a nine-year delay to the treaty - and exclusions for both the Korean peninsula and the Pentagon's latest generation of "smart" anti-tank mines - encountered strong opposition.
Mr Clinton's refusal to sign averts the prospect of a clash over the issue between the US administration and armed service chiefs.
Relations between the White House and the services were strained at the weekend when the administration offered to sign the treaty, subject to the granting of a nine-year delay before the removal of mines from the Korean peninsula.
"As commander-in-chief, I will not send our soldiers to defend the freedom of our people and the freedom of others without doing everything we can to make them as secure as possible," the President said.
"We went the extra mile and beyond to secure this treaty," he insisted, adding that the conditional US offer laid down in Oslo remained on the table.
His announcement came two days before the end of the three-week conference. Tributes to the anti-mine crusade of Diana, Princess of Wales - who died just before the conference opened - heightened expectations that a global ban could be agreed.
Nevertheless, Washington's withdrawal is expected to clear the way for 89 countries to sign a treaty prohibiting the use, export, production and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, which kill or maim 25,000 people a year. The absence of the US, however, could hamper attempts to persuade other large military powers such as Russia, China and India to sign the treaty.
Mr Jacob Selebi, president of the 89-nation conference, said it could take years for Washington to put aside its concerns. "I think in a few years' time they will find their way to be a part of this treaty," he said.
Mr Clinton only agreed last month to join the so-called Ottawa Process, a diplomatic effort by Canada to secure a total ban on landmines.
Yesterday, he tried to avert criticism of his decision by announcing plans to develop alternative weapons to replace anti-personnel mines and to increase funding for mine removal operations by 25 per cent. - (Financial Times Service) Reuter adds from London: Britain pledged yesterday to sign the new international treaty banning landmines and credited Princess Diana with helping to bring it about.
"The treaty is the beginning of the end for landmines," the Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, said in a statement welcoming the agreement.
"This achievement is due in part to the work of Diana, Princess of Wales, who did so much to focus the attention of the world on the horrific effects of anti-personnel landmines," Mr Cook said.
He said Britain would continue to urge as many countries as possible to sign the treaty reached in Oslo.
An official said earlier that, as Washington's closest European ally, Britain would work to persuade the US to join.