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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (43849)	4/24/1999 11:17:00 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

France urges caution on NATO oil blockade WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday that France had raised legal reservations on NATO proposals to stop and search tankers in the Adriatic carrying oil to Yugoslavia. He told a news conference the problem was what NATO navies would do if a ship refused to submit to a search. Stopping a ship on the high seas would be an act of war, he said. Strategic analysts said the move could put NATO on a collision course with Russia, which was Serbia's main oil supplier before NATO began air strikes on March 24. NATO defense ministers instructed the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Wesley Clark, on Friday to recommend rules of engagement for an operation to ''visit and search'' shipping to prevent arms and petroleum products reaching Yugoslavia. But Chirac said France had placed a reservation on the decision. He said it was legitimate for the allies to try to stop supplies reaching the Serb military but ''it's extremely delicate, and that's an understatement.'' ''Inspection is fine if the ship you want to inspect lets itself be inspected. But imagine if the ship doesn't stop, then you have to intercept it,'' the president said. ''However, intercepting a ship on the high seas is an act of war in international law. That raises some problems and that is why we said we have to be very careful in this matter and study all the aspects carefully before taking a final decision.'' A draft NATO decision seen by Reuters, ordering the NATO military authorities to take ''all preparatory measure for an effective maritime search and visit regime in parts of the Adriatic, keeping in mind the requirements of maritime traffic in the area and the existence of legal constraints with regard to vessels from third nations and to report back to the council with any recommendations for further steps as necessary.'' Under NATO's so-called silence procedure, the decision signed by Secretary General Javier Solana comes into effect at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Saturday unless a member state objects.