PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF ITALY

26 September 1996

Press Briefing

19960926 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

In light of renewed conflicts between Israeli and Palestinian forces, Israel must take concrete action to demonstrate its continued commitment to the Middle East peace process, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini stated in a press conference held at Headquarters this morning. The Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority were questioning Israel's commitment to peace, he added.

The entire international community was involved in keeping events in the Middle East from degenerating further, he continued. Fifteen foreign ministers from the European Union and United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher had discussed the situation in Israel, among other areas of concern. Together they had sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recommending decisive action for peace.

Mr. Dini said he would convey his assessment of the situation in the Middle East to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali when they meet later today. He would also make recommendations on the matter to the Security Council.

The international community was also deeply concerned about developments in Afghanistan, Mr. Dini continued, noting that the Security Council had discussed the situation in Afghanistan yesterday.

Turning to the question of the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which a number of countries favoured strongly, Mr. Dini said that expansion should be considered in conjunction with Mr. Christopher's initiative to design a charter to govern relations between NATO and the Russian Federation.

Developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina were generally satisfactory, Mr. Dini said. It was expected that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would certify the validity of the recent elections. The task now was to ensure that the common institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the two national governments, would be created and implemented according to the design of the Dayton accords. The future of the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) would be discussed later in the year.

Mr. Dini said he had presented to the General Assembly a number of proposals on making the United Nations more effective. The Organization should play a greater role in conflict prevention, as well as in peace- keeping.

Italy Press Conference - 2 - 26 September 1996

Asked about the Secretary-General's suggestion for a broad clustering of economic and social departments within the Organization, Mr. Dini said that Italy would review and probably support the recommendation. The Secretary- General's suggestion was not inconsistent with the intent of Italy's proposal, which was that the Organization could be streamlined for greater efficiency.

In response to questions about alleged missile sales by Italy to Peru, and a related scandal involving allegations of bribery of Peruvian officials, Mr. Dini stated that Italy did not produce missiles and therefore could not export them. Italy had a small weapons-producing sector, and did not concentrate on high-technology arms. He further stated that strict legislation existed in Italy concerning arms sales. Countries under scrutiny by the international community would not be sold arms, he added.

When asked about the impact of United Nations debt on programmes affecting Italy, Mr. Dini said that the Organization's finances were at present secured by loans taken against contributions pledged in agreements. Italy did not owe past contributions, and expected the same from every country. He hoped contributions would be paid during the Organization's ongoing reform process, noting that United States President William Clinton said in his statement to the Assembly that his Administration was committed to paying its arrears in full.

A correspondent asked for comment on the fact that Italy was a leading source of land-mines. Mr. Dini recalled that he had just announced in the General Assembly that Italy would abandon the production and export of land- mines. It would also undertake a programme to destroy all existing devices and continue its demining activities worldwide, especially in African countries. He expressed the hope that Italy's pledge would contribute to an international ban on the production and export of land-mines.

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