ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:95062103.POL

DATE:06/21/95

TITLE:ADD STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21



TEXT:

(Bosnia) (400)



NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Nicholas Burns discussed the following

issue:



U.S. CONSULTING WITH ALLIES ON RAPID REACTION FORCE



The United States has been holding intensive discussions with Britain,

France and the Netherlands -- the major troop-contributing countries

to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) -- about the

specific role they believe will be played by the Rapid Reaction Force

being formed in Bosnia, Burns said.



Those countries will provide "the backbone" of the Rapid Reaction

Force, the spokesman pointed out. "We support the creation of this

force," he declared. "We believe that it will help in the quest to

maintain UNPROFOR in the region and to strengthen it."



"We do have an interest in sorting out with our allies what the exact

mission of the Rapid Reaction Force would be," Burns told questioners.

"We're seeking a clarification from those countries on that specific

question."



The administration is involved in "quite intensive" discussions with

various members of Congress about ways to fund the 12,500-member force

and hopes "to work it out very shortly," Burns said. Last week, the

United States told the U.N. Security Council that it would not agree

to pay for the Rapid Reaction Force through the normal financial

mechanism for U.N. peacekeeping.



President Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher "have made very

clear our full support for the Rapid Reaction Force and our full

support for the activities of our allies who are the major troop

contributors to UNPROFOR," the spokesman said. "We're the major

contributor of money to support UNPROFOR. We have supported the

largest airlift in history of humanitarian goods over the last couple

of years. We have been involved. We have a voice and we are supporting

those who have troops on the ground," he said.



Troops that will be included in the Rapid Reaction Force began to

arrive in Bosnia about two and a half weeks ago. "We have pledged to

support it with communications and logistics, intelligence and lift

capabilities," Burns said.



Explaining U.S. policy in support of the Rapid Reaction Force, he

said, "We believe it's in our strategic interest to keep UNPROFOR in

the region and to strengthen it. We believe that the presence of the

force in bolstering the current U.N. mission will in fact strengthen

that U.N. mission."

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