It is important that simultaneously with the adoption of the peace agreements, the issue of sanctions is being settled. This will contribute to stabilization in this region. The agreements have been difficult to achieve. They don't answer all the questions, but these are the agreements which we could reach today. It will be even more difficult to achieve these agreements.

Russia, together with other members of the Contact Group, is ready to do everything  necessary for the earliest achievement of the comprehensive peaceful settlement of Bosnia.

Just now President Yeltsin made an address on Russian TV where he-stressed that Russia would like to see Bosnia become a democratic, prosperous state, where all the peoples inhabiting it could live in peace. We shall actively contribute towards this goal.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Russian delegation, I would like to express deep appreciation to the U.S. Administration for its hospitality and excellent working conditions. In particular, we express our appreciation to you Mr. Secretary of State for your personal contribution to  the achievement of the agreement.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC: Presidents, Mr. Christopher, ladies and gentlemen: Due to the successful conclusion of the negotiations in Dayton, this day will enter into the history as the date of the end of the war in the area of the former Yugoslavia.

In a civil war like this one in Bosnia there are no winners, and there could be no winners. All are losers. Only peace is a victory.

The solutions achieved here include painful concessions by all sides. However, without such concessions, it would be impossible to succeed here, and peace would be impossible.Therefore, no party should regret the concessions which were given.

Starting with the present day, the war in Bosnia should be left to the past, while peace and future cooperation, understanding and economic and cultural development should enter the scene of the area.

I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to emphasize that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall continue with the same persistence with which it struggled for peace and equality of peoples in the area during the past years to promote cooperation and development on equal basis in the best interests of all countries and people in the region.

Mr. Christopher, I would like to express my gratitude to the people and the government of the United States of America -- the President and the American negotiating team headed by Richard Holbrooke, and to you personally -- for the great efforts the United States invested in the achievement of peace, expressing at the same time the expectation that the United States shall take part in the implementation of the agreement in the same way as they contributed to the achievement of the agreement.

I thank the representatives of the Russian Federation and to the representatives of the European Union for their constructive cooperation. I would like to pay special tribute to the people of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the citizens of Dayton for their cordial  hospitality and moral support which they gave to the success of the Proximity Talks.

Thank you.

<101>