Belgrade Lauds Un Move To End Sanctions

Late on Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted 15-0 formally to end the embargoes on trade, travel and transport that had already been suspended in November against the Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro.

Today we have all together finally come out of the most difficult period in our country's modern history, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic said in a statement.

Belgrade's state-run newspapers splashed the news across their front pages with triumphant editorials and large photographs of Milosevic. But independent analysts were more cautious, insisting that Yugoslavia's problems were far from over.

The sanctions were originally imposed on Belgrade in 1991 for its role in fomenting war in neighbouring Bosnia. Although they were suspended after the Dayton peace accord last year, the UN used the threat of reimposing them as a stick to ensure Belgrade's cooperation with last month's elections in Bosnia.

But the United States said it would still oppose Yugoslavia's re-joining the UN General Assembly and other UN bodies as well as institutions like the World Bank until further demands were met.

Economists said this so-called outer wall of sanctions is the key issue, and while Tuesday's decision was a major psychological boost, real progress depended on Yugoslavia's access to international financial institutions. The fact that some media consider this to be a major event has more to do with internal politics, said one senior political analyst.