NATO AIR STRIKES RESPONSE TO SITUATION IN SARAJEVO, ECKHARD SAYS

ZAGREB, May 26 (Hina) - Fred Eckhard, spokesman for UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi, spoke about the NATO air strikes at a press conference at UN headquarters in Zagreb this afternoon. Asked if UN peace-keepers were planning to pull out of Bosnia, Eckhard said withdrawal was "hypothetical" but "could not be ruled out under these conditions." "Today's NATO airstrake is chiefly a response to what is happenning in Sarajevo," Eckhard said, adding that the Serb shelling of Tuzla had "also influenced Akashi's decision." "At the moment, the UN is focusing on the situation in Sarajevo, but we are also studying the situation in Tuzla and the opportunities for action provided by the UN Security Council resolutions about safe havens," Eckhard said. Asked what had motivated the UN to change their attitude and call for air strikes, Eckhard said the situation in Bosnia was deteriorating, making the position of UN peacekeepers untenable under the present mandate - and the tactics were changed in consequence. Eckhard added that air strikes against Serb ammunition depots were a response to their failure to observe (Gen. Smith's) ultimatum regarding heavy weaponry. If the positions of heavy weapons were discovered, NATO would strike again, Eckhard said. The UN personnel had been alerted and all measures to protect peace-keepers on the ground had been taken, he said. Any attempt on the part of Bosnian Serbs to limit the movements of UN peace-keepers UNPROFOR would consider as a provocation of the international community, Eckhard concluded. (hina) jn as 261708 MET may 95