Yugoslavia Arms Embargo Imposed

The Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Yugoslavia, aiming to press President Slobodan Milosevic to make concessions to ethnic Albanians in his country’s restive Kosovo province. China abstained from the vote, saying the resolution would not help negotiations on giving Kosovo’s Albanians more autonomy. Russia agreed to accept the resolution after the other council members deleted a reference to the situation in Kosovo as constituting “a threat to international peace and security in the region.” A crackdown by Serbian police in March killed more than 80 people and stoked fears of a wider war in the Balkans. The embargo is believed to be largely symbolic, since both sides already are well armed. The resolution also asks Kosovo’s Albanian leadership to condemn all forms of terrorism.