Clinton says Yugoslav sanctions could be lifted if Milosevic yields

Clinton, left, discusses the election results in Yugoslavia with Wim Kok, right, prime minister of the Netherlands

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Thursday that the United States stood ready to lift economic sanctions against Yugoslavia if the government of Slobodan Milosevic yields to opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica.

"From my point of view, they had an election. It's clear that the people prefer the opposition," said Clinton. "We should all say in clear and unequivocal terms that as soon as there is a democratic government over there the sanctions should be lifted."

The president said opposition forces presented "persuasive documentation" that it won Sunday's first-ever direct presidential election. Clinton said the count rendered by Milosevic's government, which gave Kostunica just over 48 percent of the vote -- not enough for an outright win -- was not "documented."

RESOURCES Yugoslavia election information     MESSAGE BOARD Peace in the Balkans

"The case the opposition made, based on their actual numbers poll place by poll place, was pretty persuasive, especially since it hasn't been refuted by the national commission," Clinton told reporters at the White House.

The Yugoslav government ordered an October 8 runoff vote.

Clinton made his remarks during a brief Rose Garden appearance with Wim Kok, the prime minister of the Netherlands. Kok echoed the president's assessment of the Yugoslav elections and said European nations would also likely lift economic sanctions if Milosevic were ousted or stepped aside.

Kok said the economic sanctions were never "directed at the people" of Yugoslavia but at the Milosevic regime.

CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Democratic Party of Yugoslavia
Socialist Party

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