S/PV.3348 Security Council

On behalf of the Security Council, I should like, at the outset of the meeting, to express gratitude to the Government and people of Norway for their continuing generosity in connection with the provision of the very beautiful furnishings in this Chamber. Adoption of the agenda

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: "The Security Council has taken note of the letters dated 10 and 14 March 1994 from the Chargé d’affaires of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). In these documents, his Government acknowledges that the Bulgarian convoy, the Han Kubrat, composed of six barges transporting 6,000 tons of diesel oil on the Danube entered the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) on the morning of 6 March 1994 at the Port of Prahovo. The Government also recognizes that the cargo was unloaded and that the convoy returned to Bulgaria without it. "The Security Council welcomes the cooperative attitude of the Bulgarian Government. It calls upon the authorities of Bulgaria to assess the precise circumstances of this act and to prosecute those responsible for it. "The Security Council reaffirms the importance it attaches to free and unimpeded navigation on the Danube, which is essential to legitimate commerce in the region. It again stresses that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) have undertaken in writing to guarantee the freedom and security of navigation on this crucial international waterway. It invites them to respect scrupulously their commitments in this regard. "The Security Council stands ready to address the issue again in the future." This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/1994/PRST/10. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.