Press Release (97)103 11 Sept. 1997

Statement by the NATO Spokesman NATO and Russia agree on the need to vigourously implement the Dayton Agreement and the Sintra decisions. Regular and continuing consultations between NATO and Russia on the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement take place at all levels: between NATO Headquarters and the Russian Embassy in Brussels, at SHAPE with the Russian Deputy there, and on the SFOR level in Bosnia-Herzegovina. NATO supports the Contact Group's decisions of 4 September, which were also agreed by Russia, notably that the "High Representative will make forceful use of the authority provided to him under Art. 70 of the Sintra Declaration to curtail or suspend any media network or programme whose output is in persistent and blatant contravention of either the spirit or letter of the peace agreement." Russia, as well as other non-NATO force contributors to SFOR, were consulted prior to the North Atlantic Council's decision in support of the High Representative's request for support in carrying out the Sintra Declaration with respect to the media.